Ganga Dashami,
Ganga Dashami, also referred as Ganga-Dashahara, celebrates the birthday of River Ganga – her descent on earth. The festival begins on the Amavasi day in the Hindu month of Jyestha and ends on the Dashami tithi. The festival lasts for 10 days. In 2008, Ganga Dashahara begins on June 3 and Ganga Dashami date is June 13.
Goddess Ganga Devi is an important deity in Hinduism and bathing in the divine river is the believed to cleanse the sins committed. The ritual of bathing in Ganga is also a way to achieve moksha – the escape from the endless cycles of birth and death.
The festival of great importance in those places through which the Ganges flows especially at Haridwar and Prayag (Allahabad). Ganga is worshipped in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal during this period.
Apart from bathing in the river on the day, people meditate on the banks and recite the prayer dedicated to Ganga:
Devi suresvari bhagavati gange
Tribhuvana tarini tarala tarange
Sankara mauli viharini vimale
Mama matirastam tava pada kamala
Bhagirathi sukhadayini matas
Tava jala mahima nigame khyatah
Naham jane tava mahimanam
Pahi krpamayi mama ajnanam