Spiritual and philosophical quotes of Jain religion

Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is an ancient Indian religion. Followers of Jainism are called "Jains", a word derived from the Sanskrit word jina referring to the path of victory in crossing over life's stream of rebirths by destroying karma through an ethical and spiritual life.

Jainism is an ancient religion from India that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live lives of harmlessness and renunciation. The essence of Jainism is concern for the welfare of every being in the universe and for the health of the universe itself.

Right belief depends on the acquaintance with truth, on the devotion to those who know the truth . . . there is no (right) conduct without right belief, and it must cultivated (for obtaining) right faith . . . Without (right) faith there is no (right) knowledge, without (right) knowledge there is no virtuous conduct, without virtues there is no deliverance, and without deliverance there is no perfection.

The Uttaradhyayana, Jainism

Source : 28th Lecture, sec. 28-30

Look at the exterior (world from analogy with thy own) self; [then]thou wilt neither kill nor destroy (living beings);’ viz. out of reciprocal regard [well examining] he does no sinful act. What is the characteristic of a sage? ‘Recognising the equality (of all living beings), he appease himself.’

The Acaranga Sutra, Jainism

Source : Book 1, Lecture 3, Lesson 3, sec. 1

He who knows the internal, knows the external and he who knows the external, knows the internal.

The Saman Suttam, Jainism

Source : 19:257

One who knows soul as pure oneself attains a pure self. But who contemplates the soul as having impure nature becomes himself impure.

The Saman Suttam, Jainism

Source : 19:256

To kill any living being amounts to killing oneself. Compassion to others is compassion to one’s own self.

The Bhagavati Aradhana, Jainism

Source : 797

Just as you do not like misery, in the same way others also do not like it. Knowing this, you should do unto them what you want them to do unto you.

The Bhagavati Aradhana, Jainism

Source : 780

(One should reflect thus:) Let me treat all living beings with eqanimity and none with enmity.

The Mulachara, Jainism

Source : 2:42

Souls render service to one another.

The Tattvartha Sutra, Jainism

Source : 5:21

The Arhats and Bhagavats of the past, present, and future, all say thus, speak thus, declare thus, explain thus: all breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away.

The Acaranga Sutra, Jainism

Source : Book One, Fourth Lecture, First Lesson

I forgive all living beings,

May all living beings forgive me.

My friendship is with all living beings,

My enmity is nonexistent.

The Khamemi Savve Jiva Sutra, Jainism

May the whole universe be blessed,

May all beings engage in each other’s well-being,

May all weakness, sickness and faults diminish and vanish,

May everyone be healthy, prosperous, blissful, and peaceful.

The Shivmastu Sarva Jagatah Sutra, Jainism

I bow to the enlightened beings.

I bow to the liberated souls.

I bow to religious leaders.

I bow to religious teachers.

I bow to all ascetics of the world....

The Namokar Mantra, Jainism

The self that has developed equanimity, if endowed with pure activities, attains heavenly happiness.

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Pravachansara, 1/11

He, who is detached from all injurious actions, observes threefold control (of body, mind and speech) and restrains his senses, (is said to have) steadfast equanimity according to the preaching of the omniscient.

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Niyamsara, 9/125

Freedom of thought-activity from lust, pride, deceit, and greed, etc., is purity of thought (Bhavashuddhi). So has been preached to the deserving souls by the perceivers of universe and non-universe.

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Niyamsara, 7/112

He, who avoiding the wrong path, firmly walks in the right path of the Conquerors (Jinas) is said to have repentance because he himself is the embodiment of repentance.

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Niyamsara, 5/86

I am neither anger, nor pride, nor deceit, nor greed. I am neither the doer, nor do I make others do, nor am I the approver of the doers.

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Niyamsara, 5/81

He, who having renounced backbiting, ridiculing, talking ill of others, self-praising and harsh words, speaks what is good for himself as well as for others (is said) to have carefulness in speech (Bhasha Samiti).

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Niyamsara, 4/62

The carrier of the load of (right) conduct, i.e., a saint, who having first formed the idea of being unconcerned with all worldly attachments, renounces them is said to observe the fifth vow of possessionlessness, (Parigraha Tyaga).

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Niyamsara, 4/60

He, who having seen the beauty of a woman, is not moved by a desire for her; or whose thoughtactivity is free from sex-animate feeling (Maithuna Sanjna), (is said observe) the fourth vow (chastity), Brahmacharya.

