I felt a strange unexplained power or an energy surge as I stepped into Kashi. From the air to the holy water of the Ganges, everything is designed perfectly for anyone to fall in love with Kashi.
Kashi is primarily the favorite city of Lord Shiva and Adi Shankarcharya established Shiva-worship as official sect of Kashi. It is said that Lord Shiva sent his 'ganas' (disciples) to check how his favorite city was faring and they set themselves up near Kashi and never returned to Lord Shiva. This made Lord Shiva curious and he sent some more ganas to find out if there was any problem. Those ganas did not make it back either. Even more curious now, Lord Shiva sent his son Lord Ganesh to Kashi and even he did not come back. This made Lord Shiva come down to Kashi only to find how his ganas and his son were well-settled in Kashi and very reluctant to leave this beautiful place. I can totally understand the feeling.
It is the holiest of the seven holy cities ('Saptapuri) in Hinduism, Buddhism and even Sikhism is believed to have been originated here; hence it is aptly called the spiritual capital of India. Kashi has about 80+ Ghats out of which we were able to see about 50 of them during our journey to and from Kashi Vishwanath Temple by boat. Tip: Check the group prices for travel by boat and try to join the group that suits you if you are travelling alone or with just few friends. Members of our larger group paid between Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 for this tour.
The Ghats are stone embankments mostly built by the Marathas. They are connected by walkways and you can see the pilgrims do some rituals at almost all of them. It would have been great to hike through the various ghats but our kevat (boatman) said that it could take at least 2 days if you wanted to traverse all of them. I saw many people taking a walking tour and made a mental note to do just that the next time around. What a good photo-op that would be!
Of course, photo-ops from the boat are awesome as you can see.
Our kevat had some wonderful stories to say about Lord Shiva' links to Kashi.
It is believed that body part(s) and / or adornments of Sati / Shakti who is the first queen consort of Lord Shiva is here and hence there is one of 18 Maha Shakti Peeths i.e. Vishalakshi Temple dedicated to her. The story goes thus - Sati did severe penance to win Lord Shiva as her husband and much against the wishes of her father Daksha, she married Lord Shiva. Daksha held a ritual ('Daksha Yagna') and did not invite Sati and Lord Shiva. Sati still went to the Yagna thinking that she did not need an invite to go to her father' house but Lord Shiva refused to accompany her. Her father ignored her and insulted Lord Shiva and in that rage and sorrow, she jumped into the fire. Lord Shiva was enraged when he heard what happened and he kills Daksha but forgives and resurrects him later. But the sorrow of losing his beloved is too much and he wanders the world with Sati' corpse on his shoulders. Lord Vishnu is pained to see Lord Shiva in such distress and he severes Sati body into pieces and wherever such parts of her body fell, a temple or Shakti Peeth was dedicated to her. This temple is at Manikarnika Ghat where the Hindus cremate their dead.
The cremations go on 24/7. It is believed that people who either die of natural causes or who are cremated here attain 'moksha' and go on to Lord Shiva' abode at Mount Kailash. People actually come here during the last phase of their life so that they can attain 'moksha' / salvation from the cycle of rebirth. I was told that I had come very early indeed; some people even asked me if I had any health problems. This when I looked as healthy as a horse and even my normal maladies when subject to extreme heat - headache, body ache and stomachache, seemed to have gone on vacation; God was indeed being kind to me.
Harishchandra Ghat too is another place where the Hindus cremate their dead. Many believe that this is older than the Manikarnika Ghat. King Harishchandra was known for his virtues of honesty, justice and generosity. When Sage Vishwamitra asked him for Dakshina, he gave away his kingdom, sold himself, his wife and son to slavery to pay off the Dakshina. He worked at the cremation grounds here in Kashi. He saw his wife only when she came with the corpse of their son who had died of snake-bite. King Harishchandra passed even this testing time with flying colors and this pleased God who handed back his kingdom and son to him.
Another story goes thus - Goddess Parvati also queen consort of Lord Shiva and reincarnation of Sati, was offended when Lord Shiva said that the whole world is an illusion 'maya' and anything materialistic including food was to be treated as such. She disappeared and suddenly the people of the world suffered from starvation and hunger. Moved by the plight of her people, she reappeared in Kashi and started offering cooked food to the people. On hearing this, Lord Shiva came there to bless her and since then she is worshiped here as Annapoorna Devi (giver of food and nourishment).
The pilgrims take a sacred dip in the Ganga before entering the temples. The most popular story of
Goddess Ganga descending to the earth begins thus - The sons of King Sagara disturbed the meditation of Sage Kapila and he was so enraged that he seared them to ashes. King Bhagiratha, one of the descendents of King Sagara prayed for Goddess Ganga to descend to the earth and give his anscestors 'moksha'. But Goddess Ganga' force and grace was too much for the earth to bear so King Bhagiratha appealed to Lord Shiva to break the fall of Goddess Ganga and Lord Shiva locked the flow in his matted hair. She was then led by a waiting King Bhagirath from the Himalayas to Prayag for confluence with Yamuna and then onto Kashi and then onto the netherworld to save the sons of King Sagara. Thus, it is believed that a dip in this holy river means absolution from your sins and eternal salvation.
