Thousands of devotees took part in Ganga worship and arti at Har Ki Paidi on the occasion of Ganga Saptami on Sunday. Families of priests and other devotees brought milk and delicacies prepared in pure ghee (clarified butter) for offerings to goddess Ganga and sought blessings from the holy river on the occasion.
In the evening pilgrims performed 'deepdan' (floating earthen lamps on leafs) to please the river goddess. A huge rush of pilgrims was seen at ghats since morning to take a holy dip. It is believed that taking bath in the Ganga on Ganga Saptami is auspicious. According to the mythology, the holy river was reborn on this day. Ganga descended on the earth on Ganga Dussehra but for the fear of the river sweeping away the whole of earth in her torrent, lord Shiva caught her in his matted locks. later, the lord released a stream of the Ganga so that she could accomplish her mission to provide salvation to the cursed souls of Bhagirath's ancestors.
Speaking to The Pioneer, president of Ganga Mahasabha, Purushottam Sharma ‘Gandhiwadi’ said, "The belief is that while coming down to earth from heaven, the Ganga crossed the ashram of sage Jhanu and flooded it. The furious sage drank all the water of Ganga.
After this, Rishi Bhagirath prayed and practiced austerities to please sage Jhanu to release Ganga so that she could proceed on her mission. Satisfied with the prayers, Jhanu released Ganga from his ear.” Jhanu Rishi released Ganga from his ear on Saptami of Vaishakha Shukla Paksha.