Important Ghats of Varanasi

As mentioned there are 84 ghats and the most important are the following: the Dashashwamedha Ghat, is the main one and one of the most sacred Ghats of Varanasi. The majority of the population and also of visitors are concentrated here. It is the main axis of the ancient city Varanasi and the place from where the boats leave for excursions on the Ganges. At sunset there is the Ganges Aarti, a ritual offer to the Ganges performed daily every evening with reciting Mantra and beats of cymbals. Believers and travelers from all over the world participate in this ritual every day around the year.

If you go down south you meet the Munshi Ghat, a mix of Hindu & Muslim population and Dhobis the washermen use the river bank to wash their clothes without investing any money this practice has particular religious meanings.

Continuing south, you meet the Ahilya Ghat, the Darbhanga Ghat, the Dhobi Ghat, where the laundries work.
The Narad Ghat and Chauki Ghat are sacred because they recall episodes from the life of the Buddha and the nearby rose tower is a water deposit.

Here in Raj Ghat, the floods of the river are marked and, observing the levels reached, one immediately understands the reason for the curious arrangement, all on one side, of the city.

Harishchandra Ghat or Smashan Ghat is the most sacred for cremations even though Manikarnika beats him in popularity.
Karnataka Ghat, one of the famous Ghats where pilgrims from the various regions of India find priests who speak their language and who know the regional particularities of rites and celebrations, and so on.

The Dandi Ghat is the Ghat of the ascetics of Dandi Panth. And again the Shivala Ghat, or Kali Ghat, privately owned by the family of the former governor of Varanasi.
Anandamay Ghat, in memory of a Bengali saint who died in 1982. The Jain Ghat or Bachraj Ghat commemorates one of the Tirthankar who was born nearby.
Due to the landslides, it moved a little Tulsi Ghat, which recalls the great saint and medieval poet, Tulsi Das, in the name of Tulsi Das, erected a modern white marble temple.

The Assi Ghat is the point where the river Assi flows into the Ganges giving rise to a particularly sacred site: it is one of the 5 Ghats where the pilgrims should get wet on the same day, to make their prayers effective. The canonical order of the Ghats in which to dive called Panchatirthi Yatra is as follows: Assi, Dashashwamedha, Adi Keshava, Panchaganga and Manikarnika.

On the other hand, if you head north from the Dashashwamedha Ghat, you will come across the Man Mandir Ghat, one of the oldest in Varanasi, built in 1600 by the Maharaja Man Singh of Amber.
Mir Ghat or Meer Ghat, which leads to a sacred source and where widows are living, not easy, dedicating their lives to prayer in exchange for food and shelter.

The Lalita Ghat, in Nepali style.vContinuing to climb you meet the Manikarnika Ghat, the Jalasen Ghat, another main center for cremations. It is one of the most popular and most favorable places for Hindus to be cremated. The task of cremation is entrusted to a specific caste of pariahs. Photographing is forbidden, cremation can easily be seen from a distance.
Follow the Scindia Ghat, the Ram Ghat built at the behest of the Jaipur Raja. The Panchganga Ghat that tradition wants to meet 5 rivers: Ganges, Saraswati, Gyana, Kirana, and Dhutpapa.

Finally the Gai Ghat, the Trilochana Ghat, with a temple dedicated to Shiva, and the Ravi Ghat. So, visit to Varanasi it will be impossible when you walk along the bank of Ganges. All the life of the city revolves around the Bank of Ganges and all the Ghats are populated by visitors , pilgrims, faithful, stories, sins, faith, tradition, bodies and ashes , a mixture that upsets and attracts millions of visitors coming from all over the world.


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