Varanasi trip

Ever since my mom told me that there was a Jyotirlinga at Kashi(Benaras/Varanasi), it was on my mind to visit the oldest living city in the world. As nobody else was interested in seeing this place, I booked the to & fro 3-tier AC train tickets one month in advance for myself. Finally, 3rd July came when I left the office at 3:30 PM to New Delhi Station to catch my train - Shivganga Express, at 6:30 PM.

The train journey was comfortable, and it reached Varanasi Junction at around 9:30 AM, 2 hours late from the scheduled arrival time. I had booked a room at Sita Guest house, in Chousatti Ghat area. When I contacted the local tourist information centre at the train station about how to go there, he told that it was not a good place to stay and arranged for a rickshaw wallah to take me to some other guest house which he knew. As I didn't know about the city much, I took his words and went along with the rickshaw wallah. He drove thru the most unclean roads filled with traffic and dust. The city was very dirty. He took me to 3 or 4 guest houses, but I didn't like any of them as every place had some problem - either it was stinking or it had no attached bathroom. I asked him where were we and he told that we were near the Harischandra Ghat. This was one of the burning Ghats of Varanasi. I had enough of him and as it was already 11, and exhausted to core, I paid him and told that I'll go to my booked guest house by myself. I walked along many Ghats and finally reached Sita Guest House at 11:30 AM. The manager showed me 2 rooms which were available, and I chose the one which had a window, on the 4th floor, and paid him Rs. 350 for a night.

After refreshment, I asked the manager on what things I can do for the day. He gave me a map of varanasi and told me where all to go. As already half of day had been over, I decided to cover Sarnath first and asked him about its details. I went to Gowdolia, as he said, thru Dashashwamedh Ghat, which was the Main Ghat of Varanasi and hired an auto for Rs. 250 to Sarnath. I reached Saranath at 1:15 PM, which was about 15 kms fro Varanasi, and hired a local guide to show me places of interest.

The guide told that Sarnath was an import place for Buddhist relegion, as out of the 4 phases of Buddha's life, this was one of the phase where after receiving enlightenment, He gave the first sermon to his 5 disciples. He told about history of Sarnath, which I don't exactly recollect now, but its validated here and here.

He first took me to Mulagandhakuti Vihara shrine, which mark the place where Buddha spent his first rainy season in meditation. The Mulagandhakuti Vihara is the prime place of worship for the Buddhist congregation of the world. It was constructed by Bodhi-Sattva Anagarika Dharmapala, a Sri Lankan who is the founder of the Maha Bodhi Society of India in the Isipatana Deer Park of Sarnath, at the very site where Sakyamuni Buddha preached his first sermon. As it was closed at that time, he took me to Dhameku Stupa. This is an impressive 128 feet, 93 ft in diameter, beleived to be constructed by King Asoka in 200 BC, and is the spot where Buddha is said to have preached his first sermon. This is on the left of Mulagandhakuti Vihara.

On the right of Mulagandhakuti Vihara, there is a big Bell with some Chinese inscriptions on it. Ringing this bell is one hell of a job!

Near the big Bell, there are big stone slabs where prayers are written.

Next to it, there are big idols of Buddha and his 5 disciples, where in Buddha is teaching his sermons.

Behind this, there is a Bodhi tree. This Bodhi tree outside the Mulagandhakuti Vihara was transplanted here in 1931 from a tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, which is said to be the off-spring of the original tree in Bodhgaya under which Buddha attained enlightenment. Surrounding the Bodhi tree are plaque's from Buddhist countries to commemorate the tree and Sarnath's importance. They are written in their own language.

I then came back to Mulagandhakuti Vihara shrine and by this time the door of the temple was open. As I entered the temple, there was a big golden idol of sitting Buddha which was installed in 1930's. The wheel represents Royalty or Universal Monarch in ancient meanings. Underneath the Buddha are the five disciples who were with Him at his first sermon. There is a silver casket which is said to contain the original remnants of Buddha which were rescued from the ruins of the 1st century temple.

Inside the temple are some wonderful mural paintings which illustrate Buddha’s life. They were painted by a renowned Japanese painter, Kosetsu Nosu between 1932 to 1935.

In the temple, I purchased a small tourist booklet which had the pictures of Varanasi and Sarnath. From there, the guide took me to Chinese temple, which was very close by. This is the front of Chinese temple. This is a very small but beautiful temple.

