The Ganges in Myth and History

248 Pages·40.407 MB·English

by  Steven G. Darian

Steven G.
Daria n
ISBN 0-8248-0509-7 $9.95
THE GANGES IN MYTH
AND HISTORY
Steven G. Darian
No river has kindled Man's imagination
like the Ganges.
From its icy origins high in the Himalayas,
this sacred river flows through the holy cities
and the great plains of northern India to the
Bay of Bengal.
In a country where the red heat of summer
inspires prayer for the coming monsoon, the
life-giving waters of the Ganges have as-
sumed legendary powers in the form of the
Hindu goddess Ganga, the source of crea-
tion and abundance. Pilgrims flock to her
shores to cleanse and purify themselves, to
cure ailments, and to die that much closer to
paradise.
Steven Darian writes of the human experi-
ence and the legendary myths that surround
the Ganges. The inspiration of poets and art-
ists for centuries, the mysterious Ganga is
the essence of the Divine Mother bringing
increase and salvation, but also death and
destruction.
Nowhere are her powers felt more than in
Bengal where Hindu and Moslem practices
coalesce in worship of the capricious Ganga.
Here the shifting riverbed of the great
Ganges has built and destroyed cities and
brought pestilence and plague as well as life
and benediction to the people.
These are the stories —the myth, the his-
tory, and the folklore —that inspired Alex-
ander the Great's expedition through Asia,
brought medieval priests to accept the Gan-
ges as the river Phison in Eden, and led Co-
lumbus in search of a new route to India.
While collecting material for this book, Dr.
Darian lived by the Ganges, explored her
shores, and was a pilgrim to the Ganga Sa-
gar festival at Sagar Island off Calcutta
where the sacred river and the ocean merge.
V
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bURLlNGAME PUBLIC LIBRARY
BURLINGAME, CA 94010
344-71GZ
219p., illus., maps
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The Ganges
in Myth and History
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in 2017 with funding from
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The Ganges
in Myth and History
STEVEN G. D ARLAN
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THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF HAWAII X
HONOLULU
BURLINGAME PUBLIC LIBRARY
BURLINGAME, CA 94010
344-7107
Copyright © 1978 by The University Press of Hawaii
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and record-
ing, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publisher.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Darian, Steven G
The Ganges in myth and history.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
/ 1. Ganges River. I. Title.
DS485.G25D37 954’.1 77-21374
ISBN 0-8248-0509-7
329908
To Geez,
Whose greatness slipped
through my fingers.
To Geez,
Who taught me a passion
for the Word.
To Geez,
Who found the dawn
too soon.