I had heard that Ganga is one of the most polluted rivers with dead and half-burnt bodies and human waste / sewage and items used in rituals all floating around. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see no such thing. Our kevat told us that the Ganga is being cleaned courtesy the efforts of the government and dumping of bodies have also been banned. However, do not drink the water near the area where pilgrims take a dip in the Ganges. Some of our fellow-pilgrims drank the water there and subsequently spent the rest of the day throwing up, so beware.
Panchganga Ghat is the point of confluence of five rivers - Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Dhupapa and Kirna. The waters don't really blend and you can spot different colors as in Triveni Sangam. I had heard that water of Ganga don't spoil no matter how many years pass by but the water from the confluences with other rivers does spoil. So, as an experiment, I filled in waters in different bottles from Ganga (Kashi), Triveni Sangam (Allahabad) and Panchganga (Kashi). The only difference that I really observed was that the waters of Ganga are clear whereas the waters from the confluences have a bit of color like a bit of yellow & brown. I am going to age the waters and check out when or if they ever spoil.
The most important temple i.e. Kashi Vishwanath Temple, is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the 12 'Jyotirlingas' and the holiest of Shiva Temples. Legend has it that when Lord Brahma, the God of Creation and Lord Vishnu, the God of Harmony were having an argument as to who played a greater role in the world, Lord Shiva created a pillar of light that extended to all the worlds and he asked Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu to find the end of this pillar. Both of them could not find the end but Lord Brahma lies whereas Lord Vishnu acknowledges the truth that he could not find the end. Lord Shiva blesses Lord Vishnu and says that he would be worshiped till the end of time whereas Lord Brahma would not be part of any daily worship. Lord Shiva then replicated this across 11 other locations which are known as Jyotirlinga. Kashi is thus the City of Light.
This temple structure has been destroyed and recreated multiple times and the creation of the present structure is attributed to Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar.
Note: Cameras, mobile phones etc. are not allowed inside the temple and you may be separated from the others during the course of your darshan. It is wise to decide on a meeting point and carry minimal stuff. You can leave your bags with the kevat or you can be the bearer of all bags and take darshan after at least one of your group members have returned. If you are alone, chances are very high that you could be fast-forwarded for darshan & you may be back before the big groups in your boat have finished their darshan. The temple is closed between 12:00 and 1:00 so if you are in line during that time then you have to kill the hour standing in the same line before darshan. You can also shop at the stalls; many people in our boat were ecstatic at the bargains they had negotiated.
Benaras has a thriving silk and muslin industry as well as other works of art. So, you could get saris and accessories here for a steal which may have you cringing about how much excess you paid for the same stuff in Mumbai. We were directed to a wholesaler Chandan Silks so we could get more saris in our budget. Once the saris and accessories start getting displayed, the sheer choice confuses you and then makes you want to increase your already large budget.
You could also visit the Ramnagar Fort (where the present Kashi Naresh / Maharaja of Varanasi resides), Jantar Mantar (an observatory near the Dashashmawedh Ghat), Benaras Hindu University, Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple and Durga Temple.
You need to be suitably rested before 5:30 p.m. so that you can get to Dashashmawedh Ghat for the spectacular viewing of the aarti by seven priests. You could take a rickshaw to a point from where there is a walk of about a km to this ghat or you could simply take the boat again. Our boat was parked in between Dashashmawedh Ghat and nearby Sitla Ghat so that we could view the aarti at both places. Children sell flowers and diyas which you can light and float into the Ganga. The sight of the flowers and diyas floating in the Ganga at night is spectacular. I want to also say that pictures or videos cannot do justice to the live feel of the aarti. The synchronized aarti by the priests overwhelm and leave you spell-bound.
As I left Kashi, I felt I had left a piece of me behind so that I was motivated to go back soon.
Kashi is primarily the favorite city of Lord Shiva and Adi Shankarcharya established Shiva-worship as official sect of Kashi. It is said that Lord Shiva sent his 'ganas' (disciples) to check how his favorite city was faring and they set themselves up near Kashi and never returned to Lord Shiva. This made Lord Shiva curious and he sent some more ganas to find out if there was any problem. Those ganas did not make it back either. Even more curious now, Lord Shiva sent his son Lord Ganesh to Kashi and even he did not come back. This made Lord Shiva come down to Kashi only to find how his ganas and his son were well-settled in Kashi and very reluctant to leave this beautiful place. I can totally understand the feeling.
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| The Ghats at Kashi |
The Ghats are stone embankments mostly built by the Marathas. They are connected by walkways and you can see the pilgrims do some rituals at almost all of them. It would have been great to hike through the various ghats but our kevat (boatman) said that it could take at least 2 days if you wanted to traverse all of them. I saw many people taking a walking tour and made a mental note to do just that the next time around. What a good photo-op that would be!
Of course, photo-ops from the boat are awesome as you can see.