This is inside the temple. Here the route taken by Huen-Tsang, the famous Chinese traveller to India is written.

Next, he took me to Japanese temple, also called as Sandalwood temple. This temple is situated in a very calm and serene environment, and it has a beautiful garden also.

Inside the Japanese temple, there is a huge sandalwood statue of sleeping Buddha among other things.

Opposite Japanese temple, there was a Japanese handloom showroom where in I was told that original Benarasi sarees were done. The shop keeper showed me the weaving machine which is used to do these sarees. He also persuaded me to buy one, and quoted Rs. 1750 for a saree. As I had no idea of sarees, I just bargained him to core and got one for Rs. 1000.

After this, I went to the Archealogical Museum. This is a must visit place for every tourist to Sarnath. This has the display of best collections of Indian Buddhist works of art. This also houses the Ashokan Lion capital which has four back-to-back lions, standing majestically at 2.31 meters high and is the National emblem of India. Below the lions are 4 animals - Buffallo, Horse, Lion and the Elephant. Between each animal, was the 24-spoke Chakra. On every coin and note of the Indian Rupee, 2 animals - Horse and the Buffallo are only shown. This whole structure stands on an inverted lotus petal and is beleived to have been standing on a huge pillar. Sigh, photography was prohibited inside the museum.

Also in the museum was the 32-spoke Ashoka Chakra, a big stone umbrella and many other stuffs. The museum was built in 1910 and is India’s oldest site museum. There are five galleries with exhibits ranging from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century AD. Along with many Buddha and Bodhisattva images there is also a display of iron items and pottery. I brought a replica of the Lion capital outside the museum.

After this exciting museum tour, I next went to Sri Digamber Jain temple. This temple is located on the road that runs to the left as you exit out of the ruins. It was built in 1824 and is also known as Shreyanshnath Temple - and is believed to mark the birthplace of Shreyanshnath, the eleventh tirthankam in Jainism.

Next, I went to Chaukhandi Stupa, which commemorates the spot where the Buddha met his first disciples. It is thought to have been built as a terraced temple during the Gupta period between the 4th and 6th centuries. Later Govardhan, the son of a Raja, modified the stupa to its present shape by building the octagonal tower to commemorate the visit of Humayun, the powerful Mughal ruler in the 16th century.

With this, my trip to Sarnath ended. On my way back to Varanasi, I saw the Tibetan monastry, but didn't visit it. Sarnath was such a great place to visit and I was very happy with it.

I asked the auto driver to drop me off at Kaal Bhairav temple in Varanasi. This God is our family God. I reached the temple at around 4:30 PM, and this temple was located in a very small lane in Vishveswargang area. Kaal Bhairav, is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. There are nine other Bhairav temples in the city. Kaal Bhairav, the "Black Terror," is widely known as the Kotwal, the "police chief," of Kashi, and the section of the city in which his temple stands is known as Kotwalpuri. Bhairav is considered a fearsome manifestation of Shiva. He wears a garland of skulls and carries a club of peacock feathers. Kaal Bhairav, whose name, Kaal means both Death and Fate, in addition to meaning Black. He is the black one who has also assumed the duties of the God of Death in Kashi. Even Death, it is said, is afraid of Kaal Bhairava.

Kaal Bhairav's temple is one of the most intresting in Varanasi. Entering from the street, through a door guarded by Bhairava's mount, the dog, one finds a fine courtyard, in the center of which is the main shrine of Bhairava. Only the silver face of kaala bhairava, garlanded with flowers, is visible through the doorway of inner sanctum. The rest of Bhairava's image-said to be pot-bellied, seated upon a dog, holding a trident-is hidden behind a cloth drapery.

I performed pooja there and went to a shop closeby and got 2 idols of the God. I came to know that these idols weren't available in any other shop in India, so got their address and telephone numbers too. I took a tonga back to Gowdolia and then walked to the guest house thru the narrow lanes this time. The lanes were such that if it was missed once, it was damn confusing on how to return back. There were shops on both sides, and more, even 2 wheelers were passing by. The oldest living city!

I reached guest house at 6 PM and took some rest. Here are the views from the rooftop of our guest house.

