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What is Ganga Aarti?
Ganga aarti is an offering made by devotees to Goddess Ganga. Ganga aarti is performed in three major holy cities that are Haridwar, Rishikesh, and Varanasi. It is a ritual in which fire is presented as an offering. Small Diya, candles, and flowers are offered to the goddess Ganga that floats over the river. River Ganga is considered the holiest river of India and that is why this devotional ritual is done each day (twice), in these holy cities of India.
The word aarti refers to a ritual in the Hindu religion for worshipping God and Goddess. Aarti is part of puja or worship. This ritual includes things like fire, flowers, incense sticks, music, and songs sung to praise the almighty. The importance of aarti is to show gratitude and humanity to the divine power. This offering is made to the Ganga river which is also referred to as Ma or Mother as it is considered the holiest river in India.
There is no particular history relating to Ganga aarti and how it started. The Ganga aarti at the Har-ki-Pauri Ghat of Haridwar was started in the year 1910 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya. In recent times he was also awarded as “Bharat Ratna” by the government of India for the Highest civilization. There is an island in front of Har-Ki-Pauri ghat which is named after him.
Ganga aarti is held twice a day once in the morning and the other one in the evening time. The morning aarti starts at the time of sunrise and the evening aarti is done according to the time of sunset. The evening Ganga aarti is the more famous one than the morning Ganga aarti and it changes according to the time of sunrise and sunset. For the morning Ganga aarti you should reach at least 45 mins prior and for the evening Ganga aarti you should reach 75 min before the Ganga aarti to enjoy full Ganga aarti and not miss any single event. The timing of Ganga aarti differs in each month throughout the year which is listed below:
Months |
Morning Timing |
Evening timing |
January |
07:10 am |
17:30 pm |
February |
06:45 am |
17:50 pm |
March |
06:10 am |
18:10 pm |
April |
05:35 am |
18:30 pm |
May |
05:15 am |
18:50 pm |
June |
05:20 am |
19:10 pm |
July |
05:25 am |
19:05 pm |
August |
05:35 am |
18:40 pm |
September |
05:55 am |
18:10 pm |
October |
06:10 am |
17:30 pm |
November |
06:25 am |
17:15 pm |
December |
06:50 am |
17:20 pm |
The aarti of the holy river is performed on the bank of the river Ganga. This ritual takes place each day during the evening time in three different cities of India, after sunset. This ceremony is performed each day irrespective of its weather conditions, whether be it rain, cold, storm, etc. This holy ritual takes place in three holy cities that are Haridwar, Rishikesh, and Varanasi. This event must be attended by an individual at least once in their lifetime. Ganga aarti in Haridwar is performed on Har-Ki-Pauri ghat and this aarti is mostly the calming one that soothes one's mind and soul.
On average 24000 or more people come to Haridwar to experience Ganga Aarti. Har-ki-Pauri is about 2-3 km away from the Haridwar bus stand and railway station. The nearest airport is Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun which is approx 35 km away. Daily about 5000 to 10,000 people visit this place to have a bath in holy water and on a holiday or big festivals, this number increases to 1,00,000 to 3,00,000 people.
This is the place where the Nectar or drop of Amrit fell on the ground which makes this place more attractive to tourists. On the days of festivals like Kumbh Mela, Ardh Kumbh Mela, and Kanwar Yatra this place becomes crowded with devotees. Ganga aarti in Rishikesh is performed at Parmarth Niketan where the residents and students learning Vedas do this ritual. Ganga aarti at Varanasi is performed at Dasaswamedh ghat, near Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
An NGO named Ganga Sabha appoints the priests by whom the Ganga aarti is to be performed. This NGO has been there since the Ganga Aarti started. Ganga Sabha also manages the ghats with the help of the government.
Ganga aarti pre-ceremony and what happens during Ganga Aarti
People start coming early to get a good spot to watch the Ganga Aarti. The idol of the goddess Ganga is carried to the Ghat in a palki. Then some people take the blessings from the idol of the goddess Ganga. The final ceremony is started by the priest chanting the Sanskrit mantras and then offerings like sugar, curd, ghee, honey, milk, colors, cotton, and many more things are made to the goddess Ganga. The chanting is done by the priest on the mike.
When the offerings are completed they start singing the Ganga Lahari song in Sanskrit which is written by Pandit Jagannath who was a scholar in Sanskrit and was born in 1590. After the completion of the song, promises are given to devotees for not polluting the river Ganga by raising both hands. The name of Ganga is chanted as “Har Har Gange, Jai ma Gange”. After a small break announcement for donations is made and everyone doesn't need to donate after that the main aarti gets started by lighting the lamps. The song is played on the loudspeaker and the aarti begins. Then four to five priests do the aarti of the river Ganga with the music and bells. After 5 minutes the aarti finally gets completed and each devotee takes the aarti and Prashad.
The best time to experience Ganga aarti is the evening aarti time when many devotees gather to watch the Ganga aarti and on holidays or festivals like Kumbh Mela, Ardh Kumbh Mela, and Makar Sankranti and also during Kanwar Mela the environments of the Ganga aarti becomes phenomenal and worth experiencing. Planning for the Haridwar Tour? Book Your Holiday for Haridwar with Travel Ride.