Chapter XIII. Kāshī

Volume IV pp. 618–642

Chapter XIII. Kāshī

There is hardly any city in the world that can claim greater antiquity, greater continuity and greater popular veneration than Banaraṣ Banaras has been a holy city for at least thirty centurieṣ No city in India arouses the religious emotions of Hindus as much as Kāśī doeṣ To the Hindu mind it represents great and unbroken traditions of religious sanctity and learning. It is a miniature of Hindu life through the ages in all its great complexities and contradictionṣ Not only Hinduism with its numerous sects has flourished here for numberless centuries, but the principles of Buddhism, one of the great religions of the world, were first proclaimed here by Śākyamuni after he received Enlightenment at Bodh-Gayā under the Bodhi tree. Thousands of verses are found in the epics and purāṇas about Banaraṣ Several volumes have been written about Banaras during the last hundred yearṣ¹ It would be impossible to do justice here to this vast mass of literature on Banaraṣ I shall briefly deal with the important topics relating to Banaraṣ In olden times the name was spelt as Benares, but recently as Banaras, which will be retained here (except in quotations).

Before proceeding further, it is necessary to dwell, however briefly, on the ancient history of Banaraṣ The Śatapatha Br. quotes ² a Gāthā which states that Śatānika, son of Śatrājīt, carried away the sacred sacrificial horse of the Kāśīs, as Bharata did in the case of the Satvatṣ In Śat. Br. XIV. 3. 1. 22 king Dhṛtarāṣṭra Vicitravīrya is called Kāśya. In the Gopatha Br. we have ³ the combination Kāśī-Kośalāḥ. The Cambridge History of India (vol. I p. 117) remarks that in the Brāhmaṇa period Kāśī, the capital of the Kāśis, was situated on the Varanāvati. In the Br. Up. (II. 1. 1) and the Kausītakī⁴ Up. (IV. 1) there is the story of the proud Balāki Gārgya going to Ajātaśatru, king of Kāśī, with the assurance that the former would expound brahma to the latter. In Panini IV. 2. 116 Kāśī heads a gaṇa (Kāśyādibhyas-than-ithau'). Under Panini IV. 2. 113 we get the form 'Kāśiyah.' It is remarkable that in the Sarvānukrama the rṣi of Rg. X. 179. 2 is stated to be Prātardana Kāśirāja. In tarpana, the Hir. Gr. (II, 8, 19, 6) mentions Kāśīśvara along with Viṣṇu and Rudraskanda (S. B. E. vol 30 p. 244). Divodāsa figures frequently in the Ṛgveda. In Rg I 130 7 Indra is said to have conquered ninety cities for Divodāsa, while in Rg. IV. 30. 20 it is stated that Indra gave 100 cities of stone to Divodāsa. From these Vedic references it may be surmised that in later works like the Epics and the purāṇas Divodāsa was naturally credited with the founding of the most sacred city in India. In the Mahābhāsya on Vārtika 4 on Pāṇ IV. 1. 54 (vol. II p 223) we find the illustration 'Kāśī-Kosaliyāḥ.' The Mahābhāśya (vol. II p 413) furnishes the interesting information that there is a difference in the price of cloth manufactured at Kāśī and that manufactured at Mathurā, though the length and breadth of the piece of cloth be the same. This shows that even so early as the 2nd century B, C, Kāśī was famous for the fine qualities of its cloth, as now.⁵ From the above passages it is clear that Kāśī was the name of a country long before the Śatapatha Br. was composed and it remained so till the 2nd century B. C. (the date of Patañjali). We have a parallel example. Avanti is the name of a country as shown by Pān IV. 1. 176 (striyām-avanti-kunti-kurubhyaś-ca) and by the Meghadūta (Prāpyāvantīn-udayana—), but Avanti or Avantikā is also the name of Ujjayinī (as in the well-known verse 'Ayodhyā...Avantikā'). Fa Hien (399 to 413 A. D.) is said to have arrived at the city of Vārānasī in the kingdom of Kāśī (Legge's tr. p 94). This shows that about 400 A. D. Kāśī was still the name of the district and Vārānasī was its capital. But from the reference in the Mahābhāśya it appears that Kāśī had then become the name of the city (and was also the name of the country) In the Anusaśana-parva (chap 30) it is said that Haryaśva, the grand-father of Divodāsa, was king of the Kāśis ⁵ and was harassed and killed by the Vitahavyas in the Doab between the Ganges and Jumna. Haryaśva's son was Sudeva who was crowned king of Kāśī (verse 13, Kāśirājos bhyasicyata) and he also met the same fate as his father diḍ Then Divodāsa, son of Sudeva, became king of the Kāśis and founded Vārānasi thickly populated with men of all varnas on the northern bank of the Gomati. This legend shows that Kāśī was the ancient name of a kingdom and the ancient belief was that Vārānasi was founded as the capital of the Kāśis by Divodāsa. In the Udyogaparva also Divodāsa is said to be the ruler of Kāśiṣ⁶

