WHERE IS VARANASI?

It is said that the ancient, holy city of Kashi was set up by Mahadev at the askance of His devotees to develop a community on the Earth.

- PRIYA TANDON

Kashi is like a little Kailash! 'Kashi' means luminous, it signifies a place that is radiant and glowing, being a seat of great learning and spirituality. Kashi is also called Varanasi because two tributaries of the River Ganga - River Varuna and River Assi flow through it. Another version is that there were originally Assi (80) ghats on the riverbank. Varuna + Assi became Varanasi. Presently, there are many more ghats. They are used for religious ceremonies, bathing, cremations etc. The Manikarnika Ghat is the preferred one for doing cremations. At sunset when all the ghats are lit up for Ganga Aarti, it is truly luminous - Kashi!!!

The city is also called Banaras. Banaras is short for Bana-rahe-ras! May the nectar of the Gods always be tasted and experienced by all who visit Banaras!

When we reached the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir at Varanasi, I was caught completely unawares by the humongous sea of humanity there. There were people all over, lining up in every corner of the huge premises, making a beeline for the Garbhagriha, housing the Kashi Vishwanath Shivalingam. We were there for the 4:00 PM darshan, but were able to get only a fleeting glimpse of the Shivalingam. The aura of devotional fervour and yearning to get a glimpse of the Shivalingam, was completely overawing.

Despite the sweltering heat and sweat, people were there in huge numbers. After a brief glimpse of the Shivalingam, we sat in the courtyard outside the Garbhagriha. Sitting there, we observed the renovation happening at the Shikhar of the temple. I had read that a white owl had been spotted there a few weeks ago, during the Aarti time. There were many opinions about the owl. The most popular and authentic one seemed to be that of a learned man who said that the spotting of a white owl, in the premises of Kashi Vishwanath, signifies Yuga Parivartan! This means that the Kali-yuga would come to an end in just a couple of years and the Satya Yuga would begin!