haridwar-ganga by unknown http://www.haridwarlive.com/images/haridwar-ganga.jpg
History
Sacred history says Haridwar was formed from a drop of divine nectar. [1] The God Vishnu is said to have taken the nectar from an evil being (Asura), but as he did some drops fell to the ground and into the Ganges. Haridwar was under the rule of the Mauyra Empire, Kushan Empire, and the the Moghul Empire. [2]
Material/Physical Features
The eight categories for the images of God, stone, wood, metal, plaster, painting, sand, mind
Rope Way/Cable Car of “Mansa Devi” Temple from Haridwar by sidwithluck http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/125118919.jpg
and precious gem can all be found in Haridwar. [3] Many of the temples are massive stone buildings with political and sacred images depicted inside of them. People can access the temples on top of the hill via cable car.
Guru Nanak”watering” his crops in Punjab by Sikh Missionary Society U.K. http://sikhchic.com/1984/cms/articles/photo1/hardwar-c.jpg
People
The caste system in prevalent in Haridwar: Brahmins hold the highest positions and perform official rituals. [4] Haridwar was founded by Raja Islam Singh. Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru is said to have bathed in the Ganges at Haridwar.
Practices
The main rituals in Haridwar involve the Ganges river [5]. People, bath, chant its name, and even water carrying festivals occur (people carry the holy water and pour it over sacred images). [6] Haridwar is one of the 4 places where the largest mass pilgrimage, Kumbh Mela, occurs every 12 years. At this pilgrimage, millions of people camp alongside the river to bath and pray. [7] Ganga Aarti is a ritual in which lamps are lit and float down the river as an offering to the Goddess Ganga.
Beliefs
Ganga or Ganges by unknown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_in_Hinduism#/media/File:Ganga_Kalighat_1875.jpg
The Ganges is said to contain sacred nectar that purifies and washes sin away. Ashes of thedead are put in the Ganges so that their sin can be washed away and rebirth can occur (and possibly moksha). [8] The Ganges river itself is seen as a deity known as the “Mother Ganges” a form of the goddess Devi.
- Diana Eck, India: A Sacred Geography (New York: Harmony Books, 2012) 417.
- Haridwar, 18 Apr. 2016. <http://cn.worldheritage.org/articles/Haridwar>.
- Ainslie Embree, William De Bary, and Stephen Hay. Sources of Indian Tradition. From the Beginning to 1800. (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1988) 326.
- Arnab Karar, “Impact of Pilgrim Tourism at Haridwar,” Anthropologist 2010: 102 13 Apr. 2016. <http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/T-Anth/Anth-12-0-000-10-Web/Anth-12-2-000-10-Abst-PDF/Anth-12-2-099-10-583-Karar-A/Anth-12-2-099-10-583-Karar-A-Tt.pdf>.
- Snadeep Rawat, “Waters Benign Migrate to Bestow Glory.” The Tribune, 01 Feb. 2016. 19 Apr. 2016. <http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/uttrakhand/waters-benign-migrate-to-bestow-glory/190186.html>.
- Diana Eck, India: A Sacred Geography (New York: Harmony Books, 2012) 249.
- Stephen Huyler, Meeting God; Elements of Hindu Devotion (New Haven, CT: Yale Press, 1999) 236.
- Haridwar, 18 Apr. 2016. <http://cn.worldheritage.org/articles/Haridwar>.
