1.
Hooghly River
–
The Hooghly River or the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly, called Ganga traditionally, is an approximately 260-kilometre-long distributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal, India. It splits from the Ganges as a canal in Murshidabad District at the Farakka Barrage, the town of Hugli-Chinsura, formerly Hooghly, is located on the river, in the Hooghly. The origins of the Hooghly name are uncertain, whether the city or the river was named first, the Farakka Barrage is a dam that diverts water from the Ganges into a canal near the town of Tildanga in Murshidabad district. This supplies the Hooghly with adequate water even in the dry season and it parallels the Ganges, past Dhulian, until just above Jahangirpur where the canal ends and the river takes its own course. Just south of Jahangirpur it leaves the Ganges area and flows south past Jiaganj Azimganj, Murshidabad, the river then flows south past Katwa, Navadwip and Kalna. At Kalna it originally formed the border between Nadia District and Hooghly District, and then further south between Hooghly District and North 24 Parganas District and it flows past Halisahar, Chinsurah, Serampore, and Kamarhati. Then just before entering the cities of Kolkata and Howrah. At Nurpur it enters an old channel of the Ganges and turns south to empty into the Bay of Bengal through the estuary of about 20 mi wide, two of its primary tributaries are Damodar and Rupnarayan. The tide runs rapidly on the Hooghly, and produces an example of the fluvial phenomenon known as a tidal bore. This consists of the head-wave of the tide, hemmed in where the estuary narrows suddenly into the river. It is felt as high up as Kolkata, and frequently destroys small boats, the difference from the lowest point of low-water in the dry season to the highest point of high-water in the rains is reported to be 20 ft 10 in. The greatest mean rise of tide, about 16 ft, takes place in March, April or May - with a declining range during the season to a mean of 10 ft. In its upper reaches the river is known as the Bhāgirathi. In 1974, the Farakka Barrage began diverting water into the Hooghly during the dry season so as to reduce the difficulties at Kolkatas port. Like the rest of the Ganges, the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly is considered sacred to Hindus, the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly river system is an essential lifeline for the people of West Bengal. It was through this river that the East India company sailed into Bengal and established their settlement, Calcutta. People from other such as the French, Dutch, Portuguese. The river provides a supply of water to the plain of West Bengal for irrigation
2.
Bhagirathi (film)
–
Bhagirathi is a 2012 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Baraguru Ramachandrappa. The film as Bhavana and Kishore in the role with Srinath, Tara, Hema Choudhury. The film is based on a folktale from North Karnataka, Kerege Haara, Bhagirathi dreams of a tank for her village and inspired by her, Maadevaraya, the son of Mallanagowda, convinces his father to construct one for the community. When Maadevaraya and Bhagirathi fall in love, class differences come in the way, but when they decide to end their lives, Mallanagowda is moved to solemnise their marriage on the tanks site. As fate would have it, the tank remains dry and the priest advises Mallanagowda to sacrifice of one of his daughters-in-law, on learning what has happened to his young wife, Maadevaraya ends his life in the tank. The album consists of six tracks, lyrics for which were written by Baraguru Ramachandrappa for music composed by V. Manohar, IBN Live reviewed the movie and said, Bhagirathi is a one time watch. The Hindu review the movie and said Bhagirathi - Bringing alive a Kannada folktale, the movie completed 100 days of show
3.
Ghat
–
As used in many parts of Northern South Asia, the term ghat refers to a series of steps leading down to a body of water, particularly a holy river. In Bengali-speaking regions, this set of stairs can lead down to something as small as a pond or as large as a major river, Ghats are the areas in holy riverside cities like Varanasi and Haridwar where stairs exist to reach the Ganges. It is also used for mountainous regions like the Western and Eastern Ghats, the word Ghat is explained by numerous Dravidian etymons such as Telugu katta and gattu Tamil kattu and Kannada gatta. This etymology was proposed by Burrow and endorsed by Mayrhofer and Asko Parpola, slavic languages have a word gat that means corduroy road, but it is not clear if it is related to ghat. The numerous significant ghats along the Ganges are known generally as the Varanasi ghats, in Madhya Pradesh in western India there are further significant ghats along the Narmada River. People who live on the steps are also called ghats, the word is also used in some places outside of the Indian subcontinent where there are Indian communities. For example, in George Town, Penang in Malaysia, the label Ghaut is used to identify the extensions of those streets which formerly ended in ghats before reclamation of the quayside, in both Penang and Singapore, there are areas named Dhoby Ghaut. In Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and Kannada, ghat is a used to identify a difficult passage over a mountain. One such passage is the Bhor Ghat that connects the towns Khopoli and Khandala, charmadi Ghat of Karnataka is also notable. In many cases, the term is used to refer to a mountain range itself, as in the Western Ghats, ghattam in Malayalam also refers to mountain ranges when used with the name of the ranges being addressed, while the passage road would be called as a churam. Temple tank Ghats of Varanasi, webpage at Varanasi official website
4.
Sanskrit
–
Sanskrit is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, a philosophical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and a literary language and lingua franca of ancient and medieval South Asia. As a result of transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia and parts of Central Asia, as one of the oldest Indo-European languages for which substantial written documentation exists, Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies. The body of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, philosophical, the compositions of Sanskrit were orally transmitted for much of its early history by methods of memorization of exceptional complexity, rigor, and fidelity. Thereafter, variants and derivatives of the Brahmi script came to be used, Sanskrit is today one of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which mandates the Indian government to develop the language. It continues to be used as a ceremonial language in Hindu religious rituals and Buddhist practice in the form of hymns. The Sanskrit verbal adjective sáṃskṛta- may be translated as refined, elaborated, as a term for refined or elaborated speech, the adjective appears only in Epic and Classical Sanskrit in the Manusmṛti and the Mahabharata. The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the language of the Rigveda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved, Classical Sanskrit is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini, around the fourth century BCE. Sanskrit, as defined by Pāṇini, evolved out of the earlier Vedic form, the present form of Vedic Sanskrit can be traced back to as early as the second millennium BCE. Scholars often distinguish Vedic Sanskrit and Classical or Pāṇinian Sanskrit as separate dialects, although they are quite similar, they differ in a number of essential points of phonology, vocabulary, grammar and syntax. Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, a collection of hymns, incantations and theological and religio-philosophical discussions in the Brahmanas. Modern linguists consider the metrical hymns of the Rigveda Samhita to be the earliest, for nearly 2000 years, Sanskrit was the language of a cultural order that exerted influence across South Asia, Inner Asia, Southeast Asia, and to a certain extent East Asia. A significant form of post-Vedic Sanskrit is found in the Sanskrit of Indian epic poetry—the Ramayana, the deviations from Pāṇini in the epics are generally considered to be on account of interference from Prakrits, or innovations, and not because they are pre-Paninian. Traditional Sanskrit scholars call such deviations ārṣa, meaning of the ṛṣis, in some contexts, there are also more prakritisms than in Classical Sanskrit proper. There were four principal dialects of classical Sanskrit, paścimottarī, madhyadeśī, pūrvi, the predecessors of the first three dialects are attested in Vedic Brāhmaṇas, of which the first one was regarded as the purest. In the 2001 Census of India,14,035 Indians reported Sanskrit to be their first language, in India, Sanskrit is among the 14 original languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The state of Uttarakhand in India has ruled Sanskrit as its official language. In October 2012 social activist Hemant Goswami filed a petition in the Punjab. More than 3,000 Sanskrit works have been composed since Indias independence in 1947, much of this work has been judged of high quality, in comparison to both classical Sanskrit literature and modern literature in other Indian languages
5.
Bhagiratha
–
Bhagiratha was a great king who brought the River Ganges, personified as the river goddess Ganga, to Earth from the heavens. When he was prince of Sagar Dynasty, he did penance for a years to gain the release his 60,000 great-uncles from the curse of saint in the Patala loka. Bhagiratha was the king of Kosala, a kingdom in ancient India and he was a descendent of the great King Sagara of the Suryavansha, or Surya Dynasty. He was one of the forefathers of Lord Rama, of the Ramayana and he lost his father when he was just a child, and was raised by his mother. Bhagiratha was very intelligent, virtuous and kind hearted, when he came of age, Bhagiratha ascended to the throne of the kingdom of Kosala, today located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He was a benevolent ruler who adhered to his duties as a king as prescribed by dharma, bringing Ganga back to Earth was a near impossible task and required many years to be spent in tapasya and prayer. The Kosala kings of successive generations could not do this while managing their duties as kings, as a result, the sins of the thousand princes multiplied in their destructive energy, and began resulting in natural disasters. The kingdom began to lose its peace and prosperity, and by the time Bhagiratha ascended the throne, Bhagiratha turned over the kingdom to his trusted ministers and set off to the Himalayas to perform an arduous tapasya in the extreme climate. For one thousand years, he performed an excruciatingly harsh penance to please Lord Brahma, at the end of the thousand years, Brahma was pleased and asked him for his wish. Bhagiratha asked Brahma to bring the river Ganges down to earth so that he may perform the ceremony for his ancestors, Brahma asked Bhagiratha to propitiate Lord Shiva, for only He is capable to break Gangas landfall. Ganga has a flow and it would have been impossible for anyone to contain the destructive impact of this event except Shiva. Bhagiratha performed a tapasya for Lord Shiva, living only on air, the compassionate Shiva appeared only after a years penance, and told Bhagiratha he should not have to perform tapasya to accomplish a noble goal such as this. He assured Bhagiratha that he would make Ganga fall on his matted locks, after aeons of being flattered and praised by the Devas, Ganga had become vain. She scoffed at Brahma when he asked her to flow down to earth, but Ganga was sure, as much as Bhagiratha was afraid that no one could stop her fall, which would devastate the earth for a long time. As she cascaded down from Swarga, Bhagiratha and celestial observers were terrified of the roar, but Lord Shiva appeared under the flow and captured all of Ganga in his jataa just before she fell on earth. Ganga came to the earth because of Bhagirathas efforts so Ganga is also called Bhagirathi, Ganga struggled to set herself free, but Shiva could not be budged. Bhagiratha worshipped Shiva, who let Ganga go free after crushing her vanity and she flowed in a destructive manner and destroyed Jhuhnu rishis ashram. This angered Jhuhnu and took Ganga as aposhanam, Bhagiratha again prayed for Jhuhnu to let out Ganga and Jhuhnu let her out
6.