At 6:30, I again left to watch the Aarti of river Ganga. There was a boat waiting for people to get on board and he charged Rs. 10 for the whole boat ride. I got on the boat and at that time the Aarti was just about to begin. People put 'diyas' or lamps on the river and the sight was too good.

We started our boat ride from Dasashwamedh Ghat to Manikarnika Ghat, and as it was getting dark, none of the pics taken came well. But the weather had cooled down a bit and it was a nice feeling in the evening to be sailing on Ganges. Totally refreshing. The view of the Ghats were good. We returned back to the Main Ghat, and by that time, Aarti was going on in full swing. The Aarti took about an hour and there was a huge crowd to witness it and it was very soothing for the eyes. Here are a few pics.

The Aarti got over by 8:30 PM and then I went to Keshari restaurant on the main road to have my first meal of the day! I had a full Punjabi thali and it was very energizing. I came back to the guesthouse at around 10 PM and crashed. I had already made plans for the next day.

Sunday morning, I woke up at 7 AM and left for Kashi Vishwanath temple at 8:15 PM. This temple was very close to our guest house, and near by Main Ghat. It took me half an hour to reach this place which again was in a very narrow lane. As camera and mobile were not allowed inside the temple, I had to deposit these in some shop nearby which had locker facilities. The shop owner then forcefully gave me all pooja items in a basket - flowers, milk and sweets and I stood in the long queue. I had already been advised of the 'pandas' or priests over there, by my parents and friends, to be very careful with these folks, that if you fall into their traps, they will rip you off your money and you would be helpless watching. While in the queue, many 'pandas' approached me saying that they will take me straight to the temple without having to wait in the queue, but I ignored all of them. Finally, after 45 mins or so, my turn came where the policemen checked me thoroughly and then let me in. There were security guards all over, as again there was a Mosque that shared the compound with the temple. Mughals didn't spare anything!

Once inside, again there were 'pandas', who told me to first worship some other God, and once I just went near them, he gave an indication to someone nearby and I saw that and quickly left the place. There was a little queue to the sanctum. Inside the sanctum, there was a huge rush and everyone were pouring milk and flowers to the Linga. I too did the same and touched the Linga and prayed. This moment lasted for only a few minutes. With this, I completed Darshan of 6 Jyotirlinga's out of 12. It is my wish and ambition to cover all the 12 Jyotirlinga's in lifetime.

As I came out of the sanctum, there were a number of other dieties temple all around. Also, the gateway of the main temple was fully gold plated, hence this temple is also called as Golden Temple. There were a lot of Shiv-Linga's here and there. I exited the main temple and proceeded to go out, but then I saw another big temple of Goddess Annapurna. I went there too and prayed. Besides this temple also, there were many small temples. There was a big hall around which big idols of all Gods where worshipped. I came out of the main temple complex and got confused as to where I had left my camera and bag. I remembered someone in the queue had mentioned Gate 4, and so went in search of it. I had exited from Gate 1! Finally the search ended and I found out the shop where I had kept stuffs. I paid him and quickly came back to the main road and took the snap of the entrance to the temple.

From here, I took a rickshaw to Sankat Mochan Temple (Hanuman Mandir). Enroute to the temple, I saw Durga temple and Tulsi Manas Mandir, both of which were quite famous. But due to lack of time, I didn't visit any of these. I reached Hanuman Mandir where there was a big idol of Hanuman on one side and Lord Ram on the other. This temple was very peaceful and there were no 'pandas' here. I got to know that this was the place where a bomb blast had happened some 2 years back.

From here, I took the same rickshaw and proceeded towards Banaras Hindu University or BHU to see the New Vishwanath Mandir, also known as Birla Mandir. This is the entrance to BHU. The roads here were pretty much wide and neatly maintained. There were many departments all along the way to Birla Mandir - Department of Science, Sociology, Bharat Kala Bhavan, Geology, and Dravidian arts. There were many more. I finally reached Birla Mandir and went inside and prayed. This temple has a very tall gateway and inside is Shiv Linga. It has a beautiful garden too.

