Gangasagar is a village and a
gram panchayat
Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...
within the jurisdiction of the Sagar police station in the
Sagar CD block in the
Kakdwip subdivision
Kakdwip subdivision is an administrative subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Subdivisions
South 24 Parganas district is divided into five administrative subdivisions:
12.36% of the total population ...
of the
South 24 Parganas
South 24 Parganas (Pron: pɔrɡɔnɔs; abbr. 24 PGS (S)), or sometimes South Twenty Four Parganas and Dakshin 24 Parganas, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Alipore. It is the largest district of West Bengal by ...
district in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
.
Mythological significance
![Kapil Muni Ashram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Kapil_Muni_Ashram.JPG)
A holy man, Kardam Muni, made a pact with
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
that he would undergo the rigours of marital life, on the condition that Vishnu would incarnate as his son. In due time
Kapil Muni
Kapila ( sa, कपिल), also referred to as Cakradhanus, is a sage in Hindu tradition. According to Bhagavata Purana, he is the son of the sage Kardama and Devahuti, the daughter of the Svayambhuva Manu. Kardama had nine daughters, who wer ...
was born as an incarnation of Vishnu and became a great saint. Kapil Muni's
ashram
An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...
was located in the Gangasagar. One day
King Sagar's sacrificial
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...
horse disappeared; it had been stolen by Indra.
The king sent his 60,000 sons to find it, and they found it next to Kapil Muni's ashram, where Indra had hidden it. Mistaking Kapil Muni for the thief, the sons accused Kapil Muni, who in his wrath at the false accusation burned the sons to ash and sent their souls to
Hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
. Later having compassion for the King Sagar's sons, Kapil Muni acceded to the prayers of King Sagar's descendants, agreeing to the restoration of the sons, if river goddess Ganga would descend to Earth to perform the Last Ritual (Hindus also called as"Tarpan") of mixing the ashes with holy water (''
niravapanjali Hindu traditions right from Ramayan to till date cremate their dear ones, burying the dead is in some sections of the society. But majority of Hindus cremate the dead as we believe that the body is made up of 5 elements which after cremation will mi ...
'').
Through
deep meditation, King Bhagiratha induced Shiva to order Ganga down from heaven and the 60,000 sons were freed (''
moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
'') and ascended to Heaven, but the river Ganges stayed on the Earth. The date of the descent of Ganga was the date, as is at present the 15th Day of January of the
Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
which coincides with that of
Makar Sankranti
Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...
(when Surya enters Makar Constellation, i.e. "
Uttarayan
The term Uttarāyaṇa (commonly Uttarayan) is derived from two different Sanskrit words – "uttara" (North) and "ayana" (movement) – thus indicating a semantic of the northward movement of the Sun on the celestial sphere. This movement begin ...
" of
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Panchangam
A panchāngam ( sa, पञ्चाङ्गम्; ) is a Hindu calendar and almanac, which follows traditional units of Hindu timekeeping, and presents important dates and their calculations in a tabulated form. It is sometimes spelled ''Pa ...
).
Geography
Area overview
Kakdwip subdivision has full rural population. The entire district is situated in the
Ganges Delta. The southern part of the delta has numerous channels and islands such as the
Henry Island,
Sagar Island
Sagar Island is an island in the Ganges delta, lying on the Continental Shelf of Bay of Bengal about 100 km (54 nautical miles) south of Kolkata. This island forms the Sagar CD Block in Kakdwip subdivision of South 24 Parganas district ...
, Frederick Island and Fraserganj Island. The subdivision is a part of the
Sundarbans settlements
The Sundarbans settlements refer to the areas of the Sundarbans that were cleared of forests for human habitation in the present North 24 Paganas and the South 24 Parganas districts in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Overview
As per the ''D ...
. A comparatively recent country-wide development is the guarding of the coastal areas by special coastal forces. The area attracts large number of tourists – Gangasagar and Fraserganj-Bakkhali are worth mentioning. Gobardhanpur holds a promise for the future.
