Ganga Dussehra
चन्द्र सी ज्योत तुम्हारी जल निर्मल आता ।
शरण पड़े जो तेरी , सो नर तर जाता ॥
Ganga Dussehra, also known as Gangavataran, celebrating the avatarana of the Ganges. It is believed that the holy river Ganges descended from heaven to earth on this day. Ganga Dussehra takes place on Dashami of the Shukla Paksha of the Jyeshtha maas. The festival celebration lasts ten days, including the nine days preceding this holy day.
Ganga Dussehra is observed with dedication and devotion where the river flows, Haridwar, Varanasi, Garhmukteshwar, Rishikesh, Prayagraj, and Patna are the main locations of the celebrations, where devotees gather at the banks of the Ganges and perform aartis to the river. Taking a dip in the river on this day is believed to bring the devotee to a state of purification and also heal any physical ailments he may have. In Sanskrit, dasha means ten and hara means destroy; thus bathing in the river during these ten days is believed to rid the person of ten sins or, alternatively, ten lifetimes of sins.
On the same day, the river Yamuna is also worshipped and kite-flying events are organized. Devotees take a holy dip in the Yamuna at places like Mathura, Vrindavan, and Bateshwar, and give offerings of watermelon and cucumber.They distribute drinks such as lassi, sharbat and shikanji.