As it was already 11:45, I had to hurry up to get back to the guest house to check out, as the manager had already told me that 12 PM was the check out time. I got an auto straight to Gowdolia and again walked back to the guest house thru the ghats and reached guest house at 12:30 PM. I packed all things and checked out of the hotel at 1:30 PM and left my bag at the reception only, taking camera and umbrella, as it sounded to rain. I then went to the same Keshari restaurant and had lunch there. After that I went in search of a bookshop to get a book on Bhairav, as had been told by mom. I found out a bookshop somewhere in a narrow lane in Manikarnika Ghat area and got a book. From there, as I had plenty of time for the train, I decided to go for another boat ride on Ganges and see all the Ghats. I managed to find routes to the Ghat and finally came to Manikarnika Ghat, but this was the Ghat were dead bodies were cremated, and it was full smoky. I didn't like the place and so went to Lalita Ghat thru again some narrow lanes. Finally I reached Lalita Ghat and from there I started walking back to Dasashwamedh Ghat. On the way, there was a big crowd gathered, and once I managed to streak thru it, found out that there was some shooting going on for a pop-album. The lyrics sounded something like - "Oye ganja bhaang baba thoda pepsi beer chada". LoL!!

Next, I continued on the Ghats and found a boat guy who was shouting for a ride to the other side of Ganga. He quoted an excessive amount and I wasn't interested in going with him. There was another foreign tourist who wanted to go on a boat ride, but she too was searching for some company. Also, the boat guys were misleading her to pay more. I went upto her and told that if she was interested, she can join me in the boat provided I find one. She agreed and we walked a little distance, and later we introduced ourselves. Her name was Maya, a Japanese American from US. We finally got a boat guy and I managed to deal with him for Rs. 50 per person for an hours ride. We both got over the small boat meant only for 2 and the guy started rowing. The guy told in Hindi that there were total of 80 Ghats in Varanasi, the last one being Assi Ghat. He also told significanc of each of the Ghat, which I dont remember now, and as and when he told, I translated the same to said the same to Maya. The guy took us till Harischandra Ghat and back to Manikarnika Ghat and then dropped us at Dasashwamedh Ghat. In between, there were some mild rains also, and I held up the umbrella for her. It was such a nice experience. Here are some views of the Ghats from Ganges.

After getting down from the boat, she told me that she hasn't reserved any hotel in Varanasi and asked me to guide her. I took her to the guest house where I stayed and she was very happy with it. She also chose the same room where I stayed and was very pleased to get the room at Rs. 350, as she also had to stay only for a night. Then, she told that she hadn't had anything, so I thought of taking her to Kesahri restaurant. On the way, I explained all things about Varanasi where all I had visited, what to do and things. She was very surprised when I told that I work with Infosys and told that she knew someone in Infy. She kept on asking about the various Indian Gods, why people apply Bindi on heads, why ladies wear bangles, and so on. I went on explaining about the same, and took her to a idol selling shop, where she enquired about each and every idol present there. She finally bought a small idol of Ganesha and Shiv Linga. I dealt with the shopkeepers and bargained a lot. She also bought a Bindi set and as she was finding it difficult to put it on her head, I helped her out.

Finally, we entered the restaurant and was amazed to see the varieties of dishes in the menu. She asked me what I had for lunch and asked me to order the same for her. In the meantime, she told that she was a film producer and her film - Half Kenneth had won awards too back home. Now, in India, she met some producers in Mumbai, and now was on a holiday to Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and would be going to Bangalore 2 days later. I also told her that my dad was interested in Japanese & he translates stuffs from Japanese to English. She was astonished with this and we exchanged our cards and I also gave her my Bangalore number. She said she would contact my dad whenever she gets some time. It was a very nice experience with her.
As it was already 6 PM, I had to hurry to catch the train. We left the restaurant and I once again told her where all to visit in Varanasi, Sarnath, how to go there and all the stuffs. I also showed her the place where Aarti would happen at 7 PM and told her not to miss it. She came back with me to the guest house and I picked up my bag and said good bye to her and the manager. On the way back too, she accompanied me till Dasashwamedh Ghat and she kept on telling how lucky she was. She gave me a hug and finally I bid adieu to her and mentioned to stay in touch. I didn't feel like returning to Delhi. It was really a very nice unexpected experience. My Varanasi trip just got a perfect ending.

I reached the Cantonment railway station at 7 PM and got into my cabin. The train started rightly at 7:15 PM, and all along the journey, I was reminiscing the superb moments of Varanasi. What an awesome trip that was! The way back to Delhi was good, again with a 2 hour delay though.