27/05/2026
This year Ganga Navaratri and its Dassera starts on 15th June and ends on the 25th.
Ganga Navratri is a vibrant 9-day Hindu festival dedicated to Goddess Ganga. It is celebrated to honor the descent of the holy Ganga River from the heavens to Earth, with the festival's final day coinciding with the highly auspicious Ganga Dussehra.
The Story Behind the Descent - According to Hindu mythology (detailed in the epic Ramayana and the Mahabharata), the descent of the Ganga is the result of immense perseverance by King Bhagiratha.
The Curse: Sixty thousand ancestors of King Bhagiratha were turned to ashes by the fiery gaze of Sage Kapila. The only way their souls could attain salvation and reach heaven was if the sacred waters of the heavens washed over their ashes (amrita reaching the patala loka in which cursed ancestors were trapped).
The Penance: Bhagiratha performed severe penance and meditation for centuries to please Lord Brahma and Goddess Ganga. Pleased by his devotion, Brahma agreed to send Ganga down to Earth.
Shiva's Intervention: Goddess Ganga warned that her celestial, rushing waters would be too forceful and could shatter the Earth. To break her fall, Bhagiratha prayed to Lord Shiva. Shiva caught the roaring river in his matted locks (the Himalayas) and gently released her as a thin stream onto Earth.
Cleansing the Ancestors: The river followed Bhagiratha across the plains of India, eventually touching the ashes of his ancestors, granting them eternal peace and salvation.
The Reason It Is Celebrated - Ganga Navratri and the culminating Ganga Dussehra hold immense spiritual significance:
Spiritual Cleansing: It is deeply believed that a dip in the holy river during these nine days washes away ten types of sins (Dasha-hara), purifying both the body and the soul.
Salvation for the Departed: Millions of devotees visit sacred river towns—like Haridwar, Rishikesh, Varanasi, and Prayagraj—to perform rituals, aartis, and to release the ashes of their ancestors into the river, in the hopes of granting them Moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirth).
Reverence for the Lifeline of India: The festival is also a celebration of gratitude toward the Ganges as a mother and a life-sustaining force, providing sustenance and purity to the Indian subcontinent.
How Devotees Observe the Festival - Throughout the nine days, devotees engage in fasting, meditation, chanting, and charity. The banks of the river come alive with thousands of flickering lamps (diyas) and evening aartis (devotional prayers).
THOUGH NORTH INDIA HAS CELEBRATED GANGA NAVRATRI WITH ITS DASSERA ON 25TH MAY 2026, ITS THE ADHIKA MAASA AND MOST NAVRATRIS ARE CELEBRATED DURING TRUE NAVRATRIS AND HENCE WE AT HH SAHASRADALAYATAKSHEE LALITHA SHAKTIPEETHAM WILL CELEBRATE IT IN JUNE ON ABOVE MENTIONED DATES.
THOSE WHO POSSES GANGAJAL USE A FEW DROPS WHILE BATHING ON THE NAVRATRI DAYS TO IMPLY BATHING GANGA ITSELF WITH DEVOTION CHANTING "GANGECHA YAMUNECHAIVA GODHAVARI SARASWATI NARMADE SINDHU KAVERI JALESMIN SANNIDHIM KURU" .
DURING NITYAPUJA CHANT\LISTEN TO HER ASHTOTTARAM, SIT PEACEFULLY IN A QUIET PLACE CLOSE YOUR EYES BREATH DEEPLY AND SLOWLY FOR 5 MINUTES, VISUALISE BHAGIRATHA IN PENANCE AND GANGA APPEARING AT YOUR SOMACHAKRA AND FLOWING ALONG WITH HIM TO HIS ( VISUALISE GANGA FLOWING FROM SOMACHAKRA DOWN YOUR BODY & SPINE ALL THE WAY UPTO YOUR FEET AND WASHING AWAY ALL SINS, INSECURITIES, INADEQUACIES AND TO YOUR ANCESTORS' ASHES\GRAVES), PURIFYING THEIR SPIRITS AND LIBERATING THEM TO HEAVENS EVERYDAY OF THE NAVRATRI AS YOUR GIFT YO YOUR ANCESTORS.
MOST IMPORTANTLY USE WATER DILIGENTLY AND WITH DUE RESPECT AND CONSIDERATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER IN LIFE, GIVE WATER TO THE NEEDY, WATER THE PLANTS, OFFER WATER TO THE SUN IN THE MORNING AND FEEL THE SERINITY ALL DAY LONG WITHIN YOURSELVES.