The Harivamśa (I. chap. 29) has a long but rather confused story about Divodāsa and Vārānasi ⁷ It deals with the dynasty of Āyus, one of the sons of Aila. One of the descendants of Āyus was Śunahotra who had three sons, Kāśa, Śala and Grtsamada From Kāśa arose a branch called Kāśayah. Dhanvantari, a descendant of Kāśa, was king of the Kāśis (verse 22). Divodāsa was great-grandson of Dhanvantari. He killed 100 sons of Bhadraśrenya, who first was Lord of Vārāṇasi. Then Śiva sent his gana Nikumbha to destroy Vārānasi which had been occupied by Divodāsa. Nikumbha cursed it to be devastated for a thousand years When it became devastated it came to be called Avimukta and Siva resided there It was again re-established (verse 68) by Durdama, a son of Bhadraśrenya, whom, because he was a child, Divodāsa had not killed Then Pratardana, son of Divo- dāsa, took it from Durdama Alarka, grandson of Divodāsa and king of Kāśis, again established Vārānasi This legend may contain some germs of truth, viz. that Vārānasi had become devastated several times and had often changed handṣ The Vāyupurāṇa (chap. 92) and the Brahmapurāṇa (chap. 11) also contain the same legends of Dhanvantari, Divodāsa, and Alarka and the vicissitudes of Vārānasi

In the Mahābhāsya Patañjali states (vol. I. p. 380,) that Vārānasī is alongside of Gangā and on Pāṇ IV. 3. 84 (vol. II. p. 313) he informs us that traders call Vārānasī Jītvarī.

Ancient Buddhist works show that Banaras was, in the times of Buddha (5th Century B C. at the latest), a great and famous city like Campā, Rājagrha, Śrāvastī, Sāketa and Kauśāmbī (vide Mahāparinibbānasutta, S. B. E. vol. XI p 99 and Mahāsudassanāsutta, ibid, p. 247). The very fact that Buddha attained Enlightenment at Gayā (which was an out of the way place and on the borders, if at all, of Āryāvarta), thought it necessary to travel hundreds of miles from Gayā and preach his doctrines at Banaras in the Deer-park and set roll-ing the wheel of the kingdom of Dharma at that place, clearly indicates that Banaras had then become a very holy place and was in the centre of all Aryan activities and culture (vide S. B. E. vol. XI. p. 153 and vol. XIII p 90, Mahāvagga, S. B. E. vol. 17 p. 21). King Brahmadatta of Banaras figures in many jātaka storieṣ Hardly any part of the jātaka tales can be placed earlier than the 3rd century B. C. But it may be admitted that Banaras was well-known as the capital of Brahmadatta kings several centuries before Christ. The Matsyapurāṇa 273, while enumerating hundreds of kings bearing the same surnames, states that there were 100 Brahmadattas and 100 Kāśis and Kuśas ⁸. But the very fact that Brahmadattas are separately mentioned from the Kāśis largely reduces the value of this piece of informatioṇ The ancient Jain works also speak of Banaras and Kāśī. In the Kalpasūtra it is said that Arhat Pārśva was born in Banaras in the month of Caitra on the 4th day of the dark fortnight (S B. E. vol. XXII p. 271) and that when Mahāvīra died the 18 confederate kings of Kāśī and Kosala along with other kings of the Licchavis and Mallakis instituted an illumination on the day of the New Moon (ibid, p. 266). Aśvaghoṣa appears to identify Vārānasī with Kāśī when he says in his Buddhacarita ‘Having entered Vārānasī, the Jina (Buddha) illuminating the city with his light filled the minds of all the inhabitants of Kāśī with excessive interest.’ ⁹ The Buddhacarita further speaks of Buddha as having gone under the shadow of a tree near Vanārā (S. B. E., vol. 49 part 1 p, 169), which is probably the Varaṇā. It is thus clear that Vārāṇasī and Kāśī had become synonyms at least sometime about the first century A. D. In the Vāyupurāṇa 45. 110 Kāśī-kośalāḥ figure among the countries of Madhyadeśa.

