Near the border with Bangladesh the Farakka Barrage controls the flow of the Ganges by diverting some of the water into a feeder canal which has link with the Hooghly river to keep it relatively silt-free. The river breaks up into multiples branches at its delta.
There is a lot of pollution in the Ganges because everyone releases their waste into it. This causes a lot of sicknesses like cholera, hepatitis, typhoid, and amoebic dysentery. The presence of coliform bacteria in the waters has increased well above normal. This is a major cause of water pollution. These diseases cause about a third of the deaths in India every year. That is why the government has started a multi-crore project called the Ganga Action Plan (GAP).
During the early Vedic Age, the Indus and the Sarasvati River were the major rivers of the Indian subcontinent, not the Ganges. But the later three Vedas seem to give much more importance to the Ganges, as shown by its numerous references. Possibly the first European Traveler to mention the Ganges was Megasthenes (ca. 350 – 290 BCE). In Rome's Piazza Navona, "Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi" (fountain of the four rivers) was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and built in 1651. The art-work symbolizes four of the world's great rivers (the Ganges, the Nile, the Danube, and the Río de la Plata), which is to represent the four continents (Australia and Antarctica were unknown then).
Hindus regard the Ganges as not only a river but also a mother, a goddess, a tradition, a culture, and much more. In Hinduism it is considered holy to take a pilgrimage to the Ganges and take a dip. This leads to more illness: adding to the death toll. Many Hindus believe that bathing in the Ganga can purify a person's soul of all past sins, and some believe that it can also cure illnesses. So, many Hindu families keep Ganga water in their homes as they consider it to be very pure. The holy towns like Haridwar, Allahabad, Kanpur, and Varanasi attract thousands of pilgrims. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims arrive at these towns to bathe in the Ganges. In Hinduism people's ashes are thrown into the Ganges as they think it is a sacred river.
According to Hindu Puranas a king named Bhagiratha did Tapasya for many years to bring the River Ganges. Ganges was then residing in the Heavens. By the help of pure Ganga waters, Bhagirath wanted to release his ancestors of a curse. Therefore, the Ganges descended to the Earth to make the earth pious, fertile and wash out the sins of humans.
The water of the Ganges is used extensively in agriculture in the fertile Gangetic plains. Chief crops cultivated in the area include rice, sugarcane, lentils, oil seeds, potatoes, and wheat.
Along the banks of the river, the swamps and lakes provide a good growing area for crops such as legumes, chillies, mustard, sesame, sugarcane, and jute. Fishing is also done in the Ganga waters.
Industries which require a large amount of water are set up on the banks of the river. The Ganges is popular for river rafting, which attract many adventurers in the summer months. Tourism is also a related activity in modern times.
Arges
Arges, Argeş, or Argeș might mean:
Sita
In Hinduism, Sita was the daughter of Janaka and wife of Rama, an avatar of god Vishnu. The word Sita means “furrow”, that is, the line created on the farm when it is ploughed. She is believed to be the daughter of Bhūmi in many legends.
There is a story about Sita's birth. Her father Janaka was ploughing the land and a furrow was formed. From that furrow a baby girl came out. Janaka took the girl as his daughter and named her Sita.
In Hinduism, Sita is considered a form of the goddess Lakshmi. Sita is worshiped for her greatness and for her loyalty. She was the goddess of loyalty and her responsibility.
Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb
Halima Sadia () was an Arabic Beduin woman. She was a foster mother and took care of the prophet Muhammad for the first two years of his life. Halimah and her husband were from the tribe of Sa'd b. Bakr (a large North Arabian tribe).
Foster mothers came to Mecca to feed children. It was the custom at that time in Makkah that families send their children to live for a while with a nurse who lived in the desert. This was healthier for their bodies to be around a natural environment instead of living in the city. They preferred that the fathers of the children they took care of were still alive. Although Muhammad's father was dead, Halimah took him just eight days after he was born. He grew up in Hudaybiyah, then in Medina before he was returned to his mother, Aminah bint Wahb.
Years after Muhammad's mother died and he became married to Khadijah, Halimah came to him complaining of her poverty. He asked Khadijah to give her 40 sheep. After Muhammad got his first revelation, Halimah and her husband came to Muhammad and embraced Islam. When she came to Muhammad on the day of Hunayn, he took off his robe and put it on the ground for her to sit.
So when the group of foster mothers arrived at the Makkah city and they picked up most of the children, the last nurse arrived with her husband (Al-Harith) riding a donkey and old camel. She found only one orphan boy who had no father to pay her. She was ready to go back but she did not want to return without a baby. She decided to go back and pick up the orphan.
As soon as she lifted that boy, her life changed and became filled with immense good fortune and blessings. The old camel, which had not given a drop of milk, was soon over flowing with milk. Although she was the last women leaving makkah on her donkey, she passed her friends. This was indeed a great blessing for her and for this poor Bedouin family.
After two years, Muhammad was returned to his mother Amina. She told Amina about the great blessings that she had received when Muhammad was in her care, but soon, Amina was persuaded by Halima and her husband (Al-Harith) to return the child back with them for another two years to protect him from a spreading disease in Makkah.
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid () (555 - 619) was the first wife of the Muhammad, an Islamic prophet. Her nickname was Khadijah al-Kubra. She was the daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad and Fatimah bint Za'idah. Khadijah is widely known as the first person to convert to Islam. Khadijah is known as "Umm-al-mu'minin" which means "the Mother of the Believers"
Khadijah had six children with Muhammad.
555
555 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.
619
619 (DCXIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Sarasvati (disambiguation)
Sarasvati may mean several things. Some of the meanings are written below:
Sarasvati River
Sarasvati River was one of the major rivers of Ancient India. The river flowed through parts of western and northern India. Then in Allahabad, the river merged with the Jamuna River.
At one time, Sarasvati was a deep river. The river dried up and became lost over a few hundred years, possibly between 2000 and 1500 BC.
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty was the family of emperors who led China from 1368 to 1644. The name is also used to talk about the that they led and the 276 years in Chinese history that it lasted.
It is also famous for its pottery from Jingdezhen in Jiangxi and Dehua in Fujian.
The Ming dynasty is known in Chinese as the "Míng". This is written as in Chinese characters. The character is a sun () and a moon () together and means "bright". Chinese uses different words to talk about the different meanings of a Chinese "dynasty" in English: their government is called the "Míng cháo" , their country is called the "Dà Míng dìguó" ( or , and their time in Chinese history is called the "Míng dài" .