Mahashivratri 2022: Know why Lord Shiva is known as Gangadhar, what it means

Hindu scriptures are full of learnings. Hinduism, itself teaches various aspects of life through stories. One such story of Shiva and Ganga tells us more about Mahashivratri.

Let’s look at it:

King Bhagiratha successfully pleases Brahma after his great-grandfather Sagara angered Sage Kapila by accusing him of stealing the sacrificial horse meant for performing the Ashwamedha Yagya.

This horse was stolen by Indra as he feared thatSagara would become more powerful than him after performing the Yagya.

Sage Kapila cursed Sagara and his descendants by saying they won’t ever get Moksha until they bring the divine Ganga to earth from the heavens.

Later, Brahma pleased by Bhagiratha’s prayers asks Ganga to descend to the earth. However, Ganga gets offended by this move and plans to destroy the earth with her mighty force. As Brahma was aware of Ganga’s anger, he asked Bhagiratha to call upon Lord Shiva to calm Ganga.

Lord Shiva comes to help Bhagiratha. As Ganga was unaware of the power of Shiva, she thought she might be able to wash him away. Instead, Shiva held her tightly in his matted hair. Soon after Ganga realised that Shiva wasn’t ordinary and calmed down.

This incident implies that only a strong and stable mind can stay distant from the materialistic temptations. Only stability can bring peace and happiness in life.

In this story, Shiva symbolises a strong mind and Ganga’s force symbolises arrogance. It was only because of his strong mind that Shiva was able to defeat Ganga. As Shiva held Ganga in his matted hair, he is also known as Gangadhar.