Diving in the Field of Fulfillment
"The oldest living city in the world."
This was shot from Scindia Ghat.
The platform is only visible in winter as the floods are covering it during summer monsoons.
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.
The city of Banaras is situated on the west bank of the holiest of all Indian rivers, the Ganga or Ganges.
The relationship between the sacred river and the city is the essence of Varanasi - 'the land of sacred light'.
The Ganga is believed to have flown from heaven to wash away the worldly sins of the human race of mortal's.
Everyday thousands of residents and pilgrims bathe, offer prayers to the elements, to the rising sun, and to their dead ancestors who have been carried away by these waters. What draws people to the river is an ingrained belief that these waters can absolve the sins of many generations.
Everyone has their own way of celebrating the ritual contact with the holy Ganga: some bathe; other dip themselves entirely into the water once, thrice or any number of times; some drink the water; other make water offerings to the sun; while others fill their pots with holy water to take back to their homes to perform rituals and purification.
The offerings to the sacred waters vary.
Pilgrims give flowers, fruits, lamps and their respectful prayers.
On festival days and religious occasions the riverside is thick with their colorful bobbing up and down on the waters.
© All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.
Diving in the Field of Fulfillment
"The oldest living city in the world."
This was shot from Scindia Ghat.
The platform is only visible in winter as the floods are covering it during summer monsoons.
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.
The city of Banaras is situated on the west bank of the holiest of all Indian rivers, the Ganga or Ganges.
The relationship between the sacred river and the city is the essence of Varanasi - 'the land of sacred light'.
The Ganga is believed to have flown from heaven to wash away the worldly sins of the human race of mortal's.
Everyday thousands of residents and pilgrims bathe, offer prayers to the elements, to the rising sun, and to their dead ancestors who have been carried away by these waters. What draws people to the river is an ingrained belief that these waters can absolve the sins of many generations.
Everyone has their own way of celebrating the ritual contact with the holy Ganga: some bathe; other dip themselves entirely into the water once, thrice or any number of times; some drink the water; other make water offerings to the sun; while others fill their pots with holy water to take back to their homes to perform rituals and purification.
The offerings to the sacred waters vary.
Pilgrims give flowers, fruits, lamps and their respectful prayers.
On festival days and religious occasions the riverside is thick with their colorful bobbing up and down on the waters.
© All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.