Gangotri

Gangotri
city
Gangotri
Gangotri Location in Uttarakhand, India
Coordinates: 30°59′N 78°56′E / 30.98°N 78.93°ECoordinates: 30°59′N 78°56′E / 30.98°N 78.93°E
Country	India
State	Uttarakhand
District	Uttarkashi
Elevation	3,415 m (11,204 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	606
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)

Chota Char Dham
Kedarnath	Badrinath
Gangotri	Yamunotri

Gangotri (Hindi: गंगोत्री) is a town and a Nagar Panchayat (municipality) in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bhagirathi and origin of River Ganges. It is on the Greater Himalayan Range, at a height of 3,100 metres (10,200 ft).

Geography

Gangotri is located at 30°59′N 78°56′E / 30.98°N 78.93°E.^[1]

Gangotri Temple

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 (the Ganges) 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.

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  Gangotri temple

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  Gaumukh, source of the Ganges above Gangotri

Historical relation

According to Hindu history, Goddess Ganga took the form of a river to absolve the sins of King Bhagiratha's predecessors, following his severe penance of several centuries.

Submerged Shivlingam

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 an uninterrupted journey around the earth was to be accompanied by the King's 60,000 sons born to Queen Sumati and one son Asamanja born of the second queen Kesani. Indra, supreme ruler of the gods feared that he might be deprived of his celestial throne if the "Yajna" (worship with fire) succeeded and then took away the horse and tied it to the ashram of Sage Kapil, who was then in deep meditation. 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, by the curse of sage Kapil. Bhagiratha, the grandson of King Sagar, is believed to have meditated to please the Goddess Ganga enough to cleanse the ashes of his ancestors, and liberate their souls, granting them salvation or Moksha.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[2] 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, 0% of the population is under 6 years of age.

See also

• Gangotri National Park
• Harsil
• Yamuna

References

1. "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Gangotri, India". fallingrain.com.
2. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.

External links

• Gangotri Temple Photos