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Niyamsara, 4/59

He, who renounces the thoughtactivity of picking up articles belonging to another, lying in a village, a town or a forest, (is said) to observe the third vow (nonstealing), Achaurya.

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Niyamsara, 4/58

A saint, who renounces thoughtactivity leading to telling falsehood, on account of delusion, attachment and aversion is (said) to observe always the second vow, (truth), Satya.

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Niyamsara, 4/57

Thought-activity free from (all) undertakings (injurious to any of) the mundane souls (which are) known as existing in (any of the various) physiques, nuclei, soulclasses, soul-quests, etc., is the first vow (non-injury) Ahimsa.

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Niyamsara, 4/56

Common people, seeing someone looted, in the way, say, “the way is looted,” but no way whatsoever is (really) looted.

Acharya Kundkund, Jainism

Source : Samaya Sara, 1/63

What and Why is spirituality important in our lives in day to day living...

Maybe you've heard about spirituality but aren't really sure what it is. Well, it's different from religion, and you can practise it even if you're not religious.

Spirituality has to do with the spirit, not as in ghosts, but as in the essence of being human — your soul or your inner life.

Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. In general, it includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. As such, it is a universal human experience—something that touches us all.

Many people like to tell others they are a 'spiritual' person probably to let them know they are not materialistic or superficial and that they 'get it'. That's fine if we all understand and agree on what we're talking about.

Why is spirituality important in our lives?

In order for us to function fully, all aspects of ourselves must be balanced. Our mind, body and spirit have to be in harmony with each other.

How is that spiritual?

It is spiritual because when you are immersed in, and deriving pleasure from it, it touches your soul and connects you to the artist and creation itself (God).

You experience spiritual moments when you walk through the woods and connect with nature, walk along a beautiful beach, or when you see the sun set.

What are examples of spirituality? 

• Prayer.

• Meditation.

• Miracles.

• Visualizations.

• Dreams.

• Spirit Helpers/Guardian Angels.

• Animal Spirit Helpers.

• Ceremonies.
  
   

The "Holy Supper"

Ded Moroz and yolka

Why January 7?

 BANGALORE IS a cosmopolitan city with people from different regions and religions living together in harmony. The city has more than a thousand temples, 400 masjids, 100 churches, 40 Jain mandirs, three Gurudwaras, two Buddha viharas, and one Parsi Agiari.

The tradition of temple construction, started by the founder of Bangalore, continues to flourish. The oldest temple is, perhaps, Domlur Chokkanatha temple of the Chola period (10th Century). The inscriptions here are in Tamil script, but the language is Kannada. According to these inscriptions, there was a Someswara temple here in 1266.

Ulsoor Someswara temple is possibly the next oldest, built by the Hoysalas (between 12th and 13th Century). This temple was renovated and beautified by three generations of the Yelahanka dynasty - Gidde Gowda, Kempe Gowda I and II. The temple is a strange mixture of Hoysala, Chola, and Vijayanagar architecture.

The next series of temples belonging to the period of Kempe Gowda I & II are Dodda Ganapathi, Basavanna, and Karanji Anjaneya in Basavanagudi, Gavi Gangadhareswara in Gavipura, Bande Mahakali, Pralayakalada Veerabhadra, Kalabhairava in Gavipura Guttahalli, Basaveshwara in the fort (shifted to Mamulpet), Anjaneya at Yelahanka Gate, Dharmaraya at the end of OTC Road, and Ranganathaswamy in Balepete.

Many of these temples have an interesting history. Once the river Vrishabhavati originated from the feet of the big Basavanna, but the stream has now dried up. Kadle Kai Parishe, a mela, is held on the last Monday of Karthika (October and November) to offer the first crop of groundnut to Basavanna before sending the produce to the market.

This part of Bangalore wears a rustic look during the mela. The chola style Gavi Gangadhareswara temple has huge tridents, damarus, and discs known as Suryapana and Chandrapana. People throng here on Makara Sankranthi in the evening to watch the sun rays pass through the arch, the window, Nandi's horn, and finally onto the Linga.

The Dharmaraya temple is famous for its Karaga procession connected with Adishakti in the form of Draupadi. Karaga, a five-day festival of Tigalas, who migrated from Tamil Nadu, has many unique features such as intense religious fervour, strict rituals, unchanged traditions over centuries, a fixed route and stops for the procession, welcome and respect shown at all the temples on route. The involvement of all sections of people and the unique communal harmony displayed by the special puja at Tawakkal Mastan Darga are remarkable.

