EXPERIENCE
Devotion and harmony by the Ganga
GUSTASP AND JEROO IRANI
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In Haridwar, every shrine and temple is woven into a time-honoured mesh of legends and beliefs.
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Living traditions: The clock tower by night. Photo: Gustasp and Jeroo Irani
THE urgent tolling of temple bells sent a thrill of anticipation through the crowd of devotees and tourists who had gathered on the ghats or steps along the banks of the holy river Ganga as it flowed through Har-ki-Pauri, the main bathing ghat in the pilgrim town of Haridwar, Uttaranchal. The organised pandemonium around us seemed to freeze mid-stride. Men stripped down to their underwear and women in dripping saris took a purifying dip in the rushing waters; people floated offerings of flowers, and burnt camphor and incense sticks in boats made of leaves; priests blessed newly wed couples; sadhus with flowing locks and hooded eyelids pulled on chillums; a young chela washed the feet of his stooped, grey-whiskered guru; devotees filled the water of the sacred river in white plastic containers; urchins scanned the gurgling expanse for coins...
The Goddess arrives
Suddenly, the milling activity seemed to come to a grinding halt. Even the setting sun appeared to pause. An idol of the Ganga, draped with a bright red cloth was being carried by priests in a palanquin from the inner sanctum of the temple. Only after she was installed on the banks of the river did the world seem to awaken and chaos rushed in to preside over the setting.
We settled down on the steps by the riverbank opposite the ghats where the daily Ganga aarti would be performed, at sunset. Once we had established a firm claim to our slice of space, we sat back to take in the scene around us. Seeing the torrent of unadulterated devotion being poured into the surging river as it swept by, we started to understand what our guide had told us earlier: "Haridwar, more than any other place, is the true home of the river Goddess Ganga."
Popular beliefs
The belief is that it is at Haridwar that the holy river goes to her in-laws' home, which is in the plains of India. Before entering Haridwar, the river resides in her parents' abode, which is in the Himalayas. The identity of her husband, however, remains unclear. Legend associates her with Lord Shiva when she decided to descend from the heavens. Since the force of the river goddess crashing down to earth would have shattered the planet, Shiva agreed to field the waters in his matted hair and softened her fall; ever since, Ganga has been linked with Shiva. But since he was already married to Parvati, their relationship is seen as platonic.
Indeed Haridwar served as the stage on which Lord Shiva's intensely tragic love story with Sati — Parvati's earlier incarnation — was acted out. Sati, the daughter of King Daksha, had married Lord Shiva against the wishes of her father who decided to make a public display of his contempt for his son-in-law. An outraged Sati reacted to the insult by throwing herself in the sacrificial fire. Lord Shiva, in a fit of rage, started to dance the Tandava with the body of Sati on his shoulders. To save the universe from annihilation, Lord Vishnu sliced the body of Sati into 52 pieces (some believe that there were 72 pieces and others, 108). And as the various parts of Sati's body fell across the land, they turned to stone and were referred to as Shaktipeethas.
Today the Daksha Mahadev Temple complex on the banks of the Ganga occupies the spot where the traumatic cosmic drama had been enacted. We joined the endless stream of pilgrims as they made their round of the numerous shrines — each one with its own little story to tell. We looked down on Haridwar, nestled in the valley below and the grey-blue slash of river Ganga coiling out of the mountains and easing into the plains. Across the town and the river, on the summit of Bilwa Parvat was Mansa Devi Temple which houses two statues of the goddess. To reach this shrine one has to trek up a two-kilometre trail or ride the ropeway. We, however, gave this temple a miss and dropped in briefly at Mayadevi Temple, an ancient shrine built on the spot where the heart and navel of goddess Sati had fallen. Come evening and we were at Har-ki-Pauri, to watch the Ganga aarti. Indeed, Har-ki-Pauri is the setting of the Maha Kumbh Mela, one of Hinduism's greatest festivals, when thousands of naked sadhus and pilgrims congregate here to have a purifying dip in the river Ganga. The origins of this epic event go back to cosmic time when the devas (gods) and the ashuras (demons) decided to set aside their eternal differences and together retrieve the Kumbh (pot) that contained the nectar of immortality from the depths of the ocean. Using a giant serpent as a rope, the two groups started to churn the ocean. When Dhanwantari, the divine healer, finally appeared with the Kumbh in his hands, a great fight broke between the two sides, each one trying to wrest the pitcher for themselves. A few drops of the immortal elixir fell at four different places in India: Prayag (Allahabad), Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar. This festival is held once every three years in rotation between the four cities.
Truth in chaos
The clanging of bells distracted us from our musings and drew us back to the present. The priest who had been priming the oil wicks of the many-layered lamps set them on fire and started to swirl the flames in unison right across the face of the ghat. There was one fire dancing in the window of the river-front temple.
We could not help compare the spectacle to the Ganga aarti we had attended the previous day at an ashram in neighbouring Rishikesh. Graced by a number of foreigners, it was a beautifully choreographed affair with bhajans thrown in forood effect. The one at Haridwar, in contrast, was a totally spontaneous happening, sustained by pure, unadulterated devotion. Indeed, it captured the essence of Haridwar; for, unlike Rishikesh which offered visitors instant nirvana and resembled a spiritual Hawaii, Haridwar was India — raw and uncut — and in your face.
Factfile
Haridwar is well connected by rail and road with the rest of the country. It's best to fly into Delhi and then take the early morning Shatabdi to Haridwar.
The temple town has a number of hotels including one run by the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam in the city and another located on the fringe of the neighbouring Rajaji National Park. The city also has a number of ashrams and yoga centres.
Haridwar and neighbouring Rishikesh fall within the pilgrim circuit of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.
For more information contact: Uttaranchal Tourism Development Board, Dehradun. Tel: (0135) 2721289, 2624147. Email: secy_tourism@ua.nic.in, ddtourism@ua.nic.in Web: www.ua.nic.in/uttaranchaltourism
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