1.
Hooghly River
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
India
