Introduction :
Varanasi, once known as Benares or Banaras and Kashi, is a city at the banks of the Ganges river in northern India Being the most sacred city in Hinduism and Jainism, and important in the history of Buddhism, Varanasi is India's most important pilgrimage destination.
Journey Story :
The day was 24th Dec. 2019 I left for the pilgrimage destination with two of my childhood friends Adarsha and Gopal.
Bibhuti express is the best train for Benaras from Kolkata or Asansol according to my findings. We caught the train at night and reached Varanasi Junction next day in the morning around 10 AM. There is a tea stall opposite the railway station, having a cup of tea we booked a Toto for Assi Ghat. It took around INR 150 that means INR 50 for each passenger. It seems he charged us more than usual. For the first time we visited the city, not so clean city I must say but the ambiance and effect of culture was clearly visible. Finally we reached Assi Ghat.
Mythological facts / beliefs of Assi Ghat :
According to a mythological tale in Hinduism, Goddess Durga, after killing the demons Shumbha-Nishumbha, threw her sword. The place where the sword landed, resulted in the emergence of a river which was then called Assi. Another mythological tale states that Lord Rudra (a form of Lord Shiva) was furious with Asuras and eliminated 80 asuras in his rage at this very place. This is how it came to be known as Assi (which means 80 in Hindi). However, after killing the asuras, Lord Rudra repented his actions and wished he hadn’t killed them. Following this incident, he gave up all forms of violence and declared Varanasi as a place which would stand for non-violence.
According to devotees, taking a dip at Assi Ghat (where the two rivers, Ganga and Assi meet) is equivalent to taking a dip at thousands of other holy rivers. There are certain occasions when devotees take a dip by the thousands. Some of these are natural events like lunar and solar eclipse, Makar Sakranti and Probodhoni Ekadashi. There is a Shivlinga under the peepal tree located in the ghat. Here, devotees offer holy water after taking a dip in the Ganga. Another linga can be found inside a small marble temple located in close proximity to the temple.
Continue to Our Story -
There we took a hotel in just INR 800 for a room. Most of the basic facilities were availabe there. I will mention at the end of the Blog abut contacts of the hotel. You can also book hotels online. After having lunch in a nearby restaurant we took some rest and left for evening arati at Dasaswamedh Ghat.
24 - 10pm ASN
25 - 10am Varanasi
25 - Stay ( Sandhya Arati)
26 - Morning Arati, Boating in the Morning, Clasical Music Morning, All Ghat
Darshan, Sandhyarati.
27 - Ramnagar fort, Bharat Kala Bhaban Musium, Alamgir Mosque, Bharat Mata
Temple, Tulsi manas temple, Kashi Viswanath Temple, Gyan vapi well, Sarnath,
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