The final day was the conclusion of this holy yatra. We had to perform a Dhampathi Puja to conclude our holy trip and followed by a grand Samaradhanai- a feast for as many as 25 people!
The trip to Kasi is considered complete only with the Darshan and visit to the temples of Kala Bhairav from where Kasi charadu is procured and tied in the wrist. Chozhi amman, Kasi Visalakshi, Sankata vimochana Hanuman, Bindu Madhavar are the temples of importance and a must.
Our flight to Delhi was at 3.15pm and we had to take the connecting flight to chennai at 9.15 pm.
The Kasi yatra would stand complete with the Abhishekam of ganga water on Lord ramanatha swamy at Rameshwaram. We boarded the train to Rameshwaram on the 10th and reached on the 11th early morning. We stayed at hotel T T D C which was quite a comfortable room with basic facilities. As we queued up to have a darshan of the lord and perform abhishekam, a stranger who was right behind us and reciting rudra Prasna in sanskrit turned ut to be a scholar teaching in a sanskrit college in Varanasi!
It appeared that Lord Kashi Vishwanath himself had sent a representative to Rameshwaram to be with us and guide us through the rituals. We were in ecstasy when the Abhishekam was performed with Sri Madan Mohan Mishra ji reciting Rudra Prasna right from behind and into our ears. the joy was heavenly and left our eyes moist with no words to express! After the Pooja, a lady with her children from Karnataka wanted to perform a Dhampati pooja and honoured us by elevating our status to that of Blessers!
We were very happy and elated with this incident. We visited some important temples nearby and travelled upto Dhanushkoti which was totally submerged in the devastating cyclong that happened in 1964 and washed away the Pamban bridge too! The receded water and the remains of structures including that of the old Rameshwaram station which emerged after being submerged for several years gave a testimony to the devastating cyclone that brought fury and consumed scores of lives. we boarded a train back to chennai the same evening and returned on the 12th.
As per rituals, we had a grand samaradhanai on the 14th at home and did ganga Pooja followed by a regular "elai Potta saappadu"- feast which was well attended by about 20 people!
We announced our entry into the normal world of Loukikam-this material world!
Heart of hearts, there is an inner urge to be besides the Holy mother-ganges and are eagerly looking for an opportunity to visit Varanasi at the soonest!
Hara Hara Maha Dev!!
"Anna poorne sada Poorne sankara Prana Vallabhe
gyana varagya sidhyartham biksham dehita Parvati
mata cha parvati devi pita devo Maheshwarah
the expenses involved in allahabad, kasi and gaya for the rituals, shraddam etc.? including danams, dakshinai etc? kindly inform approximate amount needed.
Having stayed in Kashi for many years, I'd say the following:
(1) Visiting the Vishwanath temple:-
(a) If you care about money:- Be careful when visiting the temple. The approach to the temple is through a very narrow road lined with shops. To say that the shopkeepers are belligerent is an understatement. They'll try to get you to buy a lot of stuff, leave your footwear at their stores and so on. Don't listen to them. You can leave your footwear right at the temple gates.
Avoid carrying any leather goods(purses, belts) as you cannot take them inside and there are no good places to leave them outside the temple. Get elsewhere any pooja stuff, Ganga water(and milk) for pouring over the linga. You can do your own worship to the deity there. Don't give anybody any money because, once they sense a weakness, they'll demand money from you for everything. Go around like you know the place and ignore anybody who tries to give you directions. Definitely know Hindi or get someone who knows Hindi. The old temple where the jyotirlinga was is now a mosque and you cannot go there. You'll see Nandi facing that direction.
(b) If you do not care about money:- These traders and poojaris need to make a living as well. Nonspiritual though it may seem, this is the only way for many of them to make their ends meet. If you are so inclined, you can help as many people as you can. If you are doing this, get a guide. That way, you'll get to know the significance of each place and he can take to each poojari who does some pooja for you.
(2) Visiting the Vishalakshi temple:- Not many people know where this temple is. It is close to the old Vishwanath temple. Ask people there for directions and they'll tell you.
(3) Visiting the Vishwanath temple in BHU:- This is a very beautiful temple built in the Birla style. For many people, this is the default Vishwanath temple. If you don't explicitly specify that you want to go to the old temple, you will most likely be taken here.
(4) Durga kund temple and Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple are other notable places. The Sankat Mochan temple is a very famous temple here and associated with Goswami Tulasidas, the author of Shri Tulasi Ramayana.
(5) Ganga - If you are collecting water from there, try to get it further away from the banks. If you take a boat, make sure it isn't overloaded(no more than three). The currents in the river here are deceptive, so please be careful.
(6) Ghats - There are lots of ghats here, each with its own significance. Some are bathing ghats and some aren't. Know the type of the ghat before you go there.
