I should depart Delhi at 10:30 AM for Varanasi via Jet Air arriving at 11:45 AM - a quick trip. I have booked a room for 3 nights at the "Palace on the River" hotel located near the Dashashwamedh gnat which is the central point for Hindu religious ceremonies offered along the Ganges river.
Varanasi, the holy city of India, is also known by the name of Benaras.Varanasi is the most popular pilgrimage point for the Hindus. In Hinduism, it is believed that those who die and are cremated here get an instant gateway to liberation from the cycle of births and re-births.
Considered as the abode of Lord Shiva, Varanasi is situated on the banks of River Ganges, which is believed to have the power of washing away all of one's sins. As pundits here will tell you, whatever is sacrificed and chanted here or given in charity reaps its fruits thousand times more than those good deeds performed at other places because of the power of that place. It is believed that three nights of fasting in Varanasi city can reap you rewards of many thousands of lifetimes of asceticism!
Varanasi is the oldest city in the world. Varanasi is more than 3000 years old and is famous as the city of temples. In Varanasi, there are temples at every few paces. Jyotirlinga Visvanatha Temple or Golden Temple, rebuilt in 1776, is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Jnana Vapi well (meaning 'Well of Wisdom) is believed to have been dug by Lord Shiva himself. It is believed that the majestic Alamgir mosque has replaced one of the most ancient shrines known as the temple of Bindu Madhava.
The Ganga Ghats (river front) are the most popular pilgrimage spot of Varanasi and are centers of music and learning. There is a great tradition of Yatras in the holy city of Kashi and the most sacred path is that of Panchkoshi Parikrama, the fifty-mile path with a radius of five miles that cover 108 shrines along the way, with Panchakoshi Temple as its main shrine. Other popular pilgrimage route is Nagara Pradakshina, which covers seventy-two shrines along the way. (My Plan)
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Kuldeep did a great job....our luggage arrived at 6 AM...breakfast and off to the airport....good-bye group travel....hello individual adventure!!!! I'll miss the group but getting up when I want to and controlling my own itinerary is appealing....
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Arrive Varanasi
First View of Ganges River
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Evening Boat Ride .....hundreds of individuals, couples and groups are boarding their boats....children are selling candles which will be lit and floated on the river once sun sets. Our first stop at the Manikarnika Gnat, primary Varanasi cremation Gnat and the one most important to the Hindu believer. When we arrived, there were seven pyres blazing, two bodies were being blessed in the Ganges before cremation and another four bodies arrived being carried in by their families on a bamboo stretcher...the body is dressed in their finest garments. After the blessing, the wood is purchased from the untouchable doms,who manage the cremation by supplying the wood, butter for coating the body plus incensed oil to enhance the burning process and finally the eternal flame. The oldest male member of the immediate family purchases a bundle of reeds into which is deposited an ember from the eternal fire...smoldering, the torch bearer circles the pyre three times before starting the fire. The cremation takes about three hours....a large pot of water is taken from the Ganges to dose the remaining falsies....large remaining bone fragments are picked-up with the bamboo sticks and thrown into the river...the ceremony is over. One unsettling fact....the ashes are placed in a large pile by the doms...when cooled, the shift though the ashes looking for and assuming ownership of all jewelry....all is true to Hindu custom...Pictures of the cremation could not be taken when near the Gnat.
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| Approaching Manikarnika Gnat |
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| Approaching Cremations |
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| Waiting for Cremation |
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| Eerie Cremation Fires |
We return to our Gnat and watch the beautiful Ganga Aatri ceremony ...there are 1000s of pilgrims in attendance....singing...chanting to the mantras of the priests....colors are vivid and the noise searing memories deep into one's consciousness...
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| Ganga Aarti Ceremony |
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| Releasing Candle Floats |
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| Celebration |
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| Pretty Candle Seller |
I'm exhausted from a long day of activities....must get up at 5 AM to witness sunrise over the Ganges ...see the practice of washing one's sins off in the Ganges.....yoga on the Gnats.....washing of laundry.....meditation...all before 7 AM...goodnight.
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