Kadu Malleswara temple has given its name to Malleswaram. Ekoji had donated Medaraninganahalli for its maintenance and thus, the temple must be earlier than his time (1670 A.D). The temple structure around it was built by Yele Mallappa Shetty in 1900.

The adjoining Subramanya temple also has an interesting story. Devotees were in search of Utsava murthi for the main idol and ended up constructing a new temple. The Utsava murthi was in the possession of a Parsi businessman in Eden!

Kote Venkataramanaswamy temple was built by Chikkadevaraya in 1690 and the Basaveshwara there was shifted to Mamulpet.

Possibly, they forgot to shift the scenes from Girija Kalyana on the sanctorum walls along with Basaveswara.

There are also many temples built by the common citizens in Bangalore. Some of them are Kasi Visveswara temple (1840) in Balepete built by Sadashiva Sahu, Bennekrishna temple at Tulasi Thota, the neighbouring Sri Rama temple built by Rao Bahadur Garudachar in 1908 (the idol here was earlier worshipped by saint Tulasi Ramdas, credited with starting the Ramotsava celebrations in Bangalore), Banashankari temple built in 1915 by Basappa Shetty, Narasimha Swamy temple (1800) at Balepete, Srinivasa Mandiram (1889), Manji Someswara temple, Sugriva temple, Laldas temple complex, Subramanya temple (1821) in Ulsoor, and Subramanya temple built by the philanthropist millionaire, Sajjan Rao. The most recent example is the Rama Mandira in Malleswaram, built by the initiative of ordinary employees in Atara Kacheri.

O.T.C. Road and other localities have many temples built and patronised by certain sections such as the Devanga, Golla, Besta, Uppara, Goniga, Kshaurika, Nagartha, Ganiga, Vishwakarma, and so on. There are also a number of temples for the Grama Devathes (village dieties) - Annamma (Subedar Chatram Road), Dandina Mariamma (Shivajinagar), Patalamma (South End), Bisilu Mariamma (Lalbagh), Gangamma (Malleswaram), Muneswara, Bande Mahakalamma (Gavipura), Karumariyamma, and Duggalamma. The Anjaneya temples are popular and the oldest one in Bangalore is perhaps the Gali Anjaneya temple on Mysore Road, said to be established in 1425 by Vyasaraya. It is said to be the sixth of the 635 Anjaneya temples consecrated by Vyasaraya, Anjaneya temples at Yelahanka Gate and Karanji (Basavanagudi) are of Kempe Gowda's time.

Ragigudda and Mahalakshmi layout Anjaneya temples are quite popular and are of recent origin.

The oldest church in Bangalore is the one in Blackpalli (Shivajinagar), Kannika Matha Koil (1658), now upgraded by the Pope as St. Mary's Basilica. It is one of the six basilicas in the country. The other old churches are St. Luke's (Fort, 1830), St. Joseph's (Briand Square, 1857), St. Patrick's (Brigade Road, 1844), Sacred Heart's (Richmond Road, 1874) and others. Among the Protestant churches, the old ones are St. Mark's Cathedral (M.G. Road, 1808), Holy Trinity (M.G. Road, 1851), St. Andrews (Cubbon Road, 1867), East Parade (Dickenson Road, 1862), Wesley Church (Promenade Road, 1896), and Hudson Memorial (City Corporation, 1904).

The oldest masjid, Sangeen Jamia Masjid in Taramandalpet, was built by the Moghuls (1687-1690). Ibrahim Shah Sahele Masjid was built in 1761 (at Kumbarpete) by Hyder Khilledar Ibrahim Khan. Bademakan Masjid (Siddiah Road) was also built during Hyder's period by two Sufi saints hailing from Bijapur. Jumma Masjid (Old Poor House Road) was built by Abdul Quddus in the early 19th Century.

An important masjid is the Jamia Masjid (City Market) built in 1940 and opened by Sir Mirza Ismail. Among the 24 dargas in Bangalore, the popular ones are Kambal Posh Darga (Old Broadway), Hazarat Tawakkal Mastan Shah Darga (Cottonpet), and Besarwali Shahi Darga (Cubbonpet). Sufi saint Tawakkal worked incognito as an ordinary coolie in the construction of Tippu's Fort. His darga is dear to Muslims for its holiness and to Hindus as a resting place for the Karaga during the festival. The Dargas continue to be holy and respected. Places of worship of other religious faiths such as Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Parsees have beautiful architectural features.