The people in general are very nice and helpful. You'll find really spiritual and pious people everywhere(and you'll also see people with all too human character flaws as well). However, if you have realistic expectations and show a tiny fraction of the patience that Shri Vishwanatha shows
, there is no reason why you wouldn't enjoy your trip. Watch where you are going though because you'll find paan spit everywhere.
If you are going in the winter, you should expect it to be mildly cold(approx 0C-4C) and if you are going there by train, you'd be better off travelling in an A/C compartment due to better thermal insulation and temperature regulation. Do consider carrying multiple layers of clothing if you aren't accustomed to cold weather.
Even if you don't wish to sample the local cuisine, consider trying out the sweet or 'meetha' paan and 'thandai'(if you do try this out, and if it matters to you, specifically ask for 'bhaang' to be excluded. It is added by default). Don't get south indian food here, you'll most likely be disappointed.
I think the Shankara matha there arranges accommodation, though I'm not very sure about this.
The temples of Kasi - Kala Bhairava Temple
The most famous temple in Kasi is the Viswanath temple.
But traditionally a pilgrim is expected to visit the Kala Bhairava
temple first. It is because Kala Bhairava is the Lord of Kasi. He is
the Kotwal or the magistrate. Adi Sankara in his Kala Bhairavashtakam
calls him
"Kasikarapuratinatha KalaBhairavam Bhaje".
We take Kala Bhairava's permission and then proceed to other temples.
So I will start with the KalaBhairava temple. We in Tamil Nadu are
familiar with Bhairava. All our Siva temples have a Bhairava nadai.
Kala Bhairava is the Lord of Kala ( time) or Death. This is a temple
which is believed to be not destroyed by the invaders. It is a
beautiful but small temple.
Two things you will immediately notice in the temple. One is the
presence of a number of dogs. Dog is the vahana of Bhairava and there
is a statue of a dog also. Another thing is the number of people
sitting around selling Black threads.
If you go to them they will tap
your head with peacock fathers and tie the black thread in your hand.
This thread has a number of knots in it. It is a Rakshai and is
supposed to ward off evils.
Long back this temple used to be frequented by Tantriks/Yogis who used
to remove evil by uttering mantras and touching you with the peacock
feathers. But now the Tantriks/Yogis have disappeared and these are
traders.
Talking about peacock feathers the Muslim holymen also use
peacock feathers to ward off evil. But the learned Muslim holymen have
also disappeared.
You might have heard of the term "kasikkayiru". In the old days
pilgrims to Kasi would come back with a number of Kasikayiru and tie
them in the hands of all people especially children. I remember the
time when my grandmother went to Kasi and got the thread for me.
You should recite KalaBhairava Ashtakam here. You can get books in
Devanagari script in the temple in case you do not have a sloka book.
But any pilgrim to Kasi should carry a book of slokas.
The last lines of the ashtakam are beautiful.
"kalbahiravashtakam patanthi e manoharam. Jnana mukti sadhanam vichtra
punya vardhanam. Soka, Moha, Dhainya, Loba, Kopa, Tapa nasanam, te
prayanti Kalabairavangri sannidim druvam."
There is another temple nearby called the Dhanda temple. Kala
Bhairava's weapon is a dhandam or stick. You would have heard about
Yama dhandam, the stick carried by Yama.
This temple has a stone
stick. You may not be able to see it as it is always covered by a silk
cloth. Please do not be taken in by the priest telling you that it is
Dhandapani or Lord Muruga. This is done to attract Tamil pilgrims.
Muruga also carries a Dhanda.
That is why he is called Dhandapani. But
this temple is for Kala Bhairava's Dhandam. There were other dhanda
temples in Kasi. None of them have survived.
You have to enquire about this temple which is not in the usual pilgrim's tour.
A small aside: The most popular Bhairava in Tamil Nadu in recent time
is Swarna Akarshana Bhairava. As the name shows gold attracting
Bhairava. He is a Bhairava of the Siddhas who were alchemists among
Yes. Unlike many of the Vahanas, the association of dogs and jackals
with Bhairava is very easy to understand. Bhairava stays in the
cremation grounds. He is the Lord of the Bhuthas. Dogs and jackals
frequent cremation grounds.
(At least they used to till now when our
municipal corporations seem bent on renovating the cremation grounds to
look like public parks.)
The other place where dogs are depicted is with Lord Dattatreya. He
has four dogs lying at his feet. These represent the four Vedas. But
in general dogs have a very low place in our religion.
It is because
we are Cow people and not sheep people like the Christians. Dogs are
used to herd the sheep. We had no use for the dog. Another reason for
the low status is the fact that dogs eat their own vomit.
We were very happy and elated with this incident. We visited some important temples nearby and travelled upto Dhanushkoti which was totally submerged in the devastating cyclong that happened in 1964 and washed away the Pamban bridge too! The receded water and the remains of structures including that of the old Rameshwaram station which emerged after being submerged for several years gave a testimony to the devastating cyclone that brought fury and consumed scores of lives. we boarded a train back to chennai the same evening and returned on the 12th.
