Ganga (Wilco Picture Library)

Ganga, rising from the Himalayas, is the holiest river in India and it is believed that a dip in the water of the Ganges will wash away all your sins. Ganga, the river Goddess, is a prominent character in the epic The Mahabharata. This title of Ganga (also known as Bhagirathi), narrates the story of how through the efforts of King Bhagiratha, an ancestor of Lord Rama, the Ganga was brought down on the earth. It also tells us how the mighty Ganga was tamed by Lord Shiva who held her in his locks and thus regulated her flow.