Gangasagar is a village and a gram panchayat in the Sagar CD block in the

Kakdwip subdivision Kakdwip subdivision is an administrative subdivision of South 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Overview Kakdwip subdivision has full rural population. The entire ...

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 previously, with its Zilla Parishad now in Ba ...

district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

Legend

According to regional legend,

Kardama Kardama () is a character featured in Hindu literature. A son of the creator god Brahma, Kardama is described to be a prajapati, one of the progenitors of creation. After propitiating Vishnu and seeking his counsel for a suitable wife, he marries ...

made a pact with

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, in which he agreed to undergo the rigours of marital life, on the condition that the deity would incarnate as his son. As agreed,

Kapila Kapila () (7th-6th-century BCE), also referred to as Cakradhanus, is a Vedic sage in Hindu tradition, regarded the founder of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy., Quote:"Kapila (fl. 550 BC), Vedic sage and founder of the system of Samkhya, ...

was born to him as an incarnation of Vishnu, and became a great saint. Kapila's

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< King Sagara's sacrificial horse, which was necessary for the performance of his ashvamedha yajna ceremony, disappeared; it had been stolen by

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

. The king sent his 60,000 sons to find the horse, and they found it next to Kapila's ashram, where Indra had hidden it. Mistaking Kapila for the thief, the sons accused the sage of the theft, 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 or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

. Later, having compassion for the king's sons, Kapila acceded to the prayers of Sagara's descendants, agreeing to the restoration of the sons, if the goddess

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

would descend upon the earth to perform the

tarpana ''Tarpana'' or (, , , ) is a term in the Hinduism, Vedic practice that refers to an offering made to divine entities. It refers to the act of offering as well as the substance used in the offering. ''Tilatarpana'' (, , , ) is a specific form of ...

ritual of mixing the ashes with holy water ('' niravapanjali'') for the sons of Sagara. Through the performance of

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

, King

Bhagiratha Bhagiratha (, ) is a legendary king of the Ikshvaku dynasty in Hindu Literature, Hindu literature. He is best known for his legend of bringing the sacred river Ganges, personified as the Hinduism, Hindu river goddess Ganges in Hinduism, Ganga, f ...

induced

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

to order Ganga down from

heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

and the 60,000 sons were freed (''

moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

'') and ascended to heaven, but the river Ganges stayed on earth. The date of the descent of Ganga is regarded to be the 15th day of January of the

Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

, which coincides with the observance of

Makara Sankranti Makar(a) Sankrānti (), () also referred to as Uttarāyana, Makara, or simply Sankrānti, is a Hindu observance and a mid-winter harvest festival in India and Nepal. It is typically celebrated on 14 January annually (15 January on a leap yea ...

. On this occasion, the sun god,

Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

, is believed to enter the Makara Constellation (

Uttarayana The term Uttarāyaṇa (commonly Uttarayanam) is derived from two different Sanskrit words – "uttaram" (North) and "ayanam" (movement) – thus indicating the northward movement of the Sun. In the Gregorian calendar, this pertains to the "actu ...

of the

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, also called Panchangam, Panchanga (), is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes ...

Geography

Area overview

Kakdwip subdivision has full rural population. The entire district is situated in the

Ganges Delta The Ganges Delta (also known the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the Sundarbans Delta or the Bengal Delta) is a river delta predominantly covering the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Be ...

. 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, continental shelf of Bay of Bengal about 100 km (54 nautical miles) south of Kolkata. This island forms the Sagar (community development block), Sagar CD Block ...

, Frederick Island and Fraserganj Island. The subdivision is a part of the

Sundarbans settlements Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal to t ...

. 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

Gangasagar is located at . It has an average elevation of .

Climate

Gangasagar, West Bengal has different weather patterns throughout the year, including warm and humid summers, chilly winters, and heavy rains during monsoon: * Summer The average temperature ranges from 22–36 °C, and humidity is high. Although the evenings and mornings are cooler, it's not the best time to visit for exploring temples and water sports. * Winter The weather is pleasant after the monsoon retreats in late September, and winter sets in around the end of October. The temperature is around 25 °C during the day and 18–20 °C at night. * Monsoon The months from July to September are best avoided due to heavy rains and potential travel disruptions. Gangasagar is a famous Hindu pilgrimage center where the Ganga river meets the Bay of Bengal. Every year on Makar Sankranti (mid-January), pilgrims gather at Gangasagar for a holy dip.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, 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 km². 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

Gangasagar is a place of Hindu pilgrimage. Every year on the day of

Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankrānti (), () also referred to as Uttarāyana, Makara, or simply Sankrānti, is a Hinduism, Hindu observance and a mid-winter harvest festival in India and Nepal. It is typically celebrated on 14 January annually (15 January on a ...

(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 Kapila Temple. The Gangasagar Mela 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 Kapila Temple. The Gangasagar pilgrimage and fair is the second largest congregation of mankind after the triennial ritual bathing of

Kumbha Mela Kumbh Mela (, ; ) is an important Hindu pilgrimage, celebrated approximately every 6 or 12 years, correlated with the partial or full revolution of Jupiter. It is the largest peaceful gathering of people in the world. A ritual dip in the ...

. 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. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

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, 1.8-2 million people had visited Gangasagar in 2018, against 1.5 million in 2017.

Transport

From

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, Diamond Harbour Road ( NH-12) runs south around 90 km to Harwood Point, 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 ou ...

, 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 channel that branches off and flows a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a ''tributary'', a stream that flows another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurc ...

of the Ganges river (also known as

Hooghly River The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...

or Muriganga river 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 Kapila 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