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| Our Kevat at Kashi |
It is believed that body part(s) and / or adornments of Sati / Shakti who is the first queen consort of Lord Shiva is here and hence there is one of 18 Maha Shakti Peeths i.e. Vishalakshi Temple dedicated to her. The story goes thus - Sati did severe penance to win Lord Shiva as her husband and much against the wishes of her father Daksha, she married Lord Shiva. Daksha held a ritual ('Daksha Yagna') and did not invite Sati and Lord Shiva. Sati still went to the Yagna thinking that she did not need an invite to go to her father' house but Lord Shiva refused to accompany her. Her father ignored her and insulted Lord Shiva and in that rage and sorrow, she jumped into the fire. Lord Shiva was enraged when he heard what happened and he kills Daksha but forgives and resurrects him later. But the sorrow of losing his beloved is too much and he wanders the world with Sati' corpse on his shoulders. Lord Vishnu is pained to see Lord Shiva in such distress and he severes Sati body into pieces and wherever such parts of her body fell, a temple or Shakti Peeth was dedicated to her. This temple is at Manikarnika Ghat where the Hindus cremate their dead.
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| Manikarnika Ghat |
Harishchandra Ghat too is another place where the Hindus cremate their dead. Many believe that this is older than the Manikarnika Ghat. King Harishchandra was known for his virtues of honesty, justice and generosity. When Sage Vishwamitra asked him for Dakshina, he gave away his kingdom, sold himself, his wife and son to slavery to pay off the Dakshina. He worked at the cremation grounds here in Kashi. He saw his wife only when she came with the corpse of their son who had died of snake-bite. King Harishchandra passed even this testing time with flying colors and this pleased God who handed back his kingdom and son to him.
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| Kashi Annapurna |
The pilgrims take a sacred dip in the Ganga before entering the temples. The most popular story of
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| Dip in the Ganga |
I had heard that Ganga is one of the most polluted rivers with dead and half-burnt bodies and human waste / sewage and items used in rituals all floating around. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see no such thing. Our kevat told us that the Ganga is being cleaned courtesy the efforts of the government and dumping of bodies have also been banned. However, do not drink the water near the area where pilgrims take a dip in the Ganges. Some of our fellow-pilgrims drank the water there and subsequently spent the rest of the day throwing up, so beware.
Panchganga Ghat is the point of confluence of five rivers - Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Dhupapa and Kirna. The waters don't really blend and you can spot different colors as in Triveni Sangam. I had heard that water of Ganga don't spoil no matter how many years pass by but the water from the confluences with other rivers does spoil. So, as an experiment, I filled in waters in different bottles from Ganga (Kashi), Triveni Sangam (Allahabad) and Panchganga (Kashi). The only difference that I really observed was that the waters of Ganga are clear whereas the waters from the confluences have a bit of color like a bit of yellow & brown. I am going to age the waters and check out when or if they ever spoil.
The most important temple i.e. Kashi Vishwanath Temple, is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the 12 'Jyotirlingas' and the holiest of Shiva Temples. Legend has it that when Lord Brahma, the God of Creation and Lord Vishnu, the God of Harmony were having an argument as to who played a greater role in the world, Lord Shiva created a pillar of light that extended to all the worlds and he asked Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu to find the end of this pillar. Both of them could not find the end but Lord Brahma lies whereas Lord Vishnu acknowledges the truth that he could not find the end. Lord Shiva blesses Lord Vishnu and says that he would be worshiped till the end of time whereas Lord Brahma would not be part of any daily worship. Lord Shiva then replicated this across 11 other locations which are known as Jyotirlinga. Kashi is thus the City of Light.
This temple structure has been destroyed and recreated multiple times and the creation of the present structure is attributed to Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar.
Note: Cameras, mobile phones etc. are not allowed inside the temple and you may be separated from the others during the course of your darshan. It is wise to decide on a meeting point and carry minimal stuff. You can leave your bags with the kevat or you can be the bearer of all bags and take darshan after at least one of your group members have returned. If you are alone, chances are very high that you could be fast-forwarded for darshan & you may be back before the big groups in your boat have finished their darshan. The temple is closed between 12:00 and 1:00 so if you are in line during that time then you have to kill the hour standing in the same line before darshan. You can also shop at the stalls; many people in our boat were ecstatic at the bargains they had negotiated.
Benaras has a thriving silk and muslin industry as well as other works of art. So, you could get saris and accessories here for a steal which may have you cringing about how much excess you paid for the same stuff in Mumbai. We were directed to a wholesaler Chandan Silks so we could get more saris in our budget. Once the saris and accessories start getting displayed, the sheer choice confuses you and then makes you want to increase your already large budget.
You could also visit the Ramnagar Fort (where the present Kashi Naresh / Maharaja of Varanasi resides), Jantar Mantar (an observatory near the Dashashmawedh Ghat), Benaras Hindu University, Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple and Durga Temple.
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| Dashashmawedh Ghat |
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| Dashashmawedh Aarti |
As I left Kashi, I felt I had left a piece of me behind so that I was motivated to go back soon.
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