India
–
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
7.
Uttarakhand
–
Uttarakhand, officially the State of Uttarakhand, formerly known as Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Devbhumi due to many Hindu temples, Uttarakhand is known for its natural beauty of the Himalayas, the Bhabhar and the Terai. On 9 November 2000, Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India, being created from the Himalayan, the state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon, with a total of 13 districts. The interim capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun, the largest city in the region, the High Court of the state is in Nainital. Archaeological evidence supports the existence of humans in the region since prehistoric times, the region formed a part of the Kuru and the Panchal kingdoms during the Vedic age of Ancient India. Among the first major dynasties of Kumaon were the Kunindas in the 2nd century BCE who practised a form of Shaivism. Ashokan edicts at Kalsi show the presence of Buddhism in this region. During the medieval period, the region was consolidated under the Kumaon Kingdom, in 1816, most of modern Uttarakhand was ceded to the British as part of the Treaty of Sugauli. The natives of the state are generally called Uttarakhandi, or more specifically either Garhwali or Kumaoni by their region of origin, according to the 2011 Census of India, Uttarakhand has a population of 10,116,752, making it the 19th most populous state in India. Uttarakhands name is derived from the Sanskrit words uttara meaning north, the name finds mention in early Hindu scriptures as the combined region of Kedarkhand and Manaskhand. Uttarakhand was also the ancient Puranic term for the stretch of the Indian Himalayas. Chosen for its allegedly less separatist connotations, the name change generated enormous controversy among many activists for a separate state who saw it as a political act, the name Uttarakhand remained popular in the region, even while Uttaranchal was promulgated through official usage. In August 2006, Union Cabinet of India assented to the demands of the Uttaranchal state assembly, legislation to that effect was passed by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly in October 2006, and the Union Cabinet brought in the bill in the winter session of Parliament. The bill was passed by Parliament and signed into law by then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in December 2006, and since January 1,2007 the state has been known as Uttarakhand. Ancient rock paintings, rock shelters, paleolithic stone tools, there are also archaeological remains which show the existence of early Vedic practices in the area. The Pauravas, Kushanas, Kunindas, Guptas, Gurjara-Pratihara, Katyuris, Raikas, Palas, Chands, Parmars or Panwars, at that time, present-day Uttarakhand also served as a habitat for Rishis and Sadhus. It is believed that the sage Vyasa scripted the Hindu epic Mahabharata in the state, among the first major dynasties of Garhwal and Kumaon were the Kunindas in the 2nd century BCE who practised an early form of Shaivism and traded salt with Western Tibet. It is evident from the Ashokan edict at Kalsi in Western Garhwal that Buddhism made inroads in this region, folk shamanic practices deviating from Hindu orthodoxy also persisted here
8.
Garhwal division
–
Garhwal, IPA, /ɡəɽʋːɔɭ/) is the northwestern region and administrative division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which is home to the Garhwali people. Lying in the Himalayas, it is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon region, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state and it includes the districts of Chamoli, Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal, and Uttarkashi. The people of Garhwal are known as Garhwali and speak the Garhwali language, the administrative center for Garhwal division is the town of Pauri. The Divisional Commissioner is the head of the Division, and is a senior Indian Administrative Service officer. Mr. Vinod Sharma, IAS is currently the Divisional Commissioner of the Garhwal Division, Garhwal is the land of many garh’ or forts. This region was made up of small forts which were ruled by chieftains. Therefore, the history of Garhwal before the rule of the ‘Panwar’ rulers is very obscure. Kanak Pal was the first ruler of the state of Garhwal in 823 AD, the Garhwal Himalayas appear to have been a favorite locale for the voluminous mythology of the Puranic period. The traditional name of Garhwal was Uttarakhand, excavations have revealed that it formed part of the Mauryan Empire. The earliest reference regarding Garhwal and its spots are cited in the Skanda Purana. Skanda Purana defines the boundaries and extend of this holy land and it also finds mention in the 7th-century travelogue of Huen Tsang. The history of Garhwal as a whole began in the 15th century. For 300 years, Garhwal remained one kingdom, with its capital at Srinagar, then Pauri and Dehradun were perforce ceded to the Crown as payment for British help, rendered to the Garhwalis during the Gurkha invasion, in the early 19th century. The earliest ruling dynasty of Garhwal known is of the Katyuris, the Katyuri Raja of Uttarakhand was styled Sri Basdeo Giriraj Chakara Churamani. The earliest traditions record that the possessions of Joshimath Katyuris in Garhwal extended from Satluj as far as Gandaki and from the snows to plains, including the whole of Rohilkhand. Tradition gives the origin of their Raj at Joshimath in the north near Badrinath and subsequent migration to Katyur Valley in Almora district, Katyuris ruled Uttarakhand up to the 11th century and in certain pockets even after their decline. In Garhwal their disruption brought into existence 52 independent chiefs, one of the important principalities in that period was that of Parmars, who held their sway over Chandpur Garhi or Fortress. Katyuris ruled Uttarakhand up to the 11th century and in certain pockets even after their decline, kanak Pal was progenitor of this dynasty
9.
Uttarkashi district
–
Uttarkashi District is a district of Garhwal division of the Uttarakhand state in northern India, and has its headquarters at Uttarkashi city. It has six Tehsils named after Barkot, Bhatwadi, Chinyali Saur, Dunda, Purola, Uttarkashi District town lies high in the Himalaya range, and the district contains the source of both the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, which attract thousands of Hindu pilgrims. The town lies on the route to Gangotri, has many Hindu temples. Purola Yamunotri Gangotri According to the 2011 census Uttarkashi district has a population of 329,686 and this gives it a ranking of 567th in India. The district has a density of 41 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 11. 75%, Uttarkashi has a sex ratio of 959 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 75. 98%. Bhaironghati is a settlement at the juncture of the Jadh Ganga. It is located in the Uttarkashi district of the Indian state Uttarakhand, set between the river banks, there is a rock called Jadh Ganga Gorge. This rock is located beneath a bridge of National Highway 108. The old ropes and moorings of the 1800s could be viewed here until the 1970s, official website Uttarkashi at Uttaranchal Tourism website
10.
Gangotri Glacier
–
Gangotri Glacier is located in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, India in a region bordering China. This glacier, one of the sources of the Ganges, is one of the largest in the Himalayas with an estimated volume of over 27 cubic kilometers. The glacier is about 30 kilometres long and 2 to 4 km wide, around the glacier are the peaks of the Gangotri Group, including several peaks notable for extremely challenging climbing routes, such as Shivling, Thalay Sagar, Meru, and Bhagirathi III. It flows roughly northwest, originating in a cirque below Chaukhamba, the terminus of the Gangotri Glacier is said to resemble a cows mouth, and the place is called Gomukh or Gaumukh. Gomukh, which is about 19 km from the town of Gangotri, is the source of the Bhagirathi river. Gomukh is situated near the base of Shivling, in between lies the Tapovan meadow, the Gangotri glacier is a traditional Hindu pilgrimage site. Devout Hindus consider bathing in the icy waters near Gangotri town to be a holy ritual, one needs to trek from Gangotri till Gaumukh, passing Devgadh, Chirbhasa, Bhojwasa en route. Currently accommodation is available only at Bhojwasa, although forest check posts are present at both Chirbhasa and Bhowasa, the 2013 North Indian Floods destroyed much of this trail, and access is now a little difficult beyond Chirbhasa due to trail deterioration and a 2 km wide rockfall site. It is a glacier, situated in the Uttarkashi district of Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand. This glacier is bound between 30°4322–30°5549 and 79°441–79°1634, extending in height from 4120 to 7000 m. a. s. l. This area is situated north of the Main Central Thrust and is made up of bedrocks of granites, garnet mica schist, quartz biotite schist, kyanite schist, augen gneiss and banded augen gneiss. All along the Gangotri glacier, several longitudinal and transverse crevasses are formed along which ice blocks have broken down, the ablation zone of the Gangotri glacier is covered by a thick pile of supraglacial moraines and is characterized by several ice sections, melting into pools of supraglacial lakes. Because of subsidence and the fast degenerating nature of the glacier, in this part of higher Himalaya, glacial melt-water dominates the fluvial system. The total ice cover is approximately 200 km² and has about 20 km³ of ice in volume, similarly the Seeta, Suralaya and Vasuki are the major tributaries which make up the Chaturangi system, while the Kirti system is made up of only three tributary glaciers. Besides these three major systems, some other tributary glaciers of this area drain directly into the Gangotri glacier, among them Swachand, Miandi, Sumeru. Four other glaciers, Maitri, Meru, Bhrigupanth and Manda drain into the river Bhagirathi, the total glacierized area of the catchment is 258.56 km², out of which the Gangotri system comprises 109.03 km², followed by Chaturangi, Raktvarn and Kirti. The remaining four glaciers contain 29.41 km² of glacierized area, according to them, the Gangotri glacier, currently 30.2 km long and between 0.5 and 2.5 km wide, is one of the largest in the Himalayas. This glacier has been receding since measurements began in 1780
11.
