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Pithru Tharpanam in Kashi and Gaya

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How many days are required to do the Pitru Tharpanam in Kashi and Gaya and also visit Allahabad/Varanasi ? We will be starting our trip from Chennai. What is the beest way of travel from Kashi to Gaya and back ? I think that there are good connecting flights from Varanasi and hence we would like to finish our Gaya shradham and return to Varansi and fly back home. How many days should we plan for such a trip ?
Thanks
Vasudevan.V
 
sir see the sticky thread in rituals ceremonies and pooja " krishna angaraha chathurdasi" from the end of first page to the end. all details are there.
 
Dear Sri V Vasudevan

The following experience of mine in doing pithru tharppanam at Kaashi-Varanasi and at Prayaaga-Allahabad (in lieu of Gaya) might be useful and interesting.

You might already know that not only are the Kaashi Visvanaatha-svaami, Annapoornesvari, Kaala-Bhairava, and Vishaalaakshi temples situated in Kaashi, but that there are various ghats and punya nathi-sangamams there. At Prayaaga-Allahabad is the unique and super-sacrosanct triple-sangamam of the Holy Ganga, the Holy Yamuna, and the Holy Sarasvathi rivers. It is about 110 km from Kaashi.

My elder son, a medical doctor, and I allotted 12 days for our leisurely pilgrimmage in the latter half of September. We flew to New Delhi, and caught a connecting flight to Varanasi. Our hotel's hire-car was there to meet us promptly with driver and assistant. They took us to our hotel without fuss, two hotel porters meeting our car to take our luggage through very narrow alley-ways to our pre-booked room. The hotel charged us Rs 900 for the car, driver, assistant, and porters. We were specifically told not to tip anyone.

Our hotel was at mid-town Dashaashvamedha Ghat, with a wonderful view of the river and the other ghats. It also had a flat roof with protective iron railings and tarpaulin top where we could do our sandhyas if we wished. It was within walking distance of the temples mentioned above as well as other temples, ghats, and holy places. Plenty of shops and eating places nearby and, most important, stalls selling hot fresh milk and cold thick yogurt, all made from freshly milked cows milk.

We spent the evening of our arrival and the next day simply wandering the streets, acquainting ourselves with the neighbourhood and generally orientating ourselves, noting what was available, comparing quality of materials and prices. Our Hindi was not too good, but we managed fine with my Sanskrit and our English.

The second day morning we had a manthra-snaanam in the Ganga, reciting a relatively short snaana-sankalppam, its concluding manthram starting with "athikroora mahaakaaya" and ending with "daathum arhasi". Then did praatha sandhya-vandanam, Brahma-yagnyam, deva-rishi-pithru tharppanams, mahaa-sankalppam and Gangaa-snaanam. Yagnopaveetha dhaaranam, kaanda-rishi tharppanam, and Veda paraayanam.

After that we did the proper Kaashi shraaddham on the ghats, referring, as needed, to guiding texts we had brought with us (though I had learned most of the manthrams by heart long ago). We had also carefully and in abundance brought all the materials, vessels, darbha, etc needed. Including tulsi, betel leaf and betel nut, and banana leaves. We had even brought an aasana-palaka for me and a canvas ground-sheet to spread on the ground at the ghats on which to perform the rites, and a piece of silk to cover the canvas.

We spread koorchas on polished brass plates and did aavaahanam of Brahma, rithviks, pithrus, and of Lord Sree Maha-Vishnu as shraaddha-samrakshaka devatha.

On the advice of a helpful young Tamil-Brahmin priest at the Vishvanatha-svaami temple, we had made pindams by mixing clean good rice-powder and hot water.

The next day we pushed our way through the milling and jostling but very polite crowds in the narrow alleys of Varanasi to enter the great Kaashi Vishvanaatha-svaami temple. We had to remove our slippers and store them and my son's small backpack at a nearby stall, whose manager charged us Rs 150 for a small basket containing a small garland of yellow flowers, a few loose archana flowers, and two small packets, one of vibhoothi and the other of kumkumam. (We had already brought vibhoothi and kumkumam with us.)

We had brought two medium-sized chombus filled with "koti-theertham" from Sri Raamanaatha-svaami Jyothir-linga temple in Raamesvaram. These we emptied on to the Jyothir-Lingam, placed the garland and sprinkled the flowers over the divine Lingam, which we had decorated with vibhoothi, sndalwood paste and kumkumam, while hastily pronouncing the first anuvaakam of Rudram and the last anuvaakam of Chamakam.

