By Admin 
Ganga water was considered very special during the Mughal period. The Mughal emperor considered the water of Ganga as nectar or the water of immortality. He believed that Ganga water was very pure and good for health. For this reason, many Mughal emperors from Akbar to Aurangzeb used Ganga water for drinking. Not only this, even when food was prepared in the royal kitchen, Ganga water was used for many purposes. The Mughal emperor considered it not ordinary water, but very pure water.
The early Mughal emperors also praised Ganga water a lot. However, Babar and Humayun did not order it from far away and drink it. This tradition especially started during the time of Akbar and later continued till the rule of Aurangzeb. Babar has praised the purity of Ganga water in his autobiography Baburnama. He had described it as a good alternative to the water of Kabul’s rivers. According to some historians, Babar considered Ganga water as “Aab-e-Hayat” i.e. water that gives life. Humayun also liked Ganga water. He was also quite impressed with its purity.
Also read: Tamil Nadu Death: After watching YouTube, it became costly to get home delivery done! Woman dies during delivery
System regarding Ganga water made during Akbar’s reign
Akbar gave a systematic form to the tradition of drinking Ganga water. It is written in historian Abul Fazal’s book Ain-e-Akbari that Akbar used to drink only Ganga water. For this, water was procured from far away places and complete arrangements were made. This is also mentioned in historian Ram Nath’s book Private Lives of Mughals. It is told in it that Akbar had created a separate department to bring Ganga water. A separate budget was fixed for this work. Special people were appointed to check the quality of the water that was brought to Akbar. The water was first tasted and only after testing it was sent to the palace. It is said that Akbar used to drink about one liter of Ganga water every day.
How was Ganga water kept in vessels?
According to Ain-e-Akbari, Ganga water was kept in gold or silver vessels. In winter it was slightly heated with hot water and in summer it was cooled with the help of saltpeter i.e. nitrate. Ganga water was not always used for cooking. For this, a mixture of rain water and Yamuna river water was used. This water was cleaned by filtering it with a cloth. Most of the Ganga water was brought from Haridwar. Trusted people were given the responsibility of bringing water from Haridwar and other places.
Water was delivered to the palace in sealed jars.
Water was transported to the palace in sealed pots or jars so that its purity was maintained. Many types of water coming from far away were boiled before use, but Ganga water brought from Haridwar was used directly without boiling because it was considered the purest. The work of bringing water was mostly done through boats through rivers or on land with the help of animals. At that time, during the Mughal rule, river Ganga was a major medium of trade and travel.
Akbar did great work for the supply of Ganga water.
Historians estimate that thousands of rupees were spent every year on this entire system. Although no exact data is available, it is certain that Akbar had made it an important part of the imperial system by creating a separate department for the supply of Ganga water.
Also read: Bihar Governor and Minister of State for External Affairs will attend Khamenei’s funeral, expert said – ‘Modi government’s Iran…’