Gangotri
–
Gangotri is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bhagirathi and it is on the Greater Himalayan Range, at a height of 3,100 metres. According to popular Hindu legend, it was here that Goddess Ganga descended when Lord Shiva released the mighty river from the locks of his hair, Gangotri is located at 30. 98°N78. 93°E /30.98,78.93. Gangotri, the origin of the River Ganges and seat of the goddess Ganga, is one of the four sites in the Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit, the original Gangotri Temple was built by the Gurkha general Amar Singh Thapa. The river is called Bhagirathi at the source and acquires the name Ganga from Devprayag onwards where it meets the Alaknanda, the origin of the holy river is at Gaumukh, set in the Gangotri Glacier, and is a 19 km trek from Gangotri. Places to visit near the Gangotri Temple Bhagirath Shila is believed to be the rock where King Bhagirath prayed to Lord Shiva. Pandava Gufa, located 1.5 km from Gangotri, is the place where the Pandavas are believed to have meditated and rested en route Kailash, pilgrims will have to trek up to the Pandava Gufa. In the pilgrimage journey of Chota Char Dham, Gangotri is often visited after Yamunotri, pilgrims generally make Uttarkashi as their base camp. The time taken from Uttarkashi to Gangotri temple is about 4 hours by road, according to Hindu history, Goddess Ganga took the form of a river to absolve the sins of King Bhagirathas predecessors, following his severe penance of several centuries. According to this legend, King Sagara, after slaying the demons on earth decided to stage an Ashwamedha Yajna as a proclamation of his supremacy. The horse which was to be taken on a journey around the earth was to be accompanied by the Kings 60,000 sons born to Queen Sumati. The sons of the King Sagara searched for the horse and finally found it tied near the meditating sage, sixty thousand angry sons of King Sagara stormed the ashram of sage Kapil. When he opened his eyes, the 60,000 sons had all perished, as of 2001 India census, Gangotri had a population of 606. Males constitute 60% of the population and females 40%, Gangotri has an average literacy rate of 89%, male literacy is 91%, female literacy is 80%. In Gangotri, average age of the population is under 6 years of age, Gangotri National Park Harsil Yamuna Gangotri Temple Photos
12.
Alaknanda River
–
The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganga, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. Three km below Mana the Alaknanda flows past the Hindu pilgrimage centre of Badrinath and it meets the Bhagirathi River at Devprayag after flowing for approximately 190 km through the Alaknanda valley. Its main tributaries are the Mandakini, Nandakini, and Pindar rivers, the Alaknanda system drains parts of Chamoli, Tehri, and Pauri districts. Following the merging at Devprayag, the river is known as the Ganges, the Alaknanda contributes a significantly larger portion to the flow of the Ganges than the Bhagirathi. The Alaknanda is also known for sports such as rafting. In mythology, the Goddess Ganga descended to earth at Gangotri, the Alaknanda is believed to have split off from the celestial Ganges when it descended from heaven. The origin of Alaknanda River is of special interest to the tourists who visit the important pilgrimages in Uttarakhand, the Ganges rises in the southern Himalayas on the Indian side of the Tibet border. The five headstreams of the Ganges including the Bhagirathi, Mandakini, Alaknanda, Dhauliganga and Pindar, on the Satopanth Glacier six km up from Alaknandas origin at its snout, the triangular Lake Satopanth is found at a height of 4350 m. It and the glacier are named after the Hindu trinity Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, nanda Devi is the highest point in the Alaknanda basin. Badrinath, Badrinath, one of the destinations for Hindus in India is located near to the bank of the Alaknanda River. This place is surrounded by two ranges of Nar and Narayan and Neelkanth peak is located at the back side. Rafting Alaknanda River origin is of great interest for the tourists who visit the pilgrimages in Uttarakhand, rise of the Ganges in India is from the southern part of the Indian Himalaya, near the Tibet border. This river is among the best for river rafting in the due to its high rafting grade. Several rivers in the Garhwal region merge with the Alaknanda at Panch Prayag or holy confluence of rivers, HYDEL PROJECTS ON ALAKNANDA RIVER BASIN There are 23 other proposed projects in the ALAKNANDA RIVER BASIN through which the power-potential of the Alaknanda and its tributaries can be harnessed. At each town with suffix prayag, Alaknanda meets another river,2013 North India floods Alaknanda River Britannica. com Prayags at GMVN
13.
Ganges
–
The Ganges, also Ganga is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through the nations of India and Bangladesh. It is the third largest river in the world by discharge, the Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus. It is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and it is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism. It has also important historically, with many former provincial or imperial capitals located on its banks. The Ganges was ranked as the fifth most polluted river of the world in 2007, pollution threatens not only humans, but also more than 140 fish species,90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin. The levels of fecal coliform from human waste in the waters of the river near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian governments official limit. The main stem of the Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi, the Bhagirathi is considered to be the source in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer, and, therefore, hydrologically the source stream. The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snowmelt from such peaks as Nanda Devi, Trisul, although many small streams comprise the headwaters of the Ganges, the six longest and their five confluences are considered sacred. The six headstreams are the Alaknanda, Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini, the five confluences, known as the Panch Prayag, are all along the Alaknanda. After flowing 250 km through its narrow Himalayan valley, the Ganges emerges from the mountains at Rishikesh, the Ganges follows an 800 km arching course passing through the cities of Kannauj, Farukhabad, and Kanpur. Along the way it is joined by the Ramganga, which contributes an annual flow of about 500 m3/s. The Ganges joins the Yamuna at the Triveni Sangam at Allahabad, at their confluence the Yamuna is larger than the Ganges, contributing about 2,950 m3/s, or about 58. 5% of the combined flow. Now flowing east, the river meets the Tamsa River, which flows north from the Kaimur Range, after the Tamsa the Gomti River joins, flowing south from the Himalayas. The Gomti contributes an annual flow of about 234 m3/s. Then the Ghaghara River, also flowing south from the Himalayas of Nepal, the Ghaghara, with its average annual flow of about 2,990 m3/s, is the largest tributary of the Ganges. After the Ghaghara confluence the Ganges is joined from the south by the Son River, the Gandaki River, then the Kosi River, join from the north flowing from Nepal, contributing about 1,654 m3/s and 2,166 m3/s, respectively. The Kosi is the third largest tributary of the Ganges, after the Ghaghara and Yamuna. Along the way between Allahabad and Malda, West Bengal, the Ganges passes the towns of Chunar, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Patna, Bhagalpur, Ballia, Buxar, Simaria, Sultanganj, and Saidpur
14.
Devprayag
–
Traditionally, it is considered to be the place where sage Devasharma led his ascetic life, giving birth its present name, Devprayag. It is one of the five sacred confluences in the hills and is an important place of pilgrimage for devout Hindus, devaprayāga means Godly Confluence in Sanskrit. As per Hindu scriptures, Devaprayaga is the event of merging two heavenly rivers, Alakananda and Bhagirathi, to form the holy Ganges. On a terrace in the part of the village is the temple of Raghunathji, built of huge stones, pyramidal in form. Devprayag is the home of the late Acharya, Pt. Chakradhar Joshi who established Nakshatra Vedh Shala in the year 1946 and this is located on a mountain called Dashrathanchal at Devprayag. The observatory is equipped with two telescopes and many books to support research in astronomy. It also contains about 3000 manuscripts from 1677 AD onwards collected from parts of country. Apart from the latest equipment, it also has the ancient equipment like Surya Ghati, Shri Dr. Prabhakar Joshi and Acharya Shri Bhaskar Joshi are currently in charge and caretakers of the observatory. There are also the footprints of Lord Rama exist at Ram Kunda, Devprayag is surrounded by 3 Godly peaks, named Giddhanchal Parvat, Dashrathanchal Parvat, and Narsinghancal Parvat. Giddhanchal Parvat is on top of Raghunnath Ji temple, narsinghanchal Parvat is in front of Giddhanchal Parvat and Dashrathanchal Parvat is on top right side of Sangam. Lord Shiva is worshiped here in the form of Linga, named Tondeshwar Mahadev, Tondeshwar Mahadev is Just in front of Sangam. It is very crowded on the day of Mahashivratri, many devotees arrives here to donate Gangajal on Linga. Dhaneshwar Mahadev is in route on old Badrinath Way, starts from Bah Bajar, with this way devotees can reach at Just another temple of Maa Durga in Pundal Village. In this temple, Maa Durga is worshiped in Maa Bhuvneshwari form, the temple of Maa Bhuvneshwari is situated at Pundal village which is at footstep of approx 500-700mtrs from Dhaneshwar Temple. Mishras live here in Pundal village. Devprayag is divided into three parts, one is Bah Bazzar, second one is Beech Bajar and the third is Shanti Bazar, main bus stand of Devprayag. Devprayag is the home of priests of Badrinath, every Panda has his own region in whole country. These were Tetriya Krishna Yajur Brahmin, inspired by the wisdom of Brahmins, Maharaja of Garhwal assigned them to worship Lord Ram in Raghunath Temple in Devprayag. When these Brahmins arrived at Badrinath, they were worshiped by the pilgrims, since then, Brahmins are known as Panda in Dham and everywhere
15.
Himalayas
–
The Himalayas, or Himalaya, form a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The Himalayan range has the Earths highest peaks, including the highest, the Himalayas include over a hundred mountains exceeding 7,200 metres in elevation. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia – Aconcagua, in the Andes – is 6,961 metres tall. The Himalayas are spread across five countries, Bhutan, India, Nepal, China, the Himalayan range is bordered on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, on the north by the Tibetan Plateau, and on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Some of the major rivers, the Indus, the Ganges, and the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, rise in the Himalayas. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia, many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism. Lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate and its western anchor, Nanga Parbat, lies just south of the northernmost bend of Indus river. Its eastern anchor, Namcha Barwa, is just west of the bend of the Tsangpo river. The range varies in width from 400 kilometres in the west to 150 kilometres in the east, the name of the range derives from the Sanskrit Himā-laya, from himá and ā-laya. They are now known as the Himalaya Mountains, usually shortened to the Himalayas, formerly, they were described in the singular as the Himalaya. This was also previously transcribed Himmaleh, as in Emily Dickinsons poetry and Henry David Thoreaus essays. The mountains are known as the Himālaya in Nepali and Hindi, the Himalaya or The Land of Snow in Tibetan, the Hamaleh Mountain Range in Urdu, the flora and fauna of the Himalayas vary with climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice, the amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range. This diversity of altitude, rainfall and soil conditions combined with the high snow line supports a variety of distinct plant. The extremes of high altitude combined with extreme cold favor extremophile organisms, the unique floral and faunal wealth of the Himalayas is undergoing structural and compositional changes due to climate change. The increase in temperature is shifting various species to higher elevations, the oak forest is being invaded by pine forests in the Garhwal Himalayan region. There are reports of early flowering and fruiting in some species, especially rhododendron, apple. The highest known tree species in the Himalayas is Juniperus tibetica located at 4,900 metres in Southeastern Tibet, the Himalayan range is one of the youngest mountain ranges on the planet and consists mostly of uplifted sedimentary and metamorphic rock
16.