The uniformed and armed policewoman on duty within the shrine was kind enough not to chase us out quickly as she did the other devotees. (Presumably because my son and I were grandly dressed in white silk pancha-gachcham veshti, wearing rudraaksha-maalais, and bearing shining chombus of Ramesvaram koti-theertham. And reciting Shiva-sthrothra manthrams with which she was already acquainted.)

We then went around and paid our respects and made offerings to Paarvathi-devi and Annapoornesvari at their own shrines which were within the same compound. Then sat down within one of the mandapams where "paanda-priests" were collecting fees from visiting devotees and reciting manthrams. The sing-song style of chanting familiar manthrams aroused and held my curiosity.

Beware, however, of the vicious fully-grown thieving monkeys which abound within and outside the temple and snatch away your belongings, tearing them in search of food and then throwing them away far beyond your reach.

When I saw one trying to snatch a feeding-bottle which a child was sucking on in its mother's lap and clapped my hands loudly to try to scare it away, it fearlessly leaped right at me and bit me on my right forearm. I bear the teeth-mark scars to this day. My son quickly washed the wounds with dsinfectant and bandaged my arm when we got back. So I escaped infection from the monkey's saliva and food remnants in its mouth.

We rested the following day. The next day we hired a small old wooden rowboat manned by three men and travelled from Dashashvamedha ghat to Assi ghat to collect one litre of water at the Ganga-Assi confluence. Then rowed mid-river past Pancha-Ganga ghat where we collected water in a two-litre thick plastic screw-top container. We continued down-river to opposite the Varan-Ganga confluence and collected yet another litre of pure Ganga theertham.

Then had a very difficult two-and-a-half row back against the current to Dashashvamedha Ghat. Had to hug the river-bank on the other side of the river oppposite Kaashi, whereas on the way to Assi we hugged the same side as our hotel. On the return journey, two of the boatmen had to get down into the shallow bed of the river and literally pull the boat upstream with their bare hands, while the third steered nd shouted instructions.

The hotel had refused to hire a rowboat for us, saying the river was "too high" and too swift-flowing. Instead, for Rs 1000 per head they offered a swift motor-boat jaunt up and down the river so we could collect water if we wished. But no showering or bathing on board. We therefore went down to the ghats near our hotel. We found plenty of row-boats to choose from, ranging in condition from luxury with cushioned elevated seats and gaily-painted plywood roofs and binoculars, to old vesles barely able to float but handled with dexterity by wizened and highly experienced rivermen.

The first boatman, obviously an agent, demanded Rs 4,000 for a ride. We chased him off. Several others followed: all with the same result. We finally got an offer from a boat-owner of Rs 800 as "the lowest". We explained exactly what we wanted. He agreed to Rs 500, which we had ascertained was the actual going price at that time. That was what we finally paid.

After another day's rest we went to Prayaaga-Allahabad by hotel's hire-cab. The two-way fare was Rs 3,000. The roads were in remarkably good condition and we reached our destibatiion at mid-day. The driver brought us right up to the river-bank. He also offered to find us a boat to triveni sangam, but we turned him down.

As at Kaashi, we performed all the rites on the river-bank here, including the "Gaya" shraaddham in full with pindams.

We hired a wooden row-boat for Rs 800 for a leisurely ride to the sangam and back. We found that a huge wooden platform had been built mid-river, around which dozens of largre boats each carrying more than 200 pilgrims, were clustered. Nothing much seemed to be happening on board these overcrowded boats.

When our boat neared the platform we found a short ladder to climb up, and were led to a squarish 8-foot-by-8-foot opening in the middle with a sort of meshed net slung under the hole. Several muscled young men in loincloths were on the platform.

There was also a sort of canopied bench on the platform on which sat a bearded old man whose forehead was smeared with kumkumam and who was holding a stiffened knotted rope and mumbling something. Those on the platform urged me to pay him Rs 250 for a "blessing", which I politely declined. While my son stood guard I descended into the "hole" and immersed myself completely three times into the clean slowly-flowing water.

When I came up and before I could even catch my breath, someone handed me a small eversilver tumbler half-filled with milky water and told me to pour it into the river. When I declined, they crowded around my son and told him this was an unbreakable custom, so I had to do it. When I had reluctabtly emptied the first half-tumbler into the river, they came up with two more half-tumblers of milky water which I was forced to repeat.

I filled my 2-litre plastic container with sangam water and climbed back on to the platform, dripping wet. Only then was I told that my son was coerced into paying Rs 300 for the three half-tumblers of milky water. "Abhishegam to Ganga, Yamuna, and Sarasvathi," I was told.

