Spl aarti, abhishek performed on Ganga Dussehra

Varanasi: A series of events marked the Ganga Dussehra celebrations in the city on Tuesday.

Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust organised various religious and spiritual programmes on the occasion. Special prayers and Vedic rituals were also performed at Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. In the early morning hours, a special aarti of Maa Ganga was performed at the ghat of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir, followed by abhishek of the Ganga. The idol of Maa Ganga enshrined within the temple complex of the Dham was worshipped with special rituals on the occasion.

According to the belief, on this day, dashami tithi of Shukla Paksha of the Jyeshtha month of the Hindi calendar, the Ganga descended from heaven. It is believed that taking a holy dip in the Ganga and performing puja on Ganga Dussehra leads to the absolution of all sins and one attains moksha.

Led by Varanasi South MLA Neelkanth Tiwari, 51 Batuk students of Shastrarath Mahavidyalaya performed dugdhaabhishek of Maa Ganga at Devi Ahilyabai Ghat. After offering naivedya, fruits and other items, abhishek was performed with 51 litres of milk amid vedic mantras.

Tiwari said that Ganga Dussehra holds immense sacred and spiritual significance in Hinduism. Taking a dip in the Ganga river and performing acts of charity on this day is believed to grant liberation from all sins.