My Views

Abstract

During the formation of the earth, the Ganga delta might have emerged from severe dynamic and varied fluctuations of the sea-level, its changing shore-lines, upheaval of the land-mass and shifting courses of a number of rivers and birth of new streams. No mythologies about the mighty river were current during these geological processes. They were formed by experiences of primitive men. The native population lived on the river’s basin until immigrant Aryans displaced them. The river was deified by them, as it was mighty, menacing and useful; its water quenched their thirst, met their other needs and nourished agriculture to feed them; its water was deemed holy and used in religious rites. It also became a medium of transportation of men and goods to near and distant land and its banks provided habitats for an increasing population and a civilisation flourished on its basin. The Ganga eventually became a part of India’s ethnology, promoting commerce and agriculture, which lent sanctity to its water.