Gangaikondacholapuran
Temple town in the eastern part of Tamil
Nadu, about forty-five miles north and
east of the city of Tanjore. This was one
of the temples in the Tanjore region built
by the Chola kings during their era of
preeminence between the ninth and
thirteenth centuries. The temple at
Gangaikondacholapuran was built in
1025 by King Rajendra I(r. 1014–1042)
to commemorate his march to the
Gangesin 1023 after vanquishing the
king of Bengal. One of the images out-
side the temple door shows the kneeling
Rajendra being garlanded by the god
Shiva and his wife Parvati, doubtless
intended to give Rajendra divine sup-
port for his entitlement to rule. See also
Chola dynasty.
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 GangesRiver
merges with the sea (sagar). As with all
the places where the Ganges makes
some natural transition, this spot is con-
sidered especially holy. Ganga Sagar’s
biggest festival comes on Makara
Sankranti, the dayin January when the
sunresumes its northward course. On
this day, hundreds of thousands of pil-
grims come to bathe (snana). The site is
also famous for a temple to the irascible
sage Kapila, whose fiery power inciner-
ates the 60,000 sonsof King Sagar and
sets in motion a series of events leading
to King Bhagirathbringing the Ganges
down to earth.Ganges
Northern Indian river that has its source
in various small rivers in the Himalaya
Mountains. It comes onto the northern
Indian plain at the city of Haridwar,
flows east across the state of Uttar
Pradeshto the city of Allahabad, where
it unites with the Yamuna River, and
then flows east through the states of
Biharand West Bengalbefore joining
the sea at Ganga Sagar. At 1,560 miles in
length, the Ganges is shorter than many
other major rivers, but for Hindus no
river carries greater religious signifi-
cance. To pious Hindus the Ganges is
not merely a river, but the goddess
Gangacome down from heaven, and by
whose touch they are purified of all sin
and defilement. For the Ganges no
superlatives are spared—every drop is
sacred, every inch along its banks isGangesStreet fair in Ganga Sagar.