River source
–
The source or headwaters of a river or stream is the furthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. As an example of the definition above, the USGS at times considers the Missouri River as a tributary of the Mississippi River. But it also follows the first definition above in using the combined Missouri - lower Mississippi length figure in lists of lengths of rivers around the world. This definition, from geographer Andrew Johnston of the Smithsonian Institution, is used by the National Geographic Society when pinpointing the source of rivers such as the Amazon or Nile. A definition given by the state of Montana agrees, stating that a source is never a confluence but is in a location that is the farthest, along water miles. Under this definition neither a lake nor a confluence of tributaries can be a river source. Likewise, the source of the Amazon River has been determined this way, when not listing river lengths, however, alternative definitions may be used. In the case of the Missouri River, Lewis and Clark would have had to travel to the east. to reach the source. Sometimes the source of the most remote tributary may be in an area that is more marsh-like, for example, the source of the River Tees is marshland. The furthest stream is often called the headstream. Headwaters are often small streams with cool waters because of shade and they may also be glacial headwaters, waters formed by the melting of glacial ice. Headwater areas are the areas of a watershed, as opposed to the outflow or discharge of a watershed. The river source is often but not always on or quite near the edge of the watershed, for example, the source of the Colorado River is at the Continental Divide separating the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean watersheds of North America. A river is considered a geographic feature, with only one mouth. For an example, note how the Mississippi River and Missouri River sources are officially defined, U. S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, Mississippi River, Length,2,340 miles, Source, 47°14′22″N 95°12′29″W U. S. For example, The River Thames rises in Gloucestershire, the White Nile rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa. The word source, when applied to lakes rather than rivers or streams, refers to the lakes inflow
17.
Hinduism
–
Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
18.
Bhagirathi River
–
The Bhāgīrathī is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian states of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In Hindu mythology and culture, the Bhagirathi is considered the source stream of the Ganges, however, in hydrology, the other headstream, Alaknanda, is considered the source stream on account of its great length and discharge. Bhagiratha was the king of Kosala, a kingdom in ancient India and he was a descendent of the great King Sagara of the Suryavanshi, or Surya Dynasty. He was one of the forefathers of Lord Rama, of the Ramayana, the headwaters of the Bhagirathi are formed at Gaumukh, at the foot of the Gangotri glacier and Khatling glaciers in the Garhwal Himalaya. The Bhilangna itself rises at the foot of the Khatling Glacier approximately 50 km south of Gaumukh, the river flows from its source for 205 km before meeting the Alaknanda River at an elevation of 475 m in the town of Devprayag. Downstream of this confluence, considered holy by Hindus, the river is known as the Ganga Ji, the controversial Tehri dam lies at the confluence of the Bhāgirathi and the Bhilangna, at 30°22′32″N 78°28′48″E, near Tehri. Chaukhamba I is the highest point of the Bhagirathi basin, there are 18 dams along the Bhāgirathi River, either in operation, under construction or planned. These are, in order from the source, Wilson, W, a summer ramble in the Himalayas, with sporting adventures in the Vale of Cashmere. Through the Valley of Gods, Travels in the Central Himalayas
19.
Hydrology
–
Hydrology is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist, working within the fields of earth or environmental science, physical geography, geology or civil, Hydrology subdivides into surface water hydrology, groundwater hydrology, and marine hydrology. Domains of hydrology include hydrometeorology, surface hydrology, hydrogeology, drainage-basin management and water quality, oceanography and meteorology are not included because water is only one of many important aspects within those fields. Hydrological research can inform environmental engineering, policy and planning, the term hydrology comes from Greek, ὕδωρ, hýdōr, water, and λόγος, lógos, study. Chemical hydrology is the study of the characteristics of water. Ecohydrology is the study of interactions between organisms and the hydrologic cycle, hydrogeology is the study of the presence and movement of groundwater. Hydroinformatics is the adaptation of technology to hydrology and water resources applications. Hydrometeorology is the study of the transfer of water and energy between land and water surfaces and the lower atmosphere. Isotope hydrology is the study of the signatures of water. Surface hydrology is the study of processes that operate at or near Earths surface. Drainage basin management covers water-storage, in the form of reservoirs, water quality includes the chemistry of water in rivers and lakes, both of pollutants and natural solutes. Determining the water balance of a region, mitigating and predicting flood, landslide and drought risk. Real-time flood forecasting and flood warning, designing irrigation schemes and managing agricultural productivity. Part of the module in catastrophe modeling. Designing dams for water supply or hydroelectric power generation, designing sewers and urban drainage system. Analyzing the impacts of antecedent moisture on sanitary sewer systems, predicting geomorphologic changes, such as erosion or sedimentation. Assessing the impacts of natural and anthropogenic environmental change on water resources, assessing contaminant transport risk and establishing environmental policy guidelines. Hydrology has been a subject of investigation and engineering for millennia, for example, about 4000 BC the Nile was dammed to improve agricultural productivity of previously barren lands
20.
Mythology
–
Mythology refers variously to the collected myths of a group of people or to the study of such myths. Myths are the people tell to explain nature, history. Myth is a feature of every culture, mythologizing continues, as shown in contemporary mythopoeia such as urban legends and the expansive fictional mythoi created by fantasy novels and comics. A cultures collective mythology helps convey belonging, shared and religious experiences, behavioral models, the study of myth began in ancient history. Rival classes of the Greek myths by Euhemerus, Plato and Sallustius were developed by the Neoplatonists, the nineteenth-century comparative mythology reinterpreted myth as a primitive and failed counterpart of science, a disease of language, or a misinterpretation of magical ritual. Recent approaches often view myths as manifestations of psychological, cultural, or societal truths, the term mythology predates the word myth by centuries. It first appeared in the fifteenth-century, borrowed from the Middle French term mythologie, the word mythology, comes from Middle French mythologie, from Late Latin mythologia, from Greek μυθολογία mythología from μῦθος mythos and -λογία -logia. The word mythología appears in Plato, but was used as a term for fiction or story-telling of any kind, combining mỹthos. From Lydgate until the seventeenth or eighteenth-century, mythology was similarly used to mean a moral, fable, from its earliest use in reference to a collection of traditional stories or beliefs, mythology implied the falsehood of the stories being described. It came to be applied by analogy with similar bodies of traditional stories among other cultures around the world. The Greek loanword mythos and Latinate mythus both appeared in English before the first example of myth in 1830, in present use, mythology usually refers to the collected myths of a group of people, but may also mean the study of such myths. For example, Greek mythology, Roman mythology and Hittite mythology all describe the body of myths retold among those cultures, dundes defined myth as a sacred narrative that explains how the world and humanity evolved into their present form. Lincoln defined myth as ideology in narrative form, scholars in other fields use the term myth in varied ways. In a broad sense, the word can refer to any traditional story, due to this pejorative sense, some scholars opted for the term mythos. Its use was similarly pejorative and now commonly refers to its Aristotelian sense as a plot point or to a collective mythology. The term is distinguished from didactic literature such as fables. Main characters in myths are usually gods, demigods or supernatural humans, however, many exceptions or combinations exist, as in the Iliad, Odyssey and Aeneid. Myths are often endorsed by rulers and priests and are linked to religion or spirituality
21.
Kapila
–
Kapila is a given name of different individuals in ancient and medieval Indian texts, of which the most well-known is the founder of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. Kapila of Samkhya fame is considered a Vedic sage, estimated to have lived in the 6th-century BCE, rishi Kapila is credited with authoring the influential Samkhya-sutra, in which aphoristic sutras present the dualistic philosophy of Samkhya. Kapilas influence on Buddha and Buddhism have long been the subject of scholarly studies, many historic personalities in Hinduism and Jainism, mythical figures, pilgrimage sites in Indian religion, as well as an ancient variety of cow went by the name Kapila. The name Kapila appears in texts, and it is likely that these names refer to different people. The most famous reference is to the sage Kapila with his student Āsuri, while he pre-dates Buddha, it is unclear which century he lived in, with some suggesting 6th-century BCE. Others place him in the 7th century BCE and this places him in the late Vedic period, and he has been called a Vedic sage. Kapila is credited with authoring an influential sutra, called Samkhya-sutra and these sutras were explained in another well studied text of Hinduism called the Samkhyakarika. Beyond the Samkhya theories, he appears in many dialogues of Hindu texts, the name Kapila is used for many individuals in Hinduism, few of which may refer to the same person. The term Kapileya, meaning clans of Kapila, occurs in the Aitareya Brahmana VII.17, the pariśiṣṭa of the Atharvaveda mentions Kapila, Āsuri and Pañcaśikha in connection with a libation ritual for whom tarpana is to be offered. In verse 5.2 of Shvetashvatara Upanishad, states Larson, tam agre. which when compared to other verses of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad Kapila likely construes to Rudra and Hiranyagarbha. Kapila, states George Williams, lived long before the composition of the Epics and the Puranas, Kapila and hermits then went to Kapilasangama, a holy place where rivers meet. The Brahma Purana also mentions Kapila in the context of Sagaras 60,000 sons who looking for their Ashvamedha horse and he woke up, the brilliance in his eyes burnt all but four of Sagaras sons to ashes, leaving few survivors carrying on the family lineage. As Vishnus incarnation, The Narada Purana enumerates two Kapilas, one as the incarnation of Brahma and another as the incarnation of Vishnu, the Puranas Bhagavata, Brahmanda, Vishnu, Padma, Skanda, Narada Purana, and the Valmiki Ramayana mentions Kapila is an incarnation of Vishnu. The Padma Purana and Skanda Purana conclusively call him Vishnu himself who descended on earth to disseminate true knowledge, Bhagavata Purana calls him Vedagarbha Vishnu. The Vishnusahasranama mentions Kapila as a name of Vishnu, in his commentary on the Sankyasutra, Vijnanabhikshu mentions Kapila, the founder of Sankya system, is Vishnu. As son of Kardama muni, The Book 3 of the Bhagavata Purana, states Kapila was the son of Kardama Prajapati, Kardama was born from Chaya, the reflection of Brahma. Vishnu advises Kardama to marry Devahuti, and blesses Kardama that he himself will be born as his son. H. H. Wilson notes the Bhagavatha adds a third daughter Devahuti to introduce the long legend of Kardama, and of their son Kapila, in the Bhagavata Purana, Kapila presents to his mother Devahuti, the philosophy of yoga and theistic dualism
22.
