Left. Sailing boats journey into eternity in the tomb of Sennufer at Thebes, Egypt, c. 1932 BC
For the ancient civilizations of 2000 BC that depended on
irrigation, rivers were major symbols of fruitfulness and
contentment - as in the image of the four rivers of
paradise flowing from the Tree of Life to the cardinal points.
The great Hindu pilgrimages that began 4000 years
ago are focused on sacred rivers, particularly the
Ganges, which is venerated as a goddess, Ganga.
Some pilgrims take water from the source in the
foothills of the Himalayas and pour it on the linga
(phallic obelisk) at Ramesvaram, a village two
thousand miles to the south. In so doing, they
are uniting the sacred essence of the goddess
Ganga with the symbol of Shiva, bringing together
the female river goddess and the male god of fertility.
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