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Location
![Sunset at Gangasagar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Sunset_at_Gangasagar.jpg)
Gangasagar is located at . It has an average elevation of .
Climate
Demographics
According to the
2011 Census of India
The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...
, Gangasagar had a total population of 10,340, of which 5,228 (51%) were males and 5,112 (49%) were females. There were 1,440 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The total number of literate people in Gangasagar was 7,437 (83.56% of the population over 6 years).
Civic administration
Police station
Gangasagar Coastal police station covers an area of 77.72 km
2. It has jurisdiction over parts of the Sagar CD block. The coastal police stations were formed with the objective of effective policing of the remote areas of the Sundarbans. The police has regular river patrols.
Culture
![Pilgrims - Gangasagar Fair Transit Camp - Kolkata 2012-01-14 0587](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Pilgrims_-_Gangasagar_Fair_Transit_Camp_-_Kolkata_2012-01-14_0587.JPG)
Gangasagar is a place of Hindu pilgrimage. Every year on the day of
Makar Sankranti
Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...
(14 January), hundreds of thousands of Hindus gather to take a holy dip at the confluence of river Ganges and Bay of Bengal and offer prayers (''
puja'') in the Kapil Muni Temple.
The Gangasagar fair and pilgrimage is held annually on Sagar Island's southern tip, where the Ganges enters the Bay of Bengal. This confluence is also called Gangasagar or Gangasagara.
Near the confluence is the Kapil Muni Temple.
The Gangasagar pilgrimage and fair is the second largest congregation of mankind after the triennial ritual bathing of
Kumbha Mela
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela () is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati (Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Allahabad (G ...
.
In 2007, about 300,000 pilgrims took the holy dip where the
Hooghly meets the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. Almost five-hundred thousand pilgrims thronged Gangasagar in 2008.
For the rest of the year about 500,000 people come to the island.
According to reports on 14 January 2018, 18-2 million people had visited Gangasagar in 2018, against 1.5 million in 2017.
Transport
![Ganga_river_lanch_service_in_Sagar_deep](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Ganga_river_lanch_service_in_Sagar_deep.jpg)
From
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, Diamond Harbour Road (
NH-12) runs south around 90 km to
Harwood Point
Harwood Point is a village within the jurisdiction of the Kakdwip police station in the Kakdwip CD block in the Kakdwip subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Area overview
Kakdwip subdiv ...
, near
Kakdwip
Kakdwip () is a town of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River. It is the headquarters of the Kakdwip subdivision.
History
When the Tebhaga movement broke out ...
, where a ferry runs to Kachuberia at the north end of the Gangasagar. The
Panchyat Samity maintains a parking area near the ferry landing. The ferry travels about 3.5 km across a
distributary
A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...
of the Ganges river (also known as
Hooghly River
The Bhagirathi Hooghly River (Anglicized alternatively spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') or the 'Bhāgirathi-Hooghly', called the Ganga or the Kati-Ganga in mythological texts, is the eastern distributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal, Indi ...
or
Muriganga river
Muri Ganga River (also called Baratala River or Channel Creek) is a distributary of the Hooghly in South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Before joining the Bay of Bengal, the Hooghly bifurcates with one channel passin ...
locally) to reach Kachuberia. Small boats also cross from Harwood Point to Kachuberia. Private cars and buses travel the roughly 32 km to the pilgrimage site at Gangasagar.
From the pilgrimage parking area the Kapil Muni Temple is about 200 meters and the Gangasagar confluence is about 700 meters.
Healthcare
There is a
primary health centre at Gangasagar, with 6 beds.
References
External links
Ganga Sagar TOURISM
{{Major temples in West Bengal
Villages in South 24 Parganas district
Hindu pilgrimage sites in India
Tourist attractions in South 24 Parganas district