The River ganges, running for more than 1500 miles across some of the most densely populated areas in Asia, is perhaps the most religiously significant body of water in the world. The river is considered to be sacred and spiritually pure, though it is also one of the most polluted rivers on earth.
Originating from the Gangotri Glacier, high in the Himalayas of northern india, the river flows southeast through india, into bangladesh, before spilling into the Bay of Bengal. It is the primary source of water used for drinking, bathing, and irrigating crops for more than 400 million people
For Hindus, the River ganges is sacred and revered, embodied by the goddess ganga. Though iconography of the goddess varies, she is most often depicted as a beautiful woman with a white crown, riding the Makra (a creature with the head of a crocodile and the tail of a dolphin). She features either two or four arms, holding a variety of objects ranging from water lilies to a water pot to a rosary.
