The Ganga Snan festival, in honor of the goddess Ganga, was celebrated today with faith, piety and fervor across the country, notably in Mon Choisy, Grand Baie, Anse La Raie, Belle Mare and Flic en Flac. To this end, leaders and members of several of the country’s socio-cultural and religious organizations, as well as thousands of our compatriots of Hindu faith, took to public beaches, rivers and bodies of water, and bathed to purify their souls and release their sins. A prayer was also said at Ganga Talao.
The faithful turned towards the sun and worshipped the sea, presenting the goddess with offerings, lighting incense sticks and dipping their hands in the water. Afterwards, they paid homage to the goddess Ganga and rituals were performed by whole families on this sacred day of Kartik Purnima. The prayers were followed by a cultural program. Numerous families and friends gathered to share moments of devotion.
Arrangements were made to ensure the safety of devotees, and officers from the National Coast Guard and the Beach Authority ensured that the celebrations went off without a hitch.
According to legend, King Bhageerut’s ancestors were burnt by the curse of the sage Kashyapa Munni. Their bones and ashes were unable to return to the spiritual realm. King Bhageerut, after long years of prayers and sacrifices, implored sage Kapila Munni to make the Ganga flow in order to erase the sins of his ancestors. The goddess Ganga descended from Vishnu’s lotus plants. Water poured down to earth, threatening mankind with floods. To cushion the blow, God Shiva raised his hair into a jata (bun) to contain and channel the water to the plains of Aryavarta.
