According to an old legend, Lord Shiva rewarded King Bhagirath after his penance and Goddess Ganga, daughter of heaven, came down to earth in the form of a river to purify the ashes of his predecessors. However, due to the fact that the earth would be devastated if Ganga came down in her full force, Lord Shiva caught her in his matted locks. It was then proclaimed that Goddess Uma or Parvati, Shiva's consort, would bathe in the Ganges daily and only then would she descend on the earth. The sacred stone near the temple denotes the place where Ganga first came down to earth. This is why Ganga is also called by the name of Bhagirathi at her legendary source. Bhagirathi patiently led the river down to the sea from the Himalayas and unable to find the location of the ashes, followed her own course. In what is Bengal today, Ganga therefore divided herself into a 100

mouths and formed the Gangetic Deltas. One of these streams washed the ashes and offered salvation to the souls of the departed.

In the 18th Century, along the right bank of Bhagirathi, Gorkha General Amar Singh Thapa constructed the Gangotri Temple near the spot where Ganga descended on earth. Modho Singh, the ruler of Jaipur renovated the temple in the early 20th century.

The 18th century Gangotri Temple, one of the famous Indian pilgrimages dedicated to Goddess Ganga is a 20 ft. high structure made of white granite. The Gorkha General Amar Singh Thapa constructed it in 18th Century, and according to Hindu mythology the Pandavas performed a yajna here to atone the death of their kinsmen in the battle of Mahabharat. Located near the sacred Bhagirath Shila, a slab of stone where King Bhagirath worshipped Lord Shiva, Ganga is believed to have touched earth at this spot.