The car festivals of many temples and churches such as those at St. Mary's Basilica, Kumaraswamy temple (Hanumanthanagar), Subramanya temple (Sajjanrao Circle), and Ulsoor Someswara temple are popular. So are the Karaga, Kadale Kai Parshe, Dasara by Lancers of Munireddipalya, and the car festivals of Grama Devathas. The existence of these many places of worship and the observance of festivals denote a catholicity of outlook, religious fervour, and fraternity of the common people.

Varanasi, the holy city of India, is also known by the name of Kashi and Benaras. Kashi, the city of Moksha for Hindus since centuries, is known for its fine-quality silks, 'paan' and Benares Hindu University and Avimukta of the ancient days, Varanasi is the most popular pilgrimage point for the Hindus. One of the seven holiest cities, Varanasi city is also one the Shakti Peethas and one of the twelve Jyotir Linga sites in India. In Hinduism it is believed that those who die and are cremated here get an instant gateway to liberation from the cycle of births and re-births.

Considered as the abode of Lord Shiva, Varanasi is situated on the banks of River Ganges, which is believed to have the power of washing away all of one's sins. As pundits here will tell you, whatever is sacrificed and chanted here or given in charity reaps its fruits thousand times more than those good deeds performed at other places because of the power of that place. It is believed that three nights of fasting in Varanasi city can reap you rewards of many thousands of lifetimes of asceticism!

Varanasi is the oldest city of the world. Varanasi is more than 3000 years old and is famous as the city of temples. In Varanasi, there are temples at every few paces. Looking at the number of temples in Varanasi, it is hard to believe that a large number of them were demolished during the medieval times. Jyotirlinga Visvanatha Temple or Golden Temple, rebuilt in 1776, is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Jnana Vapi well (meaning 'Well of Wisdom) is believed to have been dug by Lord Shiva himself. It is believed that the majestic Alamgir mosque has replaced one of the most ancient shrines known as the temple of Bindu Madhava. The thirty-three hundred million shrines fill one with awe and wonder with sheer numbers.

The Ganga Ghats (river front) are the most popular pilgrimage spot of Varanasi and are centers of music and learning. There is a great tradition of Yatras in the holy city of Kashi and the most sacred path is that of Panchkoshi Parikrama, the fifty-mile path with a radius of five miles that cover 108 shrines along the way, with Panchakoshi Temple as its main shrine. Other popular pilgrimage route is Nagara Pradakshina, which covers seventy-two shrines along the way. Since time immemorial Varanasi is a great center of learning. The holy city has been a symbol of spiritualism, philosophy and mysticism for thousands of years and has produced great saints and personalities like Guatama Buddha, Mahavira, Kabir, Tulsi Das, Shankaracharaya, Ramanuja and Patanjali.

Varanasi is the City of " LORD SHIVA"
Varanasi is the Capital Of all Knowledge
Varanasi is the City Of Light
Varanasi is a Religious and Spiritual City
Varanasi is a city of Ghats of Holy Ganges
Varanasi is a City Of Temples Ashrams & Muths
Varanasi is rich in Arts, Music, Dance & Literature
Varanasi is a centre for studying Astrology, Sanskrit, Yoga, Ayurveda
Varanasi is famous for Banarasi Saree,Handicrafts, Jari Work, Wooden Items

• Area: 73.89 sq. km.

• Population : 1322248 (1991 census)

• Altitude : 80.71 mtrs. Above sea level

• Season: October – March

• Clothing: Summer - Cottons; Winters - Woolens

• Language: Sanskrit, Hindi and English

• Festivals: Shivratri, Dussehra, Ganga Festival, Bharat Milap, Dhrupad Mela, Hanumat Jayanti, Nakkatyya Chetganj, Nag Nathaiya Panch Kroshi Parikrama.

• Local Transport : Buses, Cycle-rickshaws, Auto-rickshaws

• STD Code : 0542

Places to Visit

River Front ( Ghats)

For centuries, pilgrims have traced the perimeter of the city by a ritual circumambulation , paying homage to shrines on the way. Among the most popular routes is the Panchatirthi Yatra, which takes in the Pancha, (five) Trithi (crossing) of Asi, Dashashwamedha, Adi Keshva, Panchganga and finally Manikarnika. To gain merit or appease the gods, the devotee, accompanied by a panda (priest), recites a sankalpa (statement of intent) and performs a ritual at each stage of the journey. For the casual visitor, however the easiest way to see the is to follow a south-north sequence either by boat or on foot.

