Thread: Kasi Yathra- Travelogue and some Useful information. KASHI TRIP (PART IV of Tavelogue)Hope you might have gone through my previous write- up on kashi rituals. Now I will attempt on my experiences relating to Kashi Ghatts and temples. GHATTSThere are 6. Ghatts. I will describe a few Ghatts. Asi Ghat is where the Asi river merges with the Ganga, this is the southern extreme of the city. Just next to this is the Tulsi Ghat where Tulsidas breathed his last. Then comes the Hanuman Ghat, which is where we stayed. Next to this is the Karnataka state Ghat, where there is a palace built by the Maharaja of Mysore. These two Ghats are full of mutts and ashrams belonging to south India, and hence is full of south Indians at any time of the year. Next comes the Harishchandra Ghat, which is the place associated with the legend of the truthful king, Harishchandra, and the trials and tribulations he underwent. This is one of the burning Ghats of the city, where bodies of people of all castes and communities are consigned to flames. THE LION OF THE PRIDE. Mother Durga - Rider On the Lion. HOW DOES THE LOVE OF GOD TURN TO TERRORISM? The parkama around Harmindar Sahib. Seema Azmi (also known as 'Seema') is an Indian film and theater actress. She was born in Guwahati, Assam, India, with Azamgarh origin and brought-up in Delhi where she completed her schooling and her graduation from Delhi. Chitrakoot (IAST: Chitrakoot, Sanskrit: . It is a town of religious, cultural, historical. Join Date Jul 2009 Location Bangalore Posts 67 Points 7,313 Level 9 Downloads 0 Uploads 0. Why MP3WINGER.COM is Best? First of all Thanks for Visit MP3WINGER.COM! Our Website MP3WINGER.COM is the world first and best Website which provide you the Results in just matter of minute, all results are nearly matched with. Quintessence of Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuranam of Melpathur Narayana Bhattatiri English Version of Bhaktaranjini Malayalam Commentary Containing the original text in Devanagari, Transliteration, Anvaya, Word-by. Visit our wholesale storefront - Incense Plaza. Incense Plaza 9777 Harwin Drive Suite 411 Houston, Texas 77036 United States Phone: 832-723-4470, Fax: 832-204-8425 E-Mail: [email protected]. Further upstream is the Kedar Ghat, with the Kedareshwar temple, followed by the Kshameshwar Ghat and then the Narad Ghat. The Narad Ghat, incidentally, is the only Ghat on which people don’t bathe. In mythology, Narada is depicted as the naughty saint who always creates trouble (with the best motives of course!), and it is believed that a couple bathing on this Ghat will start fighting amongst themselves! The Raja Ghat is one belonging to the royal family of Varanasi, while the Shitala Ghat has a temple of Shitala Devi, who is prayed to, to avoid the pox. The Rana Mahal Ghat was built by Maharana Pratap, and is a fine example of Rajasthani architecture, as is the Maan Mandir Ghat further up, attributed to Man Singh, which also has an observatory on top. The Lalitha Ghat is the one nearest to the Vishwanath and Annapurna temples. Next is the famous Manikarnika Ghat, where Parvati is believed to have dropped her ear rings. This is also a burning Ghat, where funeral pyres burn day and night, every single day. It is believed that there is always a pyre burning on this Ghat, at any time of the day or night. Till about 1. 00 years back, the ashes of a pyre burning at midnight would be taken to the Vishwanath temple for the lingam for Abhishekam, but this practice has now been stopped. The fortune of being cremated at this Ghat is solely reserved for Hindus. Then we come to the Panchaganga Ghat, which is among the more important ones. Here, it is believed, 5 different rivers merge, and when the river is in full force during the monsoon, the currents of the 5 rivers can be seen. On this Ghat are the Bindu Madhava Temple, and the mosque built by Aurangzeb after he demolished the original temple. The last of all the Ghats is the Varuna Ghat where the river Varuna merges with the Ganga. It is sheer pleasure to go for a boat ride in the evening on the Ganges. Please take a simple row boat. There are motor boats too nowadays, but the pleasure the Ganga is waiting to give you can not be experienced in a fast boat. Sunset on the Ganga. We had a wonderful time on the river. Time stood still, and even my boisterous son seemed to realize that this was something special. We watched the colours of the water change as the sun set over the horizon, we saw birds returning back to their nests after a days work, we noticed how adept the seagulls and kingfishers were at catching fish, we even saw a couple of cormorants (snake darters) hover over the surface of the water and catch their prey. But what I shall remember is the sight of the bats as it grew dark. They swooped down, looking like oversized crows, and so perfectly caught fish in the dark. It was a sight we shall never forget. The beauty of nature is not as apparent in the landscape as it is in the life that makes up the landscape. The climax of this wonderful boat ride on the Ganges is the Ganga aarti. The aarti is performed every evening at 7 PM on the main Ghats of the river, the most prominent being on the Dashashwamedha Ghat. The chants and the singing of the aarti songs created a wonderful atmosphere and the river and Ghats are full of people taking in this wonderful sight. While the priests perform the traditional aarti to the river, laymen and women like us light up earthen lamps and gently let them down into the river, where they float down like glittering jewels. It is a sight that has to be seen to be believed, and it is certainly