Ganges in Hinduism
–
In Hinduism, the river Ganga is considered sacred and is personified as a goddess Gaṅgā. It is worshipped by Hindus who believe bathing in the river causes the remission of sins. Pilgrims immerse the ashes of their kin in the Ganga, which is considered by them to bring the spirits closer to moksha, Moksha, however, is not an aim to strive for, as Hindus believe in the everlasting cycle of life and death. Several places sacred to Hindus lie along the banks of the Ganges, including Gangotri, Haridwar, Allahabad, during the Loy Krathong festival in Thailand, candlelit floats are released into waterways to honour Gautama Buddha and goddess Ganga for good fortune and washing away sins. Many religious people bathe in the Ganga as it is believed that it cleans the body as well as the mind from past and present lives, Bhagavata Purana depicts the birth of the narmad. According to Bhagavata Purana, Lord Vishnu in one of his incarnations, then in order to measure the universe, he extended his left foot to the end of the universe and pierced a hole in its covering with the nail of his big toe. Through the hole, the water of the Causal Ocean entered this universe as the Ganga River. Having washed the feet of the Lord, which are covered with reddish saffron. Then, the river Ganga was released from Lord Shiva s hair to meet the needs of the according to Hindu mythology. In other legends, Himavan fathered Parvati and Ganga, several years later, a king named Sagara magically acquired sixty thousand sons. One day, King Sagara performed a ritual of worship for the good of the kingdom, One of the integral parts of the ritual was a horse, which was stolen by the jealous Indra. Sagara sent all his sons all over the earth to search for the horse and they found it in the nether-world next to a meditating sage Kapil tied by Lord Indra. Believing that the sage had stolen the horse, they hurled insults at him, the sage opened his eyes for the first time in several years and looked at the sons of Sagara. With this glance, all sixty thousand were burnt to death, the souls of the sons of Sagara wandered as ghosts since their final rites had not been performed. For the moksha of all the sons of Sagar, Anshuman started to pray Brahma to bring Ganga to the earth till the end of his life, then his son Dilip did the same but did not succeed. When Bhagiratha, one of the descendants of Sagara, son of Dilip, learnt of this fate, he vowed to bring Ganga down to Earth so that her waters could cleanse their souls, Bhagiratha prayed to Brahma that Ganga come down to Earth. Brahma agreed and he ordered Ganga to go down to the Earth, Ganga felt that this was insulting and decided to sweep the whole Earth away as she fell from the heavens. Alarmed, Bhagiratha prayed to Shiva that he break up Gangas descent, Ganga arrogantly fell on Shivas head
23.
Kosala
–
Kosala was an ancient Indian kingdom, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh. It emerged as a state during the late Vedic period. However, it was weakened by a series of wars with the neighbouring kingdom of Magadha and. The Kosala region had three cities, Ayodhya, Saket and Shravasti, and a number of minor towns as Setavya, Ukattha, Dandakappa, Nalakapana. According to the Puranas and the Ramayana epic, Ayodhya was the capital of Kosala during the reign of Ikshvaku, Shravasti is recorded as the capital of Kosala during the Mahajanapada period, but post-Maurya kings issued their coins from Ayodhya. The mention of Kosala is not found in the early Vedic literature and it is mentioned as a region in the later Vedic texts of the Satapatha Brahmana and the Kalpasutras. In the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas the ruling family of the Kosala kingdom was descended from king Ikshvaku, the Puranas give lists of kings of the Aikhsvaka dynasty from Ikshvaku to Presenajit Dhaka. According to the Ramayana, Rama ruled the Kosala kingdom from his capital, a Buddhist text, the Majjhima Nikaya mentions Buddha as a Kosalan and Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism taught in Kosala. In the time of king Mahakosala, the neighboring kingdom of Kashi had become an integral part of the Kosala kingdom. Mahakosala was succeeded by his son Pasenadi and he was a follower of Buddha. During his absence from the capital, his minister Digha Charayana raised his son Vidudabha Virudhaka to the throne, not much later, the Kosala kingdom was absorbed into its expanding neighbor, the Magadha kingdom. The Ikshvakus were the clan of Kosala. They were defeated by Ajatashatru of the Haryanka dynasty and it is assumed that during the Mauryan reign, Kosala was administratively under the viceroy at Kaushambi. The Sohgaura copper plate inscription, probably issued during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya deals with a famine in Shravasti, the Yuga Purana section of the Garga Samhita mentions about the Yavana invasion and subsequent occupation of Saket during the reign of the last Maurya ruler Brihadratha. The names of a number of rulers of Kosala of the period are known from the square copper coins issued by them. The rulers are, Muladeva, Vayudeva, Vishakhadeva, Dhanadeva, there is no way to know whether king Muladeva of the coins is identifiable with Muladeva, murderer of the Shunga ruler Vasumitra or not. King Dhanadeva of the coins is identified with king Dhanadeva of Ayodhya inscription, in this Sanskrit inscription, King Kaushikiputra Dhanadeva mentions about setting a ketana in memory of his father, Phalgudeva. In this inscription he claimed himself as the sixth in descent from Pushyamitra Shunga, Dhanadeva issued both cast and die-struck coins and both the types have a bull on obverse
24.
Mahajanapada
–
A Mahājanapada is one of the sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth centuries BCE to fourth centuries BCE. Two of them were most probably ganas i. e. republics, the 6th century BCE is often regarded as a major turning point in early Indian history. Archaeologically, this corresponds in part to the Northern Black Polished Ware culture. The term Janapada literally means the foothold of a tribe, the fact that Janapada is derived from Jana points to an early stage of land-taking by the Jana tribe for a settled way of life. This process of first settlement on land had completed its final stage prior to the times of the Buddha, the Pre-Buddhist north-west region of the Indian sub-continent was divided into several Janapadas demarcated from each other by boundaries. In Pāṇinis Ashtadhyayi, Janapada stands for country and Janapadin for its citizenry, each of these Janapadas was named after the Kshatriya tribe who had settled therein. Buddhist and other texts only incidentally refer to sixteen great nations which were in existence before the time of the Buddha and they do not give any connected history except in the case of Magadha. He omits the nations from Uttarapatha like the Kamboja and Gandhara, the more extended horizon of the Bhagvati and the omission of all countries from Uttarapatha clearly shows that the Bhagvati list is of later origin and therefore less reliable. The first reference to the Angas is found in the Atharva-Veda where they find mention along with the Magadhas, Gandharis, the Jaina Prajnapana ranks Angas and Vangas in the first group of Aryan people. It mentions the cities of ancient India. It was also a center of trade and commerce and its merchants regularly sailed to distant Suvarnabhumi. Anga was annexed by Magadha in the time of Bimbisara and this was the one and only conquest of Bimbisara. The Country of Assaka or the Ashmaka tribe was located in Dakshinapatha or southern India, in Buddhas time, the Assakas were located on the banks of the river Godavari. The capital of the Assakas was Potana or Potali, which corresponds to Paudanya of Mahabharata, the Ashmakas are also mentioned by Pāṇini. They are placed in the north-west in the Markendeya Purana and the Brhat Samhita, the river Godavari separated the country of the Assakas from that of the Mulakas. The commentator of Kautiliyas Arthashastra identifies Ashmaka with Maharashtra, the country of Assaka lay outside the pale of Madhyadesa. It was located on a high road, the Dakshinapatha. At one time, Assaka included Mulaka and abutted Avanti, the country of the Avantis was an important kingdom of western India and was one of the four great monarchies in India in the post era of Mahavira and Buddha
25.
