Ganges

the great sacred river of India, which, though somewhat shorter than the Indus, drains a larger area and traverses a more fertile basin; it has its source in an ice-cave on the southern side of the Him a lay as, 8 m. above Gangotri, at an elevation of 13,800 ft. above the sea-level; at this its first stage it is known as the Bhagirathi, and not until 133 m. from its source does it a ume the name of Ganges, having already received two tributaries; i uing from the Him a lay as at Sukhi, it flows in a more or le southerly course to Allah a bad, where it receives the Jumna, and thence makes its way by the plains of Behar and past Benares to Goal and a, where it is joined by the Brahmaputra; the united stream, le ened by innumerable offshoots, pursues a SE. course till joined by the Meghna, and under that name enters the Bay of Bengal; its most noted offshoot is the Hooghly ( q. v .), which pursues a course to the S. of the Meghna; between these lies the Great Delta, which begins to take shape 220 m. inland from the Bay of Bengal; the Ganges is 1557 m. in length, and offers for the greater part an excellent waterway; it is held in great reverence as a sacred stream whose waters have power to cleanse from all sin, while burial on its banks is believed to ensure eternal happine .