In the Viṣṇupurāṇa we have the story of Pauṇḍraka Vāsudeva who challenged Kṛṣṇa and asked the latter to surrender his Cakra and other symbolṣ He was helped by the king of Kāśī. The combined armies of Pauṇḍraka and Kāśīrāja attacked Kṛṣṇa who killed Pauṇḍraka and cut off Kāśīrāja's head (with his discus) which fell in the city of Kāśī. His son performed austerities, propitiated Śańkara and secured from him a Kṛtyā (ogress) which entered Vārāṇasī. Kṛṣṇa's discus in pursuit of her burnt the whole of Vārāṇasī together with its king, his servants and citizenṣ In this account from the Viṣṇupurāṇa (V 34) the names Kāśī, Vārāṇasī and Avimukta are employed as synonyms (verses 14, 21, 25, 30, 39). The same legend occurs in the same words in Brahmapurāṇa, chap 207 and is briefly referred to in Sabhāparva, chap. 14 18-20 and chap. 34. 11.

From the above-mentioned accounts in the Epic and Purāṇas about Kāśī and Mahādeva, various conclusions ¹⁰ have been drawn by writers, viz. that Mahādeva was a god of the non-Aryans, that Banaras was a centre of non-Aryan worship for a long time after the advent of the Aryans and that the people of Banaras, though they ultimately turned to the Aryan religion, were more interested in the philosophic speculations of the Upaniṣadic age. I dissent from most of these conclusionṣ We are on most unsafe ground as regards these conclusionṣ None of the extant Purāṇas can claim to be older than the 3rd or 4th century A. D. Most people in India lived and even now live a humdrum, placid and unattractive life in which there is nothing to satisfy the ordinary man's appetite for the mysterious, the unusual and the horrible. The purāṇas contain stories that may be divided into several classes and that satisfied the above-mentioned cravings of the common maṇ Many of the legends contained in the purāṇas were meant for the entertain- ment of common people, just as even in these days millions in Western countries read with relish detective stories and crime club fictioṇ Some paurāṇic legends had a serious purpose in view viz emphasizing religious or philosophical dogma or moral values and standards and were clothed in a supernatural garb to make them striking and effective. Only a few legends have some historical basis, but the latter is evidently smothered in a mass of exaggerations and prejudices for or against a hero, or a caste, class, tribe or family. It is hardly fair to draw far- reaching historical conclusions from heterogeneous materials in the purāṇas about the conditions of things that prevailed several hundreds or thousands of years before they were compileḍ The purāṇas often speak of the quarrels and bickerings among high gods and sages For example, the Viṣṇupurāṇa V. 30.65 speaks of a fight between Indra and Kṛṣṇa. Was Kṛṣṇa a non- Aryan god originally⁶⁶? Gaṇeśa’s left tooth was shattered by the missile of Paraśurāma who comes to fight with Rāma, both being supposed to be avatāras of Viṣṇu. The sage Bhrgu curses Viṣṇu, Gautama curses Indra, Māṇḍavya curses Dharma (vide for all these, Brahmāṇḍa Ḍ. 27. 21–25).

In several purāṇas Kāśī or Vārāṇasī has been lauded and described at great length. Vide Matsya 180–185 (411 verses), Kūrma 1.31–35 (verses 226), Liṅgapurāṇa (pūrvabhāga, chap. 92, verses 190), Padma (Āḍikhaṇḍa 33–37, verses 170), Agni 112, Skanda, Kāśīkhaṇḍa, chap 6 ff, Nāradīya (uttara, chap. 48–51). The Kāśīkhaṇḍa alone has about 15000 verses¹¹ on Banaras and its sub-tīrthaṣ In the Padmapurāṇa the sages are said to have asked Bhrgu five questions, viz what is the greatness of Kāśī, how it is to be understood, who should resort to it, what is its extent (or boundaries) and by what means it (Kāśī) can be secureḍ In the Skandapurāṇa, Kāśīkhanda¹¹ (chap. 26.2-5) the following questions are asked, viz. from what time this holy place Avimukta became highly famous, how it received the name Avimukta, how it became the way to mokṣa, how the pool of Maṇikarṇikā became an object of worship to the three worlds, what was there formerly (when) the Ganges was not there, how it came to be called Vārāṇasī, Kāśī, Rudravāsa, how it came to be Ānanda-kānana (the forest of bliss) and then Avimukta and Mahāśmaśāna (the great cemetery ).