Suryavansha
–
The Genealogy of Rama is found in Book IV of Vishnu Purana, the Shrimad Bhagavatam and the Brahma Purana. Chapter 1 of Vishnupurana mentions that Brahma created Daksha out of his thumb, Daksha had a daughter Aditi, who was mother of Sun. From the Sun was born Manu, since the Sun-god was Manus father, his lineage came to be known as the Suryavansha. Manu had many sons of whom 50 perished quarreling with one another, ten sons survived, one of whom was Ikshvaku. The Brahma PuranaChapters 7 and 8) provides details on Manus 10 sons and their descendants as follows and his son was first a Kshatriya and then became a Vaishya. Saryati - He had twins, Anarta and Sukanya, anartas country was Anarta with Kushasthali as its capital. Anartas son was Raiva and grandson was Raivata, kakudmin returned after a few Yugas to Kushasthali and found it changed to Dvaravati, ruled by Yadavas. He gave his daughter Revati in marriage to Baladeva and retired to asceticm, Narishyanta - Narishyanta had a son named Yama and grandson named Dhandhara. Pransu - Pransus son was Prajapai, Nabhaga - He had a son named Ambirasa who was first Kshatriya and then became Vaishya. Nideshta Karusha - His sons Karushas became Kshatriyas, prishadhra - He hurt his teachers cow and hence was cursed to become a Shudra. Manu also had a child named Ila who gave birth to Pururavas after intercourse with Budha, Pururavas was the first king of Aila dynasty or the Somavamsha/Chandravansha. Rama was born in Ikshvakus line, the lineage from Ikshvaku to Rama is as follows, Ikshwaku - Manus successor was the founder of the Ikshvaku dynasty. Ikshwaku fathered 101 children of whom most illustrious were Vikukshi, Nimi, Ikshvakus 50 children were protector of northern countries while 48 were prince of southern countries. Nimi was ruler of Mithila region and started the kingdom of Janaka, after death of Ikshwaku, his son Sasada succeeded him. According to Jain sources, Ikshvaku was Rushabdev, Sasada - Named Vikuksi at birth, he was called Sasada after eating Hare-meat meant for a rite himself. Though abandoned by Ikshvaku, he became the successor due to Vasistha, Vikuksi had 500 sons who guarded northern regions led by Shakuni and 58 sons who guarded southern regions led by Visati. The Brahma Purana says Sasadas son was Kakutstha and Kakutsthas son was Prithu, however, Vishnu Purana says Sasadas son was Puranjaya and Puranjayas son was Prithu. From Puranjaya / Kakutstha and Prithu the lineage is as follows, Puranjaya, kuvalaysva - He defeated demon Asura Dhundu
26.
Rama
–
Ram or Srī Rāmachandra is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu. He is the figure of the Hindu epic Ramayana, which is the principal narration of the events connected to his incarnation on Earth, his ideals. Rama is one of the deities in Hinduism and especially of the various sects of Vaishnavism. Religious texts and scriptures based on his life have been a component in numerous cultures of South Asia. Along with Krishna, Rama is considered to be one of the most important avatars of Vishnu, in Rama-centric sects, he is considered the Supreme Being, rather than an avatar. His wife Sita is considered by Hindus to be an avatar of Lakshmi, Rama and his brothers Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna were the chaturvyuha expansions of Vishnu. Ramas life and journey is one of adherence to dharma despite harsh tests and obstacles and many pains of life, for the sake of his fathers honour, Rama abandons his claim to Ayodhyas throne to serve an exile of fourteen years in the forest. His wife Sita and brother Lakshmana decide to join him and all three spend the fourteen years in exile together, while in exile, Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, the king of Lanka. After a long and arduous search, Rama fights a colossal war against Ravanas armies, in a war of powerful and magical beings, greatly destructive weaponry, and huge battles, Rama slays Ravana in battle and liberates his wife. Having completed his exile, Rama returns to be crowned king in Ayodhya and eventually becomes emperor, He rules with happiness, peace, duty, prosperity, and justice, a period known as Rama Rajya. The legend of Rama is deeply influential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcontinent, Rama is revered for his unending compassion, courage, and devotion to religious values and duty. The deity Hanuman declared Rama to be a supreme being, and said that, by constant remembrance of Lord Rama, the name Rama appears repeatedly in Hindu scriptures. Besides the name of the protagonist of the Ramayana, the name is given to other heroes including Parashurama and Balarama. In the Vishnu sahasranama, Rama is the 394th name of Vishnu, in Sanskrit, the word Rama means charming. It is commonly given as a name to male children in India, additionally, the tales of Rama are reverently spoken of in the Mahabharata. The earliest documentation of Rama in Buddhism is in the Buddhist text of Dasharatha Jataka, the epic had many versions across Indias regions. However, other scriptures in Sanskrit also reflect the life of Ramayana, the followers of Madhvacharya believe that an older version of the Ramayana, the mula-Ramayana, previously existed. They consider it to have been more authoritative than the version by Valmiki, another important shortened version of the epic in Sanskrit is the Adhyatma Ramayana
27.
Ramayana
–
The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic poem which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. Along with the Mahabharata, it forms the Sanskrit Itihasa, the Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It consists of nearly 24,000 verses, divided into seven Kandas, in Hindu tradition, it is considered to be the adi-kavya. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife. The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Hindu life, like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is not just a story, it presents the teachings of ancient Hindu sages in narrative allegory, interspersing philosophical and ethical elements. The name Ramayana is a compound of the name Rāma and ayana. According to Hindu tradition—and according to the Ramayana itself—the epic belongs to the genre of itihasa like Mahabharata, the definition of itihāsa is a narrative of past events which includes teachings on the goals of human life. According to Hindu tradition, Ramayana takes place during a period of known as Treta Yuga. In its extant form, Valmikis Ramayana is a poem of some 24,000 verses. The text survives in several thousand partial and complete manuscripts, the oldest of which is a manuscript found in Nepal. A Times of India report dated 18 December 2015 informs about discovery of a 6th-century manuscript of the Ramayana at the Asiatic Society library, the Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions and subrecensions. Goldman differentiates two major regional recensions, the northern and the southern, scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind. There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last chapters of Valmikis Ramayana were composed by the original author. Most Hindus still believe they are parts of the book, in spite of some style differences. Some cultural evidence, such as the presence of sati in Mahabharata but not in the body of Ramayana. By tradition, the text belongs to the Treta Yuga, second of the four eons of Hindu chronology, Rama is said to have been born in the Treta yuga to king Dasharatha in the Ikshvaku dynasty. The names of the characters are all known in late Vedic literature, however, nowhere in the surviving Vedic poetry is there a story similar to the Ramayana of Valmiki. Also, in the epic Mahabharata, there is a version of Ramayana known as Ramopakhyana and this version is depicted as a narration to Yudhishthira
28.
Tributary
–
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean, tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean. A confluence, where two or more bodies of water together, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary, a river or stream that branches off from, distributaries are most often found in river deltas. Right tributary and left tributary are terms stating the orientation of the relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from the perspective of looking downstream, where tributaries have the same name as the river into which they feed, they are called forks. These are typically designated by compass direction, for example, the American River receives flow from its North, Middle, and South forks. The Chicago Rivers North Branch has the East, West, and Middle Fork, the South Branch has its South Fork, forks are sometimes designated as right or left. Here, the handedness is from the point of view of an observer facing upstream, for instance, Steer Creek has a left tributary which is called Right Fork Steer Creek. Tributaries are sometimes listed starting with those nearest to the source of the river, the Strahler Stream Order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third, and higher orders, with the first-order tributary being typically the least in size. For example, a second-order tributary would be the result of two or more first-order tributaries combining to form the second-order tributary, another method is to list tributaries from mouth to source, in the form of a tree structure, stored as a tree data structure
29.
Harsil
–
Harsil is a village and a cantonment area on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, on the way to the Hindu pilgrimage, Gangotri, in Uttarkashi district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand ). Situated at a height of 7,860 ft from sea level, Harsil lies 73 km. from Uttarkashi, and 30 km away from Harsil lies the Gangotri National Park, spread over 1,553 square km. The Horns of Harsil Over the years, a number of Jadhs, an ethnic group of the Bhotiyas, have settled here. The idol of the Hindu River Goddess Ganga is brought down from the shrine at Gangotri in the upper Himalayas after Diwali and it remains there throughout the winter when Gangotri is snowbound and inaccessible. A detachment of the Defence Agricultural Research Laboratory run by the Defence Research, Harsil was popular for the legend of ‘Pahari’ Wilson, or Raja Wilson. Frederick E. Wilson, an adventurer, deserted the British Army just after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and he escaped into Garhwal and met the Raja of Tehri seeking refuge. But the Raja was faithful to the British and refused to accommodate Wilson, Wilson moved into the mountains to escape detection. Fate landed him in Harsil, a beautiful village on the banks of the Bhagirathi river. Wilson married a very beautiful girl by the name of Gulabi. Then Wilson entered into a contract with a London-based company and built a fortune out of the export of skins, fur and this was the time the British were building the Railways in India and there was great demand for quality wooden sleepers for the rails. Wilson cashed in on this and sent huge cut deodar trees floating down the river to the plains, initially, Wilson had not taken permission from the Raja of Tehri-Garhwal for his logging business. But later, he acquired a lease from the Raja, giving him a share in the profits and it is said that the revenue of the Raja of Tehri went up tenfold. Little wonder that Wilson was a welcome guest and it is said that in course of time, Raja Wilson, as he was known by then, minted his own currency and as late as the 1930s, his coins were found with the local people. Raja Wilson seemed to have been a sort of architect and built, what is today as Wilson’s Cottage. He also built the Charlieville Hotel in the station of Mussoorie. According to journalists Hugh & Colleen Gantzer, Wilson built a mansion in the village of Harsil on a deodar trunk frame filled with roughly dressed stones. But the ghost part of Wilson, comes with his building a bridge across the Bhagirathi. Wilson’s bridge has long collapsed, but traces of it still remain
30.
