Instagram Photo Caption: Tents from our #GangaS2S Expedition glow under starlight beneath the jagged summits and sweeping granite faces of the #Bhagirathi Peaks from Sundarvan Basecamp on the #Gangotri Glacier, #India.

According to Hindu legend, the great King Bhagiratha performed a tapasya – or meditational penance – for one thousand years hoping to entice #Brahma to release the waters of the Ganges from the heavens. Brahma, impressed by his penance and devotion, released the waters, and Bhagiratha quickly realized their power in falling from the heavens would destroy the earth below. He asked for help from Lord #Shiva, and Shiva delivered, laying down his thick, dreadlocked hair and catching the water’s descent.

The river’s theological beginning is just below this spot, at the sacred site of #Gaumukh, where it begins its 1500 mile journey toward the sea and is known is its upper ramparts as the #Bhagirathi. @pedromcbride @davidcmorton @eddiebauer #Surface @india_gram

View in Instagram ⇒