Banaras has been known for centuries under five different names viz. Vārāṇasī, Kāśī, Avimukta, Ānandakānana and Śmaśāna or Mahāśmaśāna. The Kāśīkhaṇḍa states that Śankara first called it Ānandakānana and then Avimukta,¹³ A few words must be said about the derivation and significance of these words as gathered from the Purāṇas and other workṣ And first comes Kāśī. It is derived from the root kāś ‘to shine.’ The Skandapurāṇa ¹⁴ says that the city of Kāśī became famous by that name because it sheds light on (the way to) nirvāṇa (final release) or because that indescribable refulgence, viz. God Śiva shines forth there. The name Vārāṇasī is derived in several Purāṇas from the names of two streams Varaṇā ¹⁵ (modern Bārnā) and Asi, which are respectively the northern and southern boundaries of the modern city. From the passages quoted below from the Skandapurāṇa (Kāśī-khaṇḍa) it appears that Asi is the correct form of the name of the river. The names most frequently used in the Purāṇas are Vārāṇasī and Avimukta. In the Jābālopaniṣad ¹⁶ the words Avimukta, Varaṇā and Nāsī are brought together in an esoteric sense. “Atri asked Yājñavalkya: how is one to know the unmanifested Self? Yājñavalkya explained that he was to be worshipped in Avimukta, since the self is centered in Avimukta. Then a question was asked: in what is Avimukta centered or established? The reply is that Avimukta is established in the midst of Varaṇā and Nāsī. Varaṇā is so called because it wards off all faults due to the senses and Nāsi destroys all sins due to the senseṣ Then a question is askeḍ what is its loca- tion ( sthāna )? The reply is that it is the conjunction of the eyebrows and the nose i. e. the upāsanā ( contemplation ) of Avimukta is to be made as located in the span between the eyebrows and the root of the nose.” Here it will be seen that Varaṇā and Nāsi are the names ( and not Varana and Asi ). The Vāmanapurāṇa employs the form Asi ( 15.50-53 ). The same is the case with the Padma.

The name Avimukta has generally been explained as derived from the negative particle ‘na’ (for which ‘a’ is substituted) and vimukta (forsaken). Many Purāṇas say that the holy place is so called because it was never forsaken by Śiva (some- times both Śiva and his consort ) ¹⁷ In the Liṅgapurāṇa another derivation is suggested ¹⁸ “avi means ‘sin’; that holy place is devoid of sin”. The Kāśikhaṇḍa (39.74) states that originally the kṣetra was called Ānandakānana and then Avimukta because though Śiva went to stay on Mandara mountain he did not leave it entirely but left his liṅga there

Vārāṇasī is very dear to Śiva, it gives him joy and there- fore it is called Ānandavana or Ānandakānana. ¹⁹ It is also styled Śmaśāna or Mahāśmaśāna for various reasons As a belief was entertained by all people that death in Banaras freed a man from saṁsāra, and as the thoughts and aspirations of pious Hindus ran in the direction of dying on the sacred soil of Banaras, the old and decrepit crowded therein and persons seriously ill got themselves removed or were removed to the banks of the Ganges when about to die and were cremated there Cremation of corpses is always seen on the Maṇikarṇikā ghāt near the Gangeṣ A śmaśāna ( cemetery ) is considered impure but Banaras with the sacred Ganges was purest in spite of being always the cremation ground for thousands in a year. The Skanda sayṣ ²⁰ ‘sma’ means a corpse and ‘śāna’ means ‘lying down’; when the end of the world comes, the great elements lie here as corpses and therefore this place is called Mahāśmaśāna.” The Padmapurāṇa ²¹ makes Śiva say: ‘Avimukta is a famous cemetery becoming the Destroyer (or the Time Spirit) I being here destroy the world’. Matsya very frequently speaks of Vāraṇasī as Śmaśāna. The Kāśīkhaṇḍa states: if a man after reaching the great cemetery dies there by fate he has never again to lie in the cemetery (i. e. he is not born again).

Although generally Kāśī, Vāraṇasī and Avimukta are used as synonyms in the Purāṇas, in some passages a distinction is made between these as to extent. The passages quoted above (in note 1419) show that Vāraṇasī is bounded by the Varaṇā and Asi on the north and south, ²² the Ganges on the east and the shrine of Vināyaka in the west. Aiṇ A. (vol II p. 158) remarks that Benares is a large city situated between the rivers Barṇā and Asi and that it is built in the form of a bow of which the Ganges forms the string. The Matsyapurāṇa ²³ states: ‘that kṣetra is two yojanas and a half east and west and half a yojana broad north and south; out of this Vāraṇasī extends up to the dry river (viz. Asi)’. The first part appears to deal with the entire Kāśīkṣetra which according to the Padmapurāṇa ²⁴ comprised the tract covered by a circle the radius of which was the line joining Madhyameśvara-liṅga with the shrine of Dehali-Ganeśa. The Matsyapurāṇa (in chap. 183.61-62) makes it two yojanas in extent Agni 112 6 also does the same But that is only approximate The actual distance covered by a yojana varied Vide H. of Dh vol III pp. 145-146 ṇ 185 Rhys Davids in 'Numismata Orientalia' (London, 1877) after examining 30 passages from Pāḷi texts comes to the conclusion that a yojana was equal to about 7 or 8 miles Avimukta is said to be that part of the holy place which is represented by a radius of 200 dhanus (1 e. 800 hastas or about 1200 feet) in all four directions from the shrine of Viśveśvara.²⁵ There was no unanimity on the extent of Avimukta. In Kāśikhanda Avimukta²⁵ is said to be five krosas in extent But there Avimukta appears to stand for Kāśī. The innermost²⁶ circle in the holy Kāśīkṣetra is defined as that between Gokarṇeśvara to the west, the mid stream of the Ganges to the east, Bharabhūta to the north and Brahmeśvara to the south. A few more passages on the extent of the sacred place of Banaras may be cited here in one place. The Lingapurāṇa²⁷ says 'this kṣetra is declared to be four krosas (in extent) in the four directions and also one yojana'. The Nāradīyapurāṇa²⁸ puts the extent thus '(The kṣetra) extends over two yojanas and a half from east to west and is half a yojana wide from north to south, god Sambhu declared the extent of the kṣetra between the rivers Varuṇā and Asi (which latter is) a dried-up stream ' In the Padmapurāṇa²⁹ Brahmā is supposed to have said to Rudra ‘I have given you a ksetra of the extent of five krośas: when the best of rivers, the Ganga, will flow through this ksetra, the city will be great and holy, the Ganges, as it flows northwards (in Banaras) for two yojanas, will be holy’. If in any texts there be any differences between the extents of Avimukta, it must be supposed that there is an option, ³⁰ (or, as the Tir. C. suggests, the differences refer to different kalpas i. e. ages). It is clear that Vārāṇasī was that strip of land, the four boundaries of which were the Ganges to the east, Asi to the south, the shrine of Dehali-Vināyaka to the west and the river Varaṇā to the north. In the 7th century Hiouen Thsang, the Chinese pilgrim, notes that Banaras was 18 lis (about 3¾ miles) in length and about 5 or 6 lis (a little more than a mile) in breadth. This makes it clear that the city was then bounded as now by the Varaṇā and Asi. Vide Beal’s B R. W. W (vol II p. 44).

Verses laudatory of the greatness and uniqueness of Vārāṇasī literally run into thousandṣ All that can be done here is to set out a few characteristic verseṣ The Vanaparva observeṣ ³¹ a person coming to Avimukta and resorting to the sacred place becomes free from the sin of brāhmaṇa-murder by merely seeing the (image of the) Lord of gods (i e. Viśveśvara) and if he dies there he secures mokṣa. The Matsyapurāṇa ³² contains many striking passages about the unique greatness of Banaras "Vārāṇasī is always my most secret place; it is always the cause of mokṣa for all beingṣ Mokṣa may be effected in Prayāga or in this city because I have taken it under my protection, this place is greater than even Prayāga, the foremost among tirthaṣ All the sins ³³ that a man may have accumulated in thousands of past lives are destroyed the moment he enters Avimukta, brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, persons born of mixed marriages, worms, mlecchas and others born of low mixed unions, insects, ants, birds and beasts, when they succumb to death in course of time all find happiness in my auspicious city, all being endowed with a crescent of the moon on their heads, with a (third) eye on their forehead and have a bull as their conveyance." A person,³⁴ even though his mind may be addicted to pleasures of sense and though he may have given up devotion to dharma, if he dies in this place (Banaras) he does not again enter upon the path of saṁsāra (the cycle of births and deaths); a man concentrating his mind for thousands of past lives may secure Yoga; but by dying (in Banaras) he secures the highest mokṣa in this very life. Even if a man be a sinner ³⁵ or a rogue or irreligious he becomes free from all sins if he goes to Avimukta. Other women,³⁶ that act as they like and are intently devoted to enjoyments, when they die here by lapse of time secure the highest worldṣ In this world mokṣa ³⁷ cannot be secured by men without the (practice of) Yoga; but in the case of those who reside in Avimukta Yoga and mokṣa are both secureḍ For planets,³⁸ lunar mansions and stars there is the danger of falling (