Uttarkashi
–
Uttarkashi, meaning Kashi of the north, is a town in Uttarakhand, India. It is the headquarters of Uttarkashi district. Uttarkashi is situated on the banks of river Bhagirathi at an altitude of 1158 m above sea level, Uttarkashi is home to a number of ashrams and temples and also to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. The name of the town reflects its similarity to and location the city of Kashi, Uttarkashi is located at 30. 73°N78. 45°E /30.73,78.45. It has an elevation of 1,165 metres. Most of the terrain is hilly, there are many small and big rivers in Uttarkashi district. The Yamuna and the Ganges are biggest and holiest among them, asi ganga and jad ganga are some of the tributaries of the Ganges. Uttarkashi means the Kashi of North and is known as Somya Kashi. Uttarkashi is a religious place for tourism. It has also become famous among adventurous people due to the scope of various adventurous activities, Uttarkashi town is also called as Shivnagri. Uttarkashi town has number of temples and ashrams, Uttarkashi is known for its religious people, weather, education and fashion. As of 2001 India census, Uttarkashi town had a population of 16,220, males constitute 57% of the population and females 43%. Uttarkashi has an literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59. 5%. Male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 71%, in Uttarkashi, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Most citizens of Uttarkashi are Garhwali, with numbers of Punjabi, Kumaoni. It also has a significant population of the Bhotiya Jadh people, People of Uttarkashi speak Hindi and Garhwali. After Varunawat Landslide in 2003, the rate of increase in population of the town was affected due to the migration of people to other towns, as the time passed, the town boomed with the development and population growth. But the town was severely affected by the flood in 2012 and 2013 disaster. This made most of the People to shift to the safer places like Dehradun
31.
Tehri
–
Tehri is a city and a municipal board in Tehri Garhwal District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the seat of Tehri Garhwal District. This urban municipality area has 14 wards, from Vasant Vihar to Vishwakarma Puram, umesh Charan Gusain is Chairman of Nagar Palika New Tehri. He won this position as an independent candidate, defeating the Indian National Congress candidate and he is the only Chairman who won this seat two times consecutively in 61 years. Tehri now comes under the Tehri assembly seat of Uttrakhand and the Tehri Lok Sabha seat of India, the old town of Tehri sat at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Bhilangna rivers. Tehri was the capital of the state of Tehri Garhwal in British India, which had an area of 4,180 square miles. It adjoined the district of Garhwal, and its features were similar. It contained the sources of both the Ganges and the Yamuna, which are visited by thousands of Hindu pilgrims, in the eighteenth century the ships of the East India Company would call at the port city of Tehri. Construction of the Tehri Dam totally submerged the old town of Tehri, the town is famous as the site of protests against the dam by Sundarlal Bahuguna and his followers during the Chipko movement. As of 2001 India census, Tehri had a population of 25,425, males constitute 65% of the population and females 35%. Tehri has an literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59. 5%, male literacy is 81%. In Tehri, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age, the most visited places that are actively maintained are Devi Kunjapuri Temple, Chandrabadani Devi, Shri Adinath Digambar Jain Mandir, Mahasar Taal, Sehstra Taal, and Khatling Glacier. Some areas of Tehri are view-able but neglected by the Uttrakhand government, including Panwali Kantha, Belhbagi Bugyal, Panwali Kantha is one of the most popular treks in Uttarakhand which is listed by Outlook Traveller in their write-up. These places have the potential to attract tourists for trekking and mountaineering, the new district headquarters at New Tehri can be looked at as a future tourist spot where a spectacular view of Tehri Lake can be seen
32.
Hindu
–
Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of India who were not Turks or Muslims. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the Indian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear, competing theories state that Hindu identity developed in the British colonial era, or that it developed post-8th century CE after the Islamic invasion and medieval Hindu-Muslim wars. A sense of Hindu identity and the term Hindu appears in texts dated between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages. The 14th- and 18th-century Indian poets such as Vidyapati, Kabir and Eknath used the phrase Hindu dharma, the Christian friar Sebastiao Manrique used the term Hindu in religious context in 1649. In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus, in contrast to Mohamedans for Mughals, scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. Hindoo is a spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. At more than 1.03 billion, Hindus are the third largest group after Christians. The vast majority of Hindus, approximately 966 million, live in India, according to Indias 2011 census. After India, the next 9 countries with the largest Hindu populations are, in decreasing order, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Myanmar. These together accounted for 99% of the worlds Hindu population, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water, covering river, ocean. It was used as the name of the Indus river and also referred to its tributaries, the Punjab region, called Sapta Sindhava in the Vedas, is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions the province of Hidush, the people of India were referred to as Hinduvān and hindavī was used as the adjective for Indian in the 8th century text Chachnama. The term Hindu in these ancient records is an ethno-geographical term, the Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India. Among the earliest known records of Hindu with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang, Xuanzang uses the transliterated term In-tu whose connotation overflows in the religious according to Arvind Sharma. The Hindu community occurs as the amorphous Other of the Muslim community in the court chronicles, wilfred Cantwell Smith notes that Hindu retained its geographical reference initially, Indian, indigenous, local, virtually native. Slowly, the Indian groups themselves started using the term, differentiating themselves, the poet Vidyapatis poem Kirtilata contrasts the cultures of Hindus and Turks in a city and concludes The Hindus and the Turks live close together, Each makes fun of the others religion
33.
Tehri Dam
–
The Tehri Dam is the Highest dam in India and one of the highest in the world. It is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam on the Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand. It is the dam of the THDC India Ltd. Phase 1 was completed in 2006, the Tehri Dam withholds a reservoir for irrigation, municipal water supply, the dams 1,000 MW pumped-storage scheme is currently under construction with expected commissioning in May 2018. A preliminary investigation for the Tehri Dam Project was completed in 1961, construction began in 1978 after feasibility studies but was delayed due to financial, environmental and social impacts. In 1986, technical and financial assistance was provided by the USSR, India was forced to take control of the project and at the first it was placed under the direction of the Irrigation Department of Uttar Pradesh. However, in 1988 the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation was formed to manage the dam and 75% of the funding would be provided by the federal government, Uttar Pradesh would finance the entire irrigation portion of the project. In 1990, the project was reconsidered and the changed to its current multi-purpose. Construction of the Tehri Dam was complete in 2006 while the part of the project. The dam is a 260.5 m high rock and earth-fill embankment dam and its length is 575 m, crest width 20 m, and base width 1,128 m. The dam creates a reservoir of 4.0 cubic kilometres with an area of 52 km2. The installed hydrocapacity is 1,000 MW along with an additional 1,000 MW of pumped storage hydroelectricity, the lower reservoir for the pumped-storage plant is created by the Koteshwar Dam downstream. The Tehri Dam and the Tehri Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant are part of the Tehri Hydropower Complex which also includes the 400 MW Koteshwar Dam. Power is distributed to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, the total expenditure for this project was USD1 billion. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, a cost benefit analysis was commissioned and was concluded that the construction cost of the dam twice the projected benefits. At present, THDC India Ltd. is generating around 3,000 million unit of energy annually from this dam, the Tehri Dam has been the object of protests by environmental organizations and local people of the region. Environmental activist Sunderlal Bahuguna led the Anti-Tehri Dam movement for years, the protest was against the displacement of town inhabitants and environmental consequence of the weak ecosystem. In addition to the human concerns, the project has spurred concerns about the environmental consequences of locating such a large dam in the fragile ecosystem of the Himalayan foothills
34.
Chaukhamba
–
Chaukhamba is a mountain massif in the Gangotri Group of the Garhwal Himalaya. Its main summit, Chaukhamba I, is the highest peak in the group and it lies at the head of the Gangotri Glacier and forms the eastern anchor of the group. It is located in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, west of the Hindu holy town of Badrinath, after unsuccessful attempts in 1938 and 1939, Chaukhamba I was first climbed on 13 June 1952, by Lucien George and Victor Russenberger. They ascended the northeast face, from the Bhagirathi-Kharak Glacier, Chaukhamba I is an ultra-prominent peak, with a prominence of more than 1, 500m. Mana Pass is the key col for Chaukhamba I, list of Himalayan peaks of Uttarakhand https, //web. archive. org/web/20081011045559/http, //www. indmount. org/openpeaksuttarakhand. html View of Chaukhamba peak during the Chopta/Chandrashila trek
35.
Alaknanda
–
The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganga, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. Three km below Mana the Alaknanda flows past the Hindu pilgrimage centre of Badrinath and it meets the Bhagirathi River at Devprayag after flowing for approximately 190 km through the Alaknanda valley. Its main tributaries are the Mandakini, Nandakini, and Pindar rivers, the Alaknanda system drains parts of Chamoli, Tehri, and Pauri districts. Following the merging at Devprayag, the river is known as the Ganges, the Alaknanda contributes a significantly larger portion to the flow of the Ganges than the Bhagirathi. The Alaknanda is also known for sports such as rafting. In mythology, the Goddess Ganga descended to earth at Gangotri, the Alaknanda is believed to have split off from the celestial Ganges when it descended from heaven. The origin of Alaknanda River is of special interest to the tourists who visit the important pilgrimages in Uttarakhand, the Ganges rises in the southern Himalayas on the Indian side of the Tibet border. The five headstreams of the Ganges including the Bhagirathi, Mandakini, Alaknanda, Dhauliganga and Pindar, on the Satopanth Glacier six km up from Alaknandas origin at its snout, the triangular Lake Satopanth is found at a height of 4350 m. It and the glacier are named after the Hindu trinity Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, nanda Devi is the highest point in the Alaknanda basin. Badrinath, Badrinath, one of the destinations for Hindus in India is located near to the bank of the Alaknanda River. This place is surrounded by two ranges of Nar and Narayan and Neelkanth peak is located at the back side. Rafting Alaknanda River origin is of great interest for the tourists who visit the pilgrimages in Uttarakhand, rise of the Ganges in India is from the southern part of the Indian Himalaya, near the Tibet border. This river is among the best for river rafting in the due to its high rafting grade. Several rivers in the Garhwal region merge with the Alaknanda at Panch Prayag or holy confluence of rivers, HYDEL PROJECTS ON ALAKNANDA RIVER BASIN There are 23 other proposed projects in the ALAKNANDA RIVER BASIN through which the power-potential of the Alaknanda and its tributaries can be harnessed. At each town with suffix prayag, Alaknanda meets another river,2013 North India floods Alaknanda River Britannica. com Prayags at GMVN
36.
