NOTE. Gaṅgā’s descent was truly a cause for universal celebration. As noted above, those who wanted to go to higher planetary systems could do so by taking advantage of her.

But her presence is also deemed extremely important for spiritualists because the transcendental practice of yoga is meant to be executed in a sacred place, according to Bhagavad-gītā 6.11. And Śrīla Prabhupāda remarks, “‘Sacred place’ refers to places of pilgrimage. In India the yogīs—the transcendentalists or the devotees—all leave home and reside in sacred places such as Prayāga, Mathurā, Vṛndāvana, Hṛṣīkeśa and Hardwar and in solitude practice yoga where the sacred rivers like the Yamunā and the Ganges flow.”

Even for bhakti-yoga, residing next to the Gaṅgā is considered very important. In The Nectar of Devotion, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “When there was a meeting of great sages at Naimiṣāraṇya, Sūta Gosvāmī was reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the importance of the Ganges was stated as follows: ‘The waters of the Ganges are always carrying the flavor of tulasī offered at the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and as such the waters of the Ganges are ever flowing, spreading the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Wherever the waters of the Ganges are flowing, all will be sanctified, both externally and internally.’”