SOJOURNED IN THE FABLED LAND OF LORD SHIVA AND THE BUDDHA: A MYSTIC JOURNEY
The super fast Locomotive, Rajdhani Express pulled its brake at Mughal Sarai Jn. in the wee hours of a foggy December night, after a pleasurable 18 hours journey from Bhubaneswar, the city of temples to Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India. The fun filled journey was quite a rejuvenating one. It was great to reminisce on memories of our distant past , as we, a group of 3 bosom friends (Rama Shankar Patnaik ,Subas Chandra Baral and myself), since our varsity years 1973 ,after retirement that to all rail enthusiasts accompanied by spouses, have under taken a journey, to the much fabled city of Varanasi , to have a brush with the hoary past and sojourn in a city as old as time itself .
The city of Varanasi has assimilated the essence of Buddhism and Brahmanical religious practices. Even the Buddha himself was assimilated to the Brahmanical pantheon as 9th Avatar of Vishnu. At the same time, Buddhism had also attempted in assimilation of the Brahmanical Deities into its fold. The frame work of Mahayana easily enabled the direct import of deities into its fold .Shiva was initially considered as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara. It was believed that Shiva himself will attain Buddhatva (Buddhahood) in future as Bhasmeshavar Buddha. The city of Varanasi has been considered one of the ancient cities in the world; dating back to 11th century BC. About Varanasi, Mark twain, the father of American literature, has succinctly stated - “Older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together”. The city which can be aptly described as a melting pot, where both life and death come together. Here the Hindu tradition of a ‘Mystical Union’ between the Shrine and the River has been amply manifested.
As our hotel pick up cab was delayed due to thick fog over the Malaviya Bridge a double decker bridge over the Ganges that connect Varanasi, we availed the waiting time over steaming cups of tea served in kulhad (earthen cup)in a nearby teashop customarily doing brisk business in the early hours of that winter morning . As soon as the vehicle arrived, we left for our hotel in the heart of Varanasi. After finishing our bath, we were treated with authentic south Indian breakfast in a nearby Kerala Restaurant, run hereditarily by a Karalee family, perhaps relocated to the holy city following the footsteps of Adi Shankaracharjya.
Our pilgrimage started for Kashi Viswanatha, the presiding deity of Varanasi, in a boat from Assi Ghat, the southernmost ghat amongst 88 ghats in Varanasi and ended at Dasaswamedha ghat, the most ancient and famous ghat in Varanasi .The spiritually charged boat cruise in the holy Ganges, listening to the guide about the significance of the Ganges, ghats and temples lining on the river banks proved to be quite mystical, informative and elevating experience .Many devout Hindus believe, the last stop before Nirvana is dying in Kashi, so they make the ultimate trip to the city when they realize that they are close to death and await for their end, in Moksha Bhavan (free for a fortnight) or in rented accommodations, listening to holy scriptures .Perhaps Varanasi is the only city under the sun, where people wish to die ,as it gives them a chance to attain salvation without any qualms. We could see number of live cremations being performed at Manikarnika and Harishchandra ghats .Mythology has it that, the funeral pyres at these iconic ghats never cool down. Alighting from the boat at Dasaswamedha ghat , proceeded to Kashi Viswanatha temple ,through a narrow lane infested with stray bulls and squatting Yogis in yogic trance in the sidewalks . Lord Shiva, here- Viswanatha, is regarded one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in India .In the Hindu belief system, visiting temple and dipping in the waters of the holy Ganges , is considered to be the way of achieving Moksha(liberation).Mentioned in the Kashi Khand of Skanda Purana ,the temple is considered to be one of the most ancient temples in India .It has been destroyed and reconstructed a number of times in the medieval period .Raja Mansingh and Todarmal further rebuilt the temple with Akbar’s funding at its original site in 1585. The sixth emperor of Mughal dynasty, infamous for his bigotry, Aurangzeb destroyed the temple in 1669CE and built the Gyanvapi mosque in its place .The current structure was built on an adjacent site by the Martha ruler, Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780.The temple spire and dome are plated with pure gold donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1835.Therefore,the temple is also known as golden temple . We offered our puja at the sacred Jyotriling after proceeding in a labyrinthine queue passing by the sensitive Gyanvapi mosque, monitored by armed security personnel. In the afternoon, we visited Shree Durga temple which is famously known as Monkey temple as we saw lots of monkeys swarming the temple campus. We also visited nearby Tulsi Manas Mandir , where Ramayana was originally translated by Santh Tulsidas from Sanskrit language to Awadhi dialect in 16th century. We were beholden by the captivating pictorial display of various sequential scenes of the epic Ramayana on the temple walls.
Ghats in Varanasi are river front steps leading to banks of River Ganges. The ghats were mostly built during the Maratha rule from 1700 A.D. The city has 88 ghats mostly used for bathing and rituals. Two of the most iconic ghats, Manikarnika and Harishchandra are exclusively used as cremation sites. We were overly dismayed seeing high level of pollution in the Ganga water and could see a number of underground sewerage pipes discharge effluents from hotels, industries and residential colonies, into the river. The “Nirmal Ganga”a multi –crore pet Ganga project to conserve, clean and rejuvenate the Ganges seems to have failed to achieve its target.
ASSI GHAT: This ghat is very popular, because it is one of the very few ghats that are linked with the city through a wide street and close to Banaras Hindu University. Assi ghat name is given as it is the 80th ghat .Ceremonial Ganga aarti used to be performed in this ghat in the evening in a pompous way. For better viewing the evening aarti, visitors throng the river side in hired boats.
HARISH CHANDRA GHAT: This iconic ghat is named after the mythological king Harishchandra ,eulogized for his charity and truthfulness. The epic story of the king, sold to a chandal, the keeper of the ghat to keep his promise to the sage Viswamitra, is a popular folklore.
MANIKARNIKA GHAT: As per a popular legend, in order to restrict the movement of Lord Shiva from moving around with his devotees, his consort Goddess Parvati hide her earrings, and asked him to find them, pretending that they had been lost on the banks of the Ganges .Goddess Parvati’s idea behind the drama was that, Lord Shiva would then stay around searching forever the lost earrings. In this legend whenever a body gets cremated at the Manikarnika Ghat, Lord Shiva asks the soul whether it has seen the earrings .According to other source, queen of Jhansi Manikarnika (Laxmibai after marriage with Jhansi Naresh, Raja Gangadha Rao Newalkar in 1842) was born here, hence the princess was christened as Manikarnika by her father Morapant Tambe a Martha chieftain.
DASASWAMEDH GHAT: This ghat is located close to Viswanath Temple .According to one legend Lord Brahma created it to welcome Lord Shiva .According to another, Lord Brahma sacrificed ten horses, during Dasa-Ashwamedha yajna believed to be performed here .A group of priests daily perform in the evening at this ghat ‘Agnipuja’ wherein a dedication is made to Lord Shiva, River Ganga, Surya, Agni and the whole universe.
SARNATH: As per our itinerary on 4th day of our tour, we visited one of the most important Buddhist sites, Sarnath where Gautam Buddha, preached his sermons to his first five disciples after attaining enlightenment at Buddha Gaya in Bihar. Sarnath is located 13 km North-East of Banaras, at the confluence of the Ganges and Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh. The most important festival having religious significance is Vaisakha Purnima ,as it is said that Buddha was born, attained enlightenment and finally salvation on that day .On this auspicious day ,Buddhist sacred scripture’ Tripitaka’ is recited and the idol taken out in pompous procession , largely attended by devotees from Japan, Thailand ,Cambodia and Srilanka.
The king and devotees of Thailand have contributed much for the development of this Buddhist heritage site .A well known attraction in Sarnath -the Thai Temple , built by Thai king in 1933, displays the Thai style of architecture. There is a huge 80 meter statue of a laughing Buddha in the middle of the beautifully laid garden. There are running fountains with blooming lotus flowers before approaching the statue. Despite huge number of visitors, Calm prevails in the Thai Temple which makes it feel like a very divine experience.
Dhamek Stupa: The Dhamek Stupa is a massive stupa located at Sarnath , built in 500 CE to replace an earlier structure commissioned by Emperor Ashoka , in 249 BCE, along with several other monuments, to commemorate the Buddha’s activities in this location. An Ashoka pillar with engraved edict stands near the site. Dhamek Stupa is said to mark the spot where the Buddha gave his first sermon, revealing his eightfold path leading to nirvana. During his visit in 640 CE, Huendzang , the Chinese traveler recorded that the colony had over 1500 monks and the main stupa nearly 91 meter high. In the current shape, the stupa is a solid cylindrical brick and stone structure having a height of 43.6 meters and a diameter of 28 meters. The basement seems to have survived from Ashoka’s structure .The stone facing is chiseled and displayed delicate floral carvings of Gupta origin. The wall covered with exquisitely carved figures of humans and birds, as well as inscriptions in Brahmi script.
THE NATIONAL EMBLEM – LION CAPITAL: The 3rd Emperor of the Mauryan dynasty, Ashoka who ruled from 279 B.C.E -232 B.C.E, made a dramatic conversion to Buddhism after witnessing the carnage that resulted from his conquest of the inscrutable Kalingas. Kalinga war was not a war between two kingdoms, but a brutally put down revolt. Asoka the terrible turned Ashoka the great, after a brief encounter with Upagupta, a Buddhist monk, his would be spiritual teacher, and widely believed to be the first ruler to accept Buddhism and major patron to spread the new religion. He erected pillars engraved with edicts about the teachings of Buddha and commissioned throughout his vast kingdom for public information and compliance. The most celebrated of the Ashokan pillars is the one erected at Sarnath, the site of Buddha’s first sermon. Presently the pillar remains where it was originally erected, but the lion capital is now on display at the Sarnath museum for security reason, because the Lion capital has been adopted as the national emblem of India.
BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY: After completion of our 5 days pilgrimage to the holy land of Lord Shiva and the Buddha, our return journey was delayed due to inclement weather and the train was expected by 10 AM next day. We were disheartened as our hotel accommodation could not be extended; either we have to move to another hotel or wait in the crowded railway waiting room in the characteristic December fog and cold in Banaras. A ray of hope kindled in me, as I was reminded of my boyhood friend Prof. Dr. Guru Charan Behera, who has been posted at BHU as an English professor and informed him about our plight. He immediately came to our rescue and arranged accommodation in a hotel in the Lanka area near the main gate of BHU .Perhaps destiny had a hand in the delay. How can we leave Banaras without visiting BHU, the most iconic places in Banaras? With plenty of time to spare, we took a detour and walked round the lovely Campus ,enjoying and appreciating its beauty and grandeur ,having Prof. Gurucharan as our overqualified guide. The campus is endowed with a magnificent temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, surrounded by small temples of different God and Goddesses, replicating the original Shri Kashi Viswanath temple. This glorious temple was conceived by the founder of the University Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in 1931.The house of Birlas (credited with establishing number of beautiful temples throughout India) undertook the construction and the full-fledged Mandir was inaugurated in 1966.For the construction of this majestic temple complex, mostly made of marble and one of the tallest (253 feet)temples in India, so many kings , business houses and generous public contributed, whose names are displayed in a marble plaque at the temple entrance acknowledging their benevolence, with the king of Darbhanga topping the donors list. Thus our Banaras trip: an exhilarating, educative and spiritually elevating one was wrapped up on the sixth day, when we boarded the Bhubaneswar bound Rajdhani Express which was running late by 11 hours.
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