Garnet
colour marvelous statue of Lord Hanuman lifting Dronachal Mountain in hand is
located at Hanuman Hill, GANGA TALAO also known as GRAND BASSIN, situated in a
secluded mountain area in the district of Savanne, deep in the heart of
MAURITIUS Island, East Africa. It is about 1800 feet above sea level, just 2 kms
east of Le Petrin and is one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage sites
outside of India.
The name
“Ganga” is associated with the Ganges River in India and “Talao” means pool. The
Hindu regards this lake as sacred. No one knows the depth of Ganga Talao Lake. A
vestige of the original forest is still found along the lakeside.
There is a temple dedicated to Hindu God Shiva and 108 feet height Giant metal
statue known as Mangal Mahadev, standing with his trident in middle of the lake,
is situated at the entrance of Ganga Talao in the courtyard of a temple. It was
built in 2006 and was complete & inaugurated in 2007. The sthapan ceremony was
done during the Maha Shivratri period of 2008. The statue is replica (faithful
copy) of the Shiva statue of Sursagar Lake located at Vadodara city in the
Indian state of Gujarat. It is also the highest known statue in Mauritius
Island and also the second biggest statue of Lord Shiva in the world. The
statue looks so huge and forms part of one of the high monuments in the world. During
every year in Maha Shivaratri festival celebration, most of the devotees leave
their homes and start a journey to the Sacred Lake Grand Bassin on foot. It has
been a tradition that volunteer people offer foods and drinks to the
pilgrims (the devotees). There
are a lot of Hindu God & Goddess statues/temples in Ganga Talao location.
According to legend the Crater Lake is
connected with the holy river Ganges and there is a myth about how was born the
Ganga Talao. Once upon a time, The God Shiva, the transformer & destroyer,
and his wife Goddess Parvati were flying around the world on Nandi (Nandi Bull:
वृषभ, Vahana or Vehicle and Gatekeeper of Shiva & Parvati). Shiva
wanted to show Parvati the most beautiful places on earth, so they stopped in
Mauritius. During the journey, Shiva was carrying the river Ganges on his head,
to prevent the earth from flooding. When they wanted to land in Mauritius,
Shiva accidently spilled water of the holy river into the Crater and this is
how Grand Bassin emerged.
Ganga Talao is considered the most sacred Hindu location in Mauritius as
well as a major tourist place of interest and destination. Visitors come here
to meditate & to go sightseeing as well. They include the local people,
pilgrims from India and visitors from many other countries. Here, nature and
men seem to be able to coexist peacefully.
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