Bathe water with milky water? How more absurd can one be? Had I known, I would happily have brought a chombu full of real undiluted fresh cow's milk and a silver tumbler to satisfy Ganga's, Yamuna's and Sarasvati's craving for a bath in fresh cows milk. (And probably have enough left over for a dozen or even a score more milky water abhishegams at Rs 200 a throw.)

After changing into fresh dry clothes (traditional Brahmin gruhsthan attire), we drove around to see the sights. First stop was Akhbar's Fort, where we circumambulated and offered pindams at the large-trunked and healthy "Vata-vruksham" within the fort. (We later collected the pindams and immersed them solemnly in the triveni theertham.) We also toured the peculiar underground temple there and noted the queer customs practised by local devotees there. Then on to "Sleeping Huge Hanuman" temple where the figure was completely smeared in bright red paint and covered in tons of fresh flowers.

Among the attractions visited was the Kaanchi-Kaamakoti-Matam-affiliated four-storey Aadi Shankara Vimaana Mandapam (top storey was locked) and a littler temple nearby. There are dozens of idols at each storey of the Mandapam and pujas are actually offered to them, at modest fees. Devotees usually bring a small wicker basket with unbroken kudumi-coconut, fresh flowers, fruits such as bananas and mangoes, betel leaf and arecanut, camphor and incense sticks. One lady also brought a small coloured silk vasthram, which the priest swathed around the chosen idol.

We returned to Kaashi late at night very happy indeed as most of what we came for had been achieved..

After resting a further day, my son and I walked along the riverside ghats from Dashashvamedha Ghat carrying all our treasures of Ganga-theertham till we reached Hanuman Ghat. This is a sort of "South Indian neighbourhood". There is a reputed "chetty" shop there which not only sells brass and copper vessels but seals your Ganga-water free if you buy containers from it. It took us a while to find the place. And it was crowded with vociferous haggling womern speaking various tongues, but not English or Tamil.

We bought several brand-new half-litre chombus from the shop with thaambaalams to match, plus a dozen statues of Kaamaakshi Amman, and a few other souvenirs like aksha-malais -- all for giving as gifts to friends and relatives back home. We were surprised to find that we had to pay Rs 28 for sealing each chombu. The much-advertised "Free" sealing of chombus was only for tiny thumb-sized 50-ml things sold in clusters of one dozen, whose mouths were less than an inch in diameter. We had to pay the sealing fees in full in advance, and go two days later to collect our sealed chombus.

The following evening we made our way through a bewildering maze of alley-ways, to the famour Kaashi Vishaalaakshi Amman temple. It is a very small temple squeezed in between other buildings, and is easy to miss. The priests very generously allowed us to perform Lalitha sahasraanaama archanai wih kumkumam which we had brought.

Before leaving we gave the priests a dakshina of US$100 each, which overjoyed them. Theyn garlanded is with garlands earlier placed around the Amman, placed shawls around our shoulders, gave us half-coconuts, fruits and flowers previously offered to Amman, and two silver coins with Amman's image on one side. We also offered alms to beggars includiong small children waiting outside the little temple.

Two days later we went for a refreshing long walk to the unusual "Kaala-Bhairava" temple, did our pujas and obtained prasaadams, bought a few souvenirs. Then proceeded to the "chetty" 's place in Hanuman Ghat for our chombus. We found a new four-storey hotel with a magnificent restaurant at the top floor, and ordered from ghe menu a grand Rs 200 meal each. The owner himself came over and chatted with us throughout our leisurely meal, and gave us further useful information. We took a jinrickshaw back to our hotel with the chombus and all our new shopping.

There are daily not-to-be-missed very elaborate well-lit, well-organised song-and-light music-and-manthram "Ganga-haaraththi" every night at Dashaashvamedha Ghat at sunset. These last about an hour each. We watched the phenomenon from our hotel rooftop through binoculars for a couple of days at first, then went down to the Ghat ourselves on two nighrs and sat on mats on the stone steps, mixing and melding with the local crowds. The number of European patrons with their womenfolk was amazing.

Day before the end of our pilgrimmage, we went shopping for give-away items such as Kaashi shawls, elaborately framed colour pictures of the famed Vishvanaatha jyothir-lingam in its rectangular golden tank, panchpaathra-uddarani sets, veshtis and saris.

On twelfth day morning we wrapped up our visit, packed our bags, changed into western clothes of shirt and jeans, settled bills with the hotel and thanked them for their hospitality, left some money for tips to staff, paid another Rs 900 for a hire-car ride to Varanasi Airport, and caught our plane to New Delhi.

S Narayanaswamy Iyer
 
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