Ganga Sagar

Sacred site (tirtha) on Sagar Island,
which is located at the outer edge of the
Hugli River delta in the Bay of Bengal.
Ganga Sagar is where the Ganges River
merges with the sea (sagar). As with all
the places where the Ganges makes
some natural transition, this spot is considered especially holy. Ganga Sagar’s
biggest festival comes on Makara
Sankranti, the day in January when the
sun resumes its northward course. On
this day, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come to bathe (snana). The site is
also famous for a temple to the irascible
sage Kapila, whose fiery power incinerates the 60,000 sons of King Sagar and
sets in motion a series of events leading
to King Bhagirath bringing the Ganges
down to earth.