Sea level
–
Mean sea level is an average level of the surface of one or more of Earths oceans from which heights such as elevations may be measured. A common and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is the midpoint between a low and mean high tide at a particular location. Sea levels can be affected by factors and are known to have varied greatly over geological time scales. The careful measurement of variations in MSL can offer insights into ongoing climate change, the term above sea level generally refers to above mean sea level. Precise determination of a sea level is a difficult problem because of the many factors that affect sea level. Sea level varies quite a lot on several scales of time and this is because the sea is in constant motion, affected by the tides, wind, atmospheric pressure, local gravitational differences, temperature, salinity and so forth. The easiest way this may be calculated is by selecting a location and calculating the mean sea level at that point, for example, a period of 19 years of hourly level observations may be averaged and used to determine the mean sea level at some measurement point. One measures the values of MSL in respect to the land, hence a change in MSL can result from a real change in sea level, or from a change in the height of the land on which the tide gauge operates. In the UK, the Ordnance Datum is the sea level measured at Newlyn in Cornwall between 1915 and 1921. Prior to 1921, the datum was MSL at the Victoria Dock, in Hong Kong, mPD is a surveying term meaning metres above Principal Datum and refers to height of 1. 230m below the average sea level. In France, the Marégraphe in Marseilles measures continuously the sea level since 1883 and it is used for a part of continental Europe and main part of Africa as official sea level. Elsewhere in Europe vertical elevation references are made to the Amsterdam Peil elevation, satellite altimeters have been making precise measurements of sea level since the launch of TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992. A joint mission of NASA and CNES, TOPEX/Poseidon was followed by Jason-1 in 2001, height above mean sea level is the elevation or altitude of an object, relative to the average sea level datum. It is also used in aviation, where some heights are recorded and reported with respect to sea level, and in the atmospheric sciences. An alternative is to base height measurements on an ellipsoid of the entire Earth, in aviation, the ellipsoid known as World Geodetic System 84 is increasingly used to define heights, however, differences up to 100 metres exist between this ellipsoid height and mean tidal height. The alternative is to use a vertical datum such as NAVD88. When referring to geographic features such as mountains on a topographic map, the elevation of a mountain denotes the highest point or summit and is typically illustrated as a small circle on a topographic map with the AMSL height shown in metres, feet or both. In the rare case that a location is below sea level, for one such case, see Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
37.
Loharinag Pala Hydro Power Project
–
Loharinag Pala Hydro Power Project is a run-of-the-river hydroelectricity generating project planned by the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd to have an output capacity of 600 MW. This is about 100 kilometres upstream of the Tehri Dam, tarun Bharat Sangh, headed by Magsaysay award-winner, Rajendra Singh also played a pivotal role in stopping the project. The project was scrapped in 2010. The Loharinag-Pala project was one of several hundred dams and barrages planned or now being constructed by India, together they are expected to provide 150,000 MW of electricity for areas in which power cuts are frequent and demand is growing fast. The Hydroelectricity project had been envisaged for installation of 4 generating Units of 150 MW utilizing a hydraulic head of 476.5 metres to have a capacity of 600 MW. The facilities would include 4 vertical shaft Pelton wheel turbines, the generators would be of synchronous vertical shaft type. The generators would have capacity at a power factor of 0.90,3 phase,250 rpm. The generator transformer would be 4 nos oil forced air forced type with step-up voltage capacity of 400 kV, the estimate of Greenhouse gases abatement in tonnes CO2 equivalent is 5,268,027 t. Host Country Approval Status was Approved, the expected date for commissioning of the project was in the year 2010. Duration of the activity is 21 years. For 16.455 hectares of land, The District Magistrate. The Village Development Advisory Committee meeting was held on 08-05-2006 at Uttarkashi, F Award by the Special Land Acquisition Officer had been declared. For reserve forest Civil Soyam land, the draft CAT Plan was submitted by District Forest Officer, Approval of the Catchment Area Treatment Plan by GoUA was done. For Forest Clearance, The Certificate for Non Availability of Non-Forest Land for afforestation was obtained by UPCL from Chief Secretary, Certificate was submitted to Nodal Officer on 01-05-2006. Proposal has been cleared by Nodal Officer, for township Land at Matli, private land needed was 11.383 hectares and government land needed was 1.835 ha. The revised proposal for Section IV was submitted in DM Office on 23-03-06, the Proposal was sent by DM, Uttarkashi to GoUA. now with discontinuation of the project by orders of India govt. the land acquisition is not being done. For township land at Central Industrial Security Force Colony at Kyark, private land needed was 9.979 hectares, the proposal for Section IV was submitted in DM Office on 17-03-2006. The Proposal was sent to GoUA by DM, Uttarkashi but now not required as project has been discontinued by India government
38.
OCLC
–
The Online Computer Library Center is a US-based nonprofit cooperative organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the worlds information and reducing information costs. It was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the largest online public access catalog in the world. OCLC is funded mainly by the fees that libraries have to pay for its services, the group first met on July 5,1967 on the campus of the Ohio State University to sign the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit organization. The group hired Frederick G. Kilgour, a former Yale University medical school librarian, Kilgour wished to merge the latest information storage and retrieval system of the time, the computer, with the oldest, the library. The goal of network and database was to bring libraries together to cooperatively keep track of the worlds information in order to best serve researchers and scholars. The first library to do online cataloging through OCLC was the Alden Library at Ohio University on August 26,1971 and this was the first occurrence of online cataloging by any library worldwide. Membership in OCLC is based on use of services and contribution of data, between 1967 and 1977, OCLC membership was limited to institutions in Ohio, but in 1978, a new governance structure was established that allowed institutions from other states to join. In 2002, the structure was again modified to accommodate participation from outside the United States. As OCLC expanded services in the United States outside of Ohio, it relied on establishing strategic partnerships with networks, organizations that provided training, support, by 2008, there were 15 independent United States regional service providers. OCLC networks played a key role in OCLC governance, with networks electing delegates to serve on OCLC Members Council, in early 2009, OCLC negotiated new contracts with the former networks and opened a centralized support center. OCLC provides bibliographic, abstract and full-text information to anyone, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat—the OCLC Online Union Catalog, the largest online public access catalog in the world. WorldCat has holding records from public and private libraries worldwide. org, in October 2005, the OCLC technical staff began a wiki project, WikiD, allowing readers to add commentary and structured-field information associated with any WorldCat record. The Online Computer Library Center acquired the trademark and copyrights associated with the Dewey Decimal Classification System when it bought Forest Press in 1988, a browser for books with their Dewey Decimal Classifications was available until July 2013, it was replaced by the Classify Service. S. The reference management service QuestionPoint provides libraries with tools to communicate with users and this around-the-clock reference service is provided by a cooperative of participating global libraries. OCLC has produced cards for members since 1971 with its shared online catalog. OCLC commercially sells software, e. g. CONTENTdm for managing digital collections, OCLC has been conducting research for the library community for more than 30 years. In accordance with its mission, OCLC makes its research outcomes known through various publications and these publications, including journal articles, reports, newsletters, and presentations, are available through the organizations website. The most recent publications are displayed first, and all archived resources, membership Reports – A number of significant reports on topics ranging from virtual reference in libraries to perceptions about library funding
39.
Hydrography
–
The origins of hydrography lay in the making of charts to aid navigation, by individual mariners as they navigated into new waters. These were usually the property, even closely held secrets. National organizations, particularly navies, realized that the collection, systematization and distribution of this gave it great organizational. Thus were born dedicated national hydrographic organizations for the collection, organization, publication and distribution of hydrography incorporated into charts, prior to the establishment of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Royal Navy captains were responsible for the provision of their own charts. In practice this meant that ships often sailed with inadequate information for safe navigation, and that when new areas were surveyed, the Admiralty appointed Alexander Dalrymple as Hydrographer in 1795, with a remit to gather and distribute charts to HM Ships. Within a year existing charts from the two centuries had been collated, and the first catalogue published. The first chart produced under the direction of the Admiralty, was a chart of Quiberon Bay in Brittany, under Captain Thomas Hurd the department received its first professional guidelines and the first catalogues were published and made available to the public and to other nations as well. In 1829, Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, as Hydrographer, developed the eponymous Scale, and introduced the first official tide tables in 1833, the word hydrography comes from the Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, water and γράφω, to write. The science of oceanography is, in part, an outgrowth of classical hydrography, in many respects the data are interchangeable, but marine hydrographic data will be particularly directed toward marine navigation and safety of that navigation. Marine resource exploration and exploitation is a significant application of hydrography, hydrographical measurements include the tidal, current and wave information of physical oceanography. Bottom measurements also include collection of the nature of the bottom as it pertains to effective anchoring, unlike oceanography, hydrography will include shore features, natural and manmade, that aid in navigation. Hydrography, mostly for reasons of safety, adopted a number of conventions that have affected its portrayal of the data on nautical charts, the former are the mariners tools to avoid accident. The latter are best representations of the seabed, as in a topographic map, for scientific. Trends in hydrographic practice since c, 2003–2005 have led to a narrowing of this difference, with many more hydrographic offices maintaining best observed databases, and then making navigationally safe products as required. This has been coupled with a preference for multi-use surveys, so that the data collected for nautical charting purposes can also be used for bathymetric portrayal. For instance, if there is an area that can not be reached because it is surrounded by shallow water. The color filled areas that show different ranges of water are not the equivalent of contours on a topographic map since they are often drawn seaward of the actual shallowest depth portrayed. A bathymetric chart does show marine topology accurately, details covering the above limitations can be found in Part 1 of Bowditchs American Practical Navigator
40.
Dhauliganga River
–
The Dhauliganga is one of the six source streams of the Ganges river. It meets the Alaknanda River at Vishnuprayag at the base of Joshimath mountain in Uttarakhand, the 82 km -long Dhauliganga rises at an altitude of 5,070 m in the Niti Pass in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand. At Raini,25 km from Joshimath, it is joined by the Rishi Ganga river, the Dhauliganga ends at Vishnuprayag, when it runs into the Alaknanda River. Tapovan, known for its hot springs, is situated on the banks of the river
India