GANGA OR WATER IS ALSO ONE OF THE PANCHABHUTAS SO REVER THAT CHAKRA ABD ITS IMPORTANCE AND ITS ROLE IN AND CONNECTION TO OUR PHYSICAL, ETHERAL, CAUSAL BODIES.
SHE ALSO REPRESENTS OUR PINGALA NAADI, SO READ MORE ABOUT IT, THOSE INITIATED INTO SADHANAS DO EXTRA SADHANAS TO ACTIVATE, ENERGIZE AND MANIFEST THROUGH PINGALA NADI DURING THE NAVRATRI THROUGH MANTRA JAPA AND YOGA AND ABOVE MENTIONED VISUALISATION MEDITATION.
Here's Ganga Stotram by Jagadguru Adishankaracharya Bhagavatpaada
श्रीगङ्गास्तोत्रम्
देवि सुरेश्वरि भगवति गङ्गे त्रिभुवनतारिणि तरलतरङ्गे । शङ्करमौलिविहारिणि विमले मम मतिरास्तां तव पदकमले ॥ १॥ भागीरथि सुखदायिनि मातस्तव जलमहिमा निगमे ख्यातः । नाऽहं जाने तव महिमानं पाहि कृपामयि मामज्ञानम् ॥ २॥ हरिपदपाद्यतरङ्गिणि गङ्गे हिमविधुमुक्ताधवलतरङ्गे । दूरीकुरु मम दुष्कृतिभारं कुरु कृपया भवसागरपारम् ॥ ३॥ तव जलममलं येन निपीतं परमपदं खलु तेन गृहीतम् । मातर्गङ्गे त्वयि यो भक्तः किल तं द्रष्टुं न यमः शक्तः ॥ ४॥ पतितोद्धारिणि जाह्नवि गङ्गे खण्डितगिरिवरमण्डितभङ्गे । भीष्मजननि हे मुनिवरकन्ये पतितनिवारिणि त्रिभुवनधन्ये ॥ ५॥ कल्पलतामिव फलदाम् लोके प्रणमति यस्त्वां न पतति शोके । पारावारविहारिणि गङ्गे विमुखयुवतिकृततरलापाङ्गे ॥ ६॥ तव चेन्मातः स्रोतः स्नातः पुनरपि जठरे सोऽपि न जातः । नरकनिवारिणि जाह्नवि गङ्गे कलुषविनाशिनि महिमोत्तुङ्गे ॥ ७॥ पुनरसदङ्गे पुण्यतरङ्गे जय जय जाह्नवि करुणापाङ्गे । इन्द्रमुकुटमणिराजितचरणे सुखदे शुभदे भृत्यशरण्ये ॥ ८॥ रोगं शोकं तापं पापं हर मे भगवति कुमतिकलापम् । त्रिभुवनसारे वसुधाहारे त्वमसि गतिर्मम खलु संसारे ॥ ९॥ गतिर्मय अलकानन्दे परमानन्दे कुरु करुणामयि कातरवन्द्ये । तव तटनिकटे यस्य निवासः खलु वैकुण्ठे तस्य निवासः ॥ १०॥ वरमिह नीरे कमठो मीनः किं वा तीरे शरटः क्षीणः । अथवा श्वपचो मलिनो दीनस्तव न हि दूरे नृपतिकुलीनः ॥ ११॥ भो भुवनेश्वरि पुण्ये धन्ये देवि द्रवमयि मुनिवरकन्ये । गङ्गास्तवमिमममलं नित्यं पठति नरो यः स जयति सत्यम् ॥ १२॥ येषां हृदये गङ्गाभक्तिस्तेषां भवति सदा सुखमुक्तिः । मधुराकान्तापञ्झटिकाभिः परमानन्दकलितललिताभिः ॥ १३॥ गङ्गास्तोत्रमिदं भवसारं वाञ्छितफलदम् विमलं सारम् । शङ्करसेवकशङ्कररचितं पठति सुखीस्तव इति च समाप्तः ॥ १४॥ ॥ इति श्रीमच्छङ्कराचार्यविरचितं गङ्गास्तोत्रं सम्पूर्णम् ॥
Dattatreya Samaarambham Swaprakashananda Madhyamam Amritapadananda Paryantam
Vande Guruparamparaam
Adishankaracharya Samaarambham Manikanthan Annan Madhyamam Amritapadananda Paryantam
Vande Guruparamparaam
Lalitha Samrajyam Shaiva Kutumbam,
Srilalithadvaitam Eeva Jayate
Shankarah Deshika Me Sharanam
Namonamaha Gurupadukabhyam
Sarvadevah Namaskaraha Lalithaam Pratigachhati.