an uplifting experience. PRAMODHParmodh, the boataman is like Guha from Ramayana Epic. May be he was a Brahmin in Poorva Janmam. He knows many of the rituals. He is like a Man Friday to Swamimalai Sastrigals’ family. What’s Varanasi without the Ganga? The river is the lifeline of the city. The city revolves around the river with everyone coming there to have a dip. With its source in the Himalayas, the Ganges never dries up. Of course, with the kind of pollution that we are creating, and the kind of garbage that is put into the river, only the lord knows if this will last! There wasn’t too much water in the Ganges. We had to climb down 6. Hanuman Ghat to reach the water. Each step was so high, climbing back up was an exercise in itself. If we lived in Varanasi, we would never put on weight! The Ghats are scrupulously cleaned every day- the minor ones by people with brooms and buckets of water, the important and crowded ones by jets of water. It is a sight that brigs a cheer to one’s heart. Hal- burnt dead bodies are no longer thrown in the river. Authorities are posted on the burning Ghats to make sure that the bodies are burnt completely. In spite of this, the sight of the Ghats on the Ganges is not a pleasant one. I believe that this has nothing to do with the authorities, but with the people themselves. People worship the Ganges as their mother, but don’t think twice before defiling her by throwing plastic bags in her . Nothing will change until the mentality of people changes, and that is going to be a slow process. When we were performing all the rites and rituals, it struck me that in those ancient days, when people prayed to the Ganga and offered so many things to her, all those things were biodegradable. All the containers were made of leaves, and the offerings were easily soluble, or were eaten by the fishes. Today, everyone comes here to perform the same rituals, but everyone takes a shortcut by using plastic and non degradable substances. People are more environment friendly today than ever before, and this is what gives me hope. It is my sincere request to all of you who read this article and visit Kashi to keep these things in mind, and avoid polluting the river in any way that you can. Let’s do our bit for the environment and for this wonderful river. It might not be much, but it will be a beginning if each one of us does our bit. However, our ancient texts mention a few more temples which are important and must be visited to complete the circuit of temples. The Visalakshi Temple. Visalakshi is the second consort of Shiva in this holy city of Kashi. This temple is one among the 5. Shakti peethams, and is part of the famous triad of temples- Kanchi Kamakshi, Madurai Meenakshi and Kashi Visalakshi. This small temple is situated in one of the narrow lanes around the Vishwanath temple, and it is mainly south Indians who seek out this temple. Though the temple is quite small, the idol of the goddess is very beautiful. Behind the main stone idol of the goddess is another idol (some say it is a silver casting, others say it is an idol), believed to be the idol prayed to in ancient times. One of our guides told us that it was the swayambhu idol of the goddess, while another refuted this claim. Whatever it is, it is certainly worth a look, so remember to look behind the idol when you visit the temple. Adi Shankaracharya, when he visited the temple, performed prayers to renew the powers of the temple and the goddess which had borne the brunt of several invasions. He also installed a Sri Yantram there, and it is to this Yantram that puja is done. Kumkumarchana to this Sri Yantram is considered very special, and can be performed by asking the pujari there. On Diwali day, she was decorated in Silver Pavadai. NATTUKOTTAI CHETTIAR CHATHIRAMThe Thanga Visalakshi with Diamond studded Mangalyam and Velli Golusu was decorated and was kept in a podium in Chathiram for three days from Diwali Day. Karaikudi Chettiars had assembled in a large number there. We met Gomathy Achi w/o Mr. Kannappan a retire Railway employee who had been there on her 1. Diwali Visit to Kashi. The Kala Bhairav temple. Kala Bhairav is the guardian deity of Kashi. He occupies the position of a guard/ watchman with a dog as his vehicle, and is regarded as one of the forms of Shiva himself. In Kashi, there are 8 Bhairav temples, collectively called Ashta Bhairav. These are - Kala Bhairav, Dhandapani, Veera Bhairav, Batuk Bhairav, Aashu Bhairav, Aananda Bhairav, Rudra Bhairav and Ruru Bhairav. Among these, Kala Bhairav is the most important one, visited by all those who visit Kashi. Dhandapani, or the one who wields a stick, is the one who decides on the punishment, while Kala Bhairav is the one who enforces his decision. In the words of our guide, Dhandapani is the commissioner, while Kala Bhairav is the constable. As usual, it is the constable who is more feared, than the commissioner himself! The specialty of this temple is the sacred thread available there. These threads, known as Kashi threads, are supposed to ward off evil forces, and are in great demand. The Bindu Madhava Temple. Among the ancient temples in the must- visit list of Kashi temples is the Bindu Madhava Temple. This temple is also one of a trinity- Veni Madhava at Sangam in Allahabad, Bindu Madhava at Kashi and Sethu Madhava at Rameswaram. All these three temples are small, simple affairs, with similar idols which are rather small in size. The Bindu Madhava Temple is best approached from the Panchaganga Ghat. There is, of course a road, but one which is rarely used by the pilgrims.
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