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| Lord Vishwanath |
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| Dharbhanga Ghat |
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| Boats near Ghats |
Banaras or Kashi (Varanasi) reflects the soul of India. This pilgrimage center is venerated as a worth-visiting place at least once in one's life. This place is regarded as the eternal abode of Lord Shiva who informed gods and great rishis that he would like to stay there for ever. So this place is called "Avimukta Kshetra" (a place never abandoned by Lord) or Ananda Vana (a place where you find spiritual joy). At this place even death is welcomed with joy as it is believed that people who have the fortune of leaving their mortal bodies here will attain salvation. When Lord Shiva came here, all other gods came down to be in his blissful company and worship Lord Vishwanath ( god of all worlds). The presiding deities of eight directions and nine planets along with seven sacred rishis and gods did penance and installed innumerable idols (Shiva Lingas) to show their intense devotion. Lord Vishnu dug a lake with his holy discus (Sudarshan Chakra) and did penance to obtain the grace of Lord Shiva.
Banaras is said to be the most ancient city and has a history of nearly three thousand years. It will exist even after the dissolution of the whole world. This is the place where Shiva manifested himself in the form of spiritual glow or Jyothirlinga. Only great devotees and gods can view that spiritual form. His consort Mother Parvathi manifested here in two forms: one as Shakti Peetha called Visalakshi and the second as Annapoorneshwari, the Goddess who satisfies her countlesschildren by bestowing food and divine wisdom. Shiva's most powerful incarnation called Kala Bhairava guards this city in all four directions and no evil force is allowed to enter this city.
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| Ganga Aarti |
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| Lord Kalbhairav |
Apart from this Kashi or Varanasi became more prominent by the presence of Goddess Ganga who flowed from the holy feet of Lord Vishnu and through the matted locks of Lord Shiva, who restrained her overwhelming speed so that she can flow down to earth without inundating the whole world. As the holy river flowed, many of her tributaries like Gomati, Gandaki, Kosi, Alaka Nanda, Mandakini, Sarayu and Yamuna joined her during her long journey covering about 2,525 kms. In Kashi two tributaries, Varuna and Asi join Ganga from the Northern and Southern borders. Many famous ancient kingdoms and civilizations flourished on her banks. Ancient cities like Varanasi, Patna, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Allahabad and Ayodhya became holy pilgrimage spots. Kingdoms like Anga, Magadha, Kosala and Kashi rose to prominence on the banks of Ganges. Great sages, scholars and philosophers came here to devote their lives in meditation and spiritual speculation. Lord Gautama gave his first sermon in Saranath ( just ten kms from Varanasi) in 589 B.C. In spite of facing many foreign invasions Banaras remained as the strong citadel of spiritual knowledge (Sanatana Dharama) preaching universal brotherhood and peace. The present temple of Lord Vishwanath was built by the Queen of Indore, Rani Ahalyabhai in1776 and the 15.5 meter-high temple spire was covered with gold by Ranjeet Singh, king of Lahore in 1835. It is said that there used to be nearly 2000 temples in and around Kashi. But in 1194 the soldiers of Qutubuddin Aibak destroyed one thousand temples and later during Shah Jahan's time nearly seventy-six temples were destroyed in Kashi.
Apart from the majestic Ganges the various ghats (nearly 87 in number) all along the bank of the river created a very impressive and eye-catching spectacle where one can see crowds of people taking their holy bath and worshiping Ganges with flowers and lighting lamps placed in leaf cups. The religious fervor of the people resonates everywhere near the ghats. Just perched above the top of the ghats many hermitages. shelters and temples were built lending a sense of grandeur and sacredness all around. Most of these ghats were built by Maratha kings in seventeenth century. Rajas of Jaipur, Scindia and Dharbanga built palatial mansions above the ghats to stay in Kashi and witness the Ganga celebrations. The famous ghats are Manikarnika ghat, Panchaganga Ghat, Dasawamedha Ghat, Harischandra Ghat, Hanuman Ghat, Dharbhanga Ghat, Kedar Ghat, Shivala Ghat and Assi Ghat. In the evening the Ganga Aarti given at Dasawamedh Ghat is a grand spectacle to see. In the twilight the glowing lamps and torches along with chanting of hymns fills everyone with a sense of devotion and pious delight.
Yet in spite of having deep reverence and intense devotion for this perennial river, Indians paradoxically have made this holy river of purity the fifth most polluted river in the world. Industrial wastes, dead bodies, garbage and plastic material madethis heaven-born river polluted for many decades. Though 40% of India's population gets water from this river, nearly 2,900 million tons of sewage is let out into this river every day. A very sad and stunning fact which questions the true sense of our devotion to this deified flowing river. Though Ganga Action Plan was started in 1980's it has not produced any tangible results. Many people sat on indefinite strike demanding purification of this river. In 2014 Namami Ganga Project was started by our beloved Prime Minister, Sri Narendra Modi who was an ardent advocate of Swachchata Movement. Let us hope that under his able guidance this mega-Project will create awareness in the society to keep all rivers clean on which our survival depends. After all, without cleanliness how can we expect to feel true Godliness ? Our ancestors knew the vital role of water in existence and so in Sanskrit, the word "Jiva" means not only "life" but also "Water". What a meaningful coincidence !
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20th December, 2015 Somaseshu Gutala
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