Asi Ghat to Kedara Ghat

At the clay-banked Asi Ghat, the southernmost in the sacred city, at the confluence of the Asi and the Ganges, pilgrims bathe prior to worshipping at a huge lingam under a peepal tree. Another lingam visited is that of Asisangameshvara, the "Lord of the Confluence of the Asi", in a small marble temple just off the ghat. Traditionally, pilgrims continued to Lolarka Kund, the Trembling Sun", a rectangular tank fifteen metres blow ground level, approached by steep steps. Now almost abandoned, except during the Lolarka Mela fair (Aug/Sept), when thousands come to propitiate the gods and pray for the birth of a son, Lolarka Kund is among Varanasi’s earliest sites, one of only two remaining Sun sites linked with the origins of Hinduism. Equated with the twelve adityas or divisions of the sun, which predate the great deities of Modern Hinduism, it was attracting bathers in the days of the Buddha.

Much of the adjacent Tulsi Ghat – originally Lolarka Ghat, but renamed in the honor of the poet Tulsidas, who lived nearby in the sixteenth century – has crumbled. Continuing north, above Shivala Ghat, hanuman Ghat is the site of a new temple built by the ghat’s large south Indian community. Considered by many to be the birth place of the fifteenth-century Vaishnavite saint Vallabha, who was instrumental in in the resurgence of the worship of Krishna, the ghat also features a striking image of Ruru, the dog Bhairava, a ferocious and early form of Shiva.

Named for a legendary king said to have almost lost everything in a fit of self-abnegation, Harishchandra Ghat, one of the Varanasi’s two cremation of burning ghats, is easily recognizable from the smoke of its funeral pyres.

Further north, the busy Kendra Ghat is ignored by pilgrims on the Panchatirthi Yatra. Above its steps, a red-and-white-striped temple houses the Kedareshvara lingam, an outcrop of black rock shot through with a vein of white. Mythologically related to Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Kedara and its ghat become a hive of activity during the sacred month of Sravana (July/Aug), the month of the rains.

Chauki Ghat to Chaumsathi Ghat

Northwards along the river, Chauki Ghat is distinguished by an enormous tree that shelters small stones shrines to the nagas, water-snake deities, while at the unmistakable Dhobi (Laundrymen’s) Ghat clothes are still rhythmically pulverized in the pursuit of purity. Past smaller ghats such as Mansarovar Ghat, named after the holy lake in Tibet, and Narada Ghat, honoring the divine musician and sage, lies Chaumsathi Ghat, where impressive stone steps lead up to the small temple of the Chaumsathi (64) Yoginis. Images of Kali and Durga in its inner sanctum represent a stage in the emergence of the great goddess as a single representation of a number of female divinities. Overlooking the ghats here is Peshwa Amrit Rao’s majestic sandstone haveli (mansion), built in 1807 and currently used for religious ceremonies and occasionally, as an auditorium for concerts.

Dashashwamedha Ghat

Dashashwamedha Ghat, the second and business of the five tirthas on the Panchatirthi Yatra, lies past the plain, flat-roofed building that houses the shrine of Shitala. Extremely popular, even in the rainy season when devotees have to wade to the temple or take a boat, Shitala represents both both benign and malevolent aspects – ease and succor as well as disease, particularly smallpox.

Dashashwamedha is Varanasi’s most popular and accessible bathing ghat, with rows of pandas sitting on wooden platforms under bamboo umbrellas, masseurs plying their trade and boatmen jostling for custom. Its name, "ten horse sacrifices", derives from a complex series of sacrifices performed by Brahma to test King Divodasa: Shiva and Parvati were sure the king’s resolve would fail, and he would be compelled to leave Kashi, thereby allowing them to return to their city. However, the sacrifices were so perfect that Brahma established the Brahmeshvara lingam here. Since that time, Dashashwamedha has become one of the most celebrated tirthas on earth, where pilgrims can reap the benefits of the huge sacrifice merely by bathing.

