Hello Hive Community.
I hope you all are fine. I am also fine here. In today's post, I have introduced you to a well-known religious place, Varanasi. Today's post has started from the place where Ganga Aarti is held on the banks of the Ganga river flowing through Varanasi. Along with that, I have introduced many religious places to visit in Varanasi. Today's host will be full of information for you. By the way, I create a post every week in the worldmappin community. But this time, due to lack of time and space, about 18 days have passed without creating a post in the community. But today's post is based on a religious place and you will also get a lot of information through today's post. So let me start today's post.
Now first of all, let me give you basic information about Varanasi. Varanasi is known by three names, the first name is Kashi, the second name is Banaras and the third name is Varanasi. Varanasi is one of the oldest and most vibrant cities in the world. Varanasi is a beautiful city located on the banks of the holy Ganges River in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. According to scriptures, Varanasi is a city that is more than 3,000 years old. This city has been a major center of culture, education, and spirituality for centuries. Varanasi is often called the spiritual heart of India, which is why I thought of naming today's post today. The main reason for this is that Varanasi holds great importance for Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains.
The first four photographs of today's post are based on the famous Ganga Aarti held in Varanasi. The Ganga River is considered very sacred and revered in Varanasi. The Ganga River shares the banks of the Lambo River with Varanasi. There are about 84 ghats on the banks of this river. Each ghat has a different story and mythology. In the above photo gallery, I have presented you with photographs of Ganga Aarti so that I can give you more information about it. Ganga Aarti is performed every evening on the banks of the holy Ganga river at Dashashwamedh Ghat, which is surrounded by forty-eight ghats. If I talk a little about Dashashwamedh Ghat, then this ghat is the most popular and lively ghat in the city. In the evening, people enjoy the wonderful view of this aarti by sitting on the ghat by the boat or on the river bank. The religious ceremony of Ganga Aarti is not only a prayer but also a grand cultural program. Thousands of visitors, pilgrims, locals and tourists from all over the world are present here to witness it.
In the above three photos, I have presented Kashi Hindu University to you. In the first photo, there is the entrance of Kashi Hindu University. While the statue seen in the other two photographs is of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya who founded Kashi Hindu University. Kashi Hindu University is also known as Banaras Hindu University. Which is known as BHU in short form. Banaras Hindu University is one of the largest and most respected universities in India. This university is located in the spiritual city of Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges river in the state of Uttar Pradesh. BHU is not just an educational institution but here knowledge about the culture, history and values of India is imparted in depth.
Through the above four photographs, I have tried to present the campus of Banaras Hindu University to you. The main campus of BHU is spread over 1,420 acres. This large area makes BHU one of the largest residential universities in Asia. This campus can also be said to be like a small city. Because this campus has tree-lined roads, gardens, hostels, temples, libraries, playgrounds and hospitals. Since this campus is very vast, I could not visit every place, but here I have presented to you the places I visited. The temple seen in the photograph above is the Shri Vishwanath Temple. The Shri Vishwanath Temple located inside the campus is a major spiritual landmark for students and visitors.
Now let me come back to my original topic. The three photographs above are of various ghats built on the banks of the Ganges river in Varanasi and various temples built on the ghats. Now let me talk a little about Varanasi's mythology. According to the scriptures, if I talk, then Varanasi is considered the city of Lord Shiva. According to Hindu beliefs, this city was founded by Lord Shiva himself. Due to which this area is a very sacred place. Every year, thousands of pilgrims come to take a dip at the Ganga river ghats in Varanasi and also visit this ancient city.
As I told you earlier, there are 84 ghats lined up on the banks of the Ganges river in Varanasi. The easiest way to see these ghats is by boat. Above, I have captured them from different angles while standing on the ghats, which I have presented to you. Among these 84 ghats, the most famous ghat is Dashashwamedh Ghat. Each ghat has its own unique mythological story. It is said about Dashashwamedh Ghat that Lord Brahma sacrificed ten horses, also known as Dashashwamedh, here to welcome Lord Shiva. This ghat is also the main venue for the evening Ganga Aarti. Here, the priests perform a beautiful lamp ceremony every day. It is difficult to give information about all the ghats here, but I will definitely cover the main ghats in my post.
The second main ghat among these forty-eight ghats is called Manikarnika Ghat. In the three photographs above, Manikarnika Ghat has been captured from different angles and presented to you. Manikarnika Ghat is located near the center of the forty-eight ghats in Varanasi. In Hindu culture, it is said that Manikarnika Ghat is one of the most sacred places in the world for cremation. People believe that if a person dies here, he is freed from the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, this ghat is also known as Moksha Ghat. Due to this belief, it attracts thousands of people from all over India who want to spend their last days in Varanasi. The cremation process continues uninterruptedly at Manikarnika Ghat for twenty-four hours and 365 days. In the third photograph above, it can be seen that five cremations are going on at the same time. This photograph was captured at 10 pm.
The four photographs above show the beautiful ghats seen from a distance during a boat ride. Above I talked to you about Manikarnika Ghat and Dashashwamedh Ghat. Now let me talk a little about the famous Assi Ghat. Assi Ghat is located at the confluence of the Assi River and the Ganges. This ghat is popular with both locals and tourists. People gather at this ghat for yoga, morning prayers and boat rides. Assi Ghat is a peaceful place where one can experience a wonderful sense of peace, especially at sunrise.
A large number of birds are seen at this ghat in the morning. Tourists coming here feed the birds, so this place is very dear to the birds. The birds take food from the hands of the tourists here. From which one can say how much friendship there will be between the bird and the tourist coming here.
The temple seen in the first photograph of the three photographs above is the beautiful Swaminarayan Temple in Varanasi. The peak of this temple shines beautifully in the morning. While the other two photographs are photographs of the Ganga Aarti taking place at night. The name of the ghat where the Ganga Aarti takes place is Dashashwamedh Ghat. I have given detailed information about this above.
I hope you will like my todays post about The Spiritual Heart of India "VARANASI".
I sincerely thank you for visiting and reading my post.