| Benaras: India's Religious Capital | |
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To the Hindus the Ganges is a sacred river and any town or city on its bank is believed to be auspicious. But Varanasi has a special sanctity, for it is believed, this is where Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati stood when time started ticking. The place also has an intimate connection with a host of legendary figures and mythical characters, who are said to have actually lived here. Varanasi has found place in the Buddhist scriptures as well as the great Hindu epic of Mahabharata. The holy epic poem Shri Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas was also written here. All this makes Varanasi a significantly holy place.
A
Heaven For Pilgrims
Varanasi is a veritable paradise for pilgrims, who throng the "Ghats"
of the Ganges for spiritual rewards like deliverance from sin and attainment
of nirvana. The Hindus believe that to die in Kashi on the banks of the Ganges
is an assurance of heavenly bliss and emancipation from the eternal cycle of
birth and death. So, many Hindus travel to Varanasi at the twilight hour of
their life.
The
City of Temples
Varanasi is also famous for its antique temples. The renowned Kashi
Vishwanath Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva has a "lingam" (the phallic
icon of Shiva) that goes back to the time of the epics. Skanda Purana by
Kasikanda mentions this temple of Varanasi as Shiva's abode. It has withstood
the onslaught of various invasions by Muslim rulers. The present temple was
rebuilt by Rani Ahalya Bai Holkar, the ruler of Indore, in 1776. Then in 1835,
the Sikh ruler of Lahore, Maharaja Ranjit Singh had its 15.5 m high spire plated
in gold. Since then it's also known as the Golden Temple.
The 8th century Durga Temple, situated on the Ramnagar Pandav road, is home to hundreds of monkeys that reside in the nearby trees. Another popular temple is the Sankatmochan temple dedicated to the monkey-god Hanuman. Varanasi's Bharat Mata Temple is probably the only temple in India that is dedicated to the "Mother India". Inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936, it has a big relief map of India carved in marble. Another relatively new temple is the Tulsi Manas Temple built in honor of Lord Rama in 1964 at the place where Goswami Tulsidas composed the Ramacharitmanas, the vernacular version of the epic of Ramayana. The walls of this temple adorn the scenes and verses depicting the exploits of Lord Rama.
Other significant places of worship include the Sakshi Vinayaka Temple of Lord Ganesha, the Kaal Bhairav Temple, the Nepali Temple, built by the King of Nepal on Lalita Ghat in Nepali style, the Bindu Madhav Temple near the Panchaganga Ghat and the Tailang Swami Math.
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