Man Mandir Ghat to Lalita Ghat

Man Mandir Ghat is known primarily for its magnificent eighteenth-century observatory, equipped with ornate window casings, and built for the Maharajah of Jaipur. Pilgrims pay homage to the important lingam of Someshvara, the lord of the moon, alongside, before crossing Tripurabhairavi Ghat to Mir Ghat and the New Vishwanatha Temple, built by conservative Brahmins who claimed that the main Vishwanatha lingam was rendered impure when Harijans (untouchables) entered the sanctum in 1956. Mir Ghat also has a shrine to Vaishalakshi, the Wide-eyed Goddess, on an important pitha – a site marking the place where various parts of the disintegrating body of Shakti fell as it was carried by the grief-stricken Shiva. Also here is the Dharma Kupa, the Well of Dharma, surrounded by subsidiary shrines and the lingam over all the dead of the world – except here in Varanasi.

Immediately to the north is Lalita Ghat, renowned for its ganga Keshava shrine to Vishnu and the Nepali Temple, a typical Kathmandu-style wooden temple which houses an image of Pashupateshvara – Shiva’s manifestation at Pashupatinath, in the Mathmandu Valley – and sports a small selection of erotic carvings.

Manikarnika Ghat

North of Lalita lies Varanasi’s preeminent cremation ground, Manikarnika Ghat. Such grounds are usually held to be inauspicious, and located on the fringes of cities, but the entire city of Shiva is regarded as Mahashmashana, the Great Cremation Ground for the corpse of the entire universe. The ghat is perpetually crowded with funeral parties, as well as the Doms, its Untouchable guardians, busy and pre-occupied with facilitating final release for those lucky enough to pass away here. Seeing bodies being cremated so publicly has always exerted a great fascination for visitors to the city, but photography is strictly taboo; even having a camera visible may be constructed as intent, and provoke hostility.

Lying at the centre of the five tirthas, manikarnika Ghat symbolizes both creation and destruction, epitomized by the juxtaposition of the sacred well of Manikarnika Kund, said to have been dug by Vishnu at the time of creation, and the hot, sandy ash-infused soil of cremation grounds where time comes to an end. In Hindu mythology, Manikarnika Kund predates the arrival of the Ganga and has its source deep in the Himalayas. Vishnu cared the kund with his discus, and filled it with perspiration from his exertions in creating the world, at the behest of Shiva. When Shiva quivered with delighted, his earning fell into this pool, which as manikarnika – "Jeweled Earring" – became the first tirthas in the world. Every yea, after the floodwaters of the river have receded to leave the pool caked in alluvial deposits, the kund is re-dug. Its surroundings are cleaned and painted with brightly coloured folk art, which depicts the presiding goddess, Manikarnika Devi, inviting pilgrims to bathe and worship at its small Vishnu shrine, and at the paduka (footprint) of Vishnu set in marble on the embankment of the ghat. The most important of the lingams is the remains of Tarakeshvara, Shiva as Lord of Taraka mantra, a "prayer of the crossing" recited at death.

Strictly speaking, Manikarnika is the name given to the kund and to the ghat, while the constantly busy cremation ground is Jalasi Ghat, dominated by a dark smoke-stained temple built by Queen Ahalya Bai Holkar of Indore in the eighteenth century.

Scindia Ghat

Bordering Manikarnika to the north is the picturesque Scindia Ghat, with its titled Shiva temple lying partially submerged in the river, having fallen in as a result of the sheer weight of the ghat’s construction around 150 years ago. Above the ghat, several of Kashi’s most influential shrines are hidden within the tight maze of alleyways of the area known as Siddha Kshetra (the field of Fulfillment). Vireshvara, the Lord of all Heroes, is especially propitiated in prayer for a son; the Lord of Fire, Agni, was supposed to have been born here.

Panchganga Ghat to Adi Keshva Ghat

Beyond Lakshmanbala Ghat, with its commanding views of the river. Lies one of the most dramatic and controversial ghats, Panchganga Ghat, dominated by Varanasi’s largest riverside building, the great mosque of Alamgir, known locally as Beni Madhav-ka-Darera. With its minarets now much shortened, the mosque stands on the ruins of what must have been one of the city’s greatest temples, Bindu Madhava, a huge Vishnu temple that extended from Panchganga to Rama Ghat before it was destroyed by Aurangzeb and replaced by an impressive mosque. Panchganga also bears testimony to more favorable Hindu-Muslim relations, being the site of the initiation of the medieval saint of the Sufi-Sant tradition, Kabir, the son of a humble Muslim weaver who is venerated by Hindus and Muslims alike. Along the river front lies a curious array of three-sided cells, submerged during the rainy season, some with lingams, others with images of Vishnu, and some empty and used for meditation or yoga. One of these is a shrine to the Five (panch) Rivers (ganga) which, according to legend, have their confluence here: the two symbolic rivulets of Dhutapapa (Cleansed of Sin) and the Kirana (Sun’s Ray), which join the mythical confluence of the Yamuna and the Yamuna and the Sarasvati with the Ganga.

Above Trilochana Ghat, further north, is the holy ancient lingam of the Three (tri) Eye (lochana) Shiva. Beyond it, the river bypasses some of Varanasi’s oldest precincts, now predominantly Muslim in character; the ghats themselves gradually become less impressive and are usually of the kaccha (clay-banked) variety.

At Adi Keshava Ghat (the "Original Vishnu"), on the outskirts of the city, the Varana flows into the Ganga. Unapproachable during the rainy season, when it is completely submerged, it marks the place where Vishnu first landed as an emissary of Shiva, and stands on the original site of the city before it spread southwards; around Adi Keshva are a number of Ganesha shrine.

Vishwanatha Khanda

The Old City at the heart of Varanasi, between Dashashwamedha Ghat and Godaulia to the south and west and Manikarnika Ghat on the river to the north, lies Vishwanatha Khanda, sometimes referred to as the Old City. The whole area rewards exploration, with numerous shrines and lingams tucked into every corner, and buzzing with the activity of pilgrims, pandas and stalls selling offerings to the faithful.

Approached through a maze of narrow alleys and the Vishwanatha Gali (or Lane), the temple complex of Vishwanatha or Visheshwara, the "Lord of All", is popularly known as the Golden Temple, due to the massive gold plating on its shikhara (spire). Inside the compound - which is hidden behind a wall, and entered through an unassuming doorway - is one of India's most important shivalingams, made of smooth black stone and seated in a solid silver plinth, as well as shrines to the wrathful protectors Mahakala and Dandapani, and the lingam of Avimukteshvara, the Lord of the Unforsaken, which predates Vishwanatha and once held much greater significance. The current temple was built in 1777 by Queen Ahalya Bai Holkar of Indore, and is closed to non-Hindus, who have to make do with glimpses from adjacent buildings.

Vishwanatha's history has been fraught Sacked by successive Muslim rulers, the temple was repeatedly rebuilt, until the grand edifice begun in 1585 by Todar Mal, a courtier of the tolerant Moghul Akbar, was finally destroyed by Aurangzeb. On its foundations, guarded by armed police to protect it from Hindu fanatics, stands the Jnana Vapi Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Aurangzeb. Its simple white domes tower over the Jnana Vapi (Wisdom Well), immediately north, housed in an open arcaded hall built in 1828, where Shiva cooled his lingam after the construction of Vishwanatha. Covered by a grate to prevent people jumping in, in search of instant moksha, and covered with a cloth to stop coins being thrown in, only the presiding Brahmins have access to its waters, considered to be liquid knowledge.

Pilgrims offer their sankalpa or statement of intent here, before commencing the Panchatirthi Yatra. Slightly north, across the main road, the thirteenth-century Razia's Mosque stands atop the ruins of a still earlier Vishwanatha temple, destroyed under the Sultanate.

Close by, the temple of Annapurna Bhavani is dedicated to the supreme Shakti ("She, the Being of Plenteous Food"), the queen and divine mother also known in this benevolent form as Mother of the Three Worlds. As the provider of sustenance, she carries a cooking pot rather than the fearsome weapons borne by her horrific forms Durga and Kali a subsidiary shrine opened only three days a year houses a solid gold image of Annapurna. Nearby is a stunning image, faced in silver against a black surround, of Shani or Saturn. Anyone whose fortunes fall under his shadow is stricken with bad luck - a fate devotees try to escape by worshipping here on Saturdays.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Also known as the Golden Temple, it is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the presiding deity of the city. Varanasi is said to be the point at which the first jyotirlinga, the fiery pillar of light by which Shiva manifested his supremacy over other gods, broke through the earth’s crust and flared towards the heavens. More than the Ghats and even the Ganga, the Shivalinga installed in the temple remains the devotional focus of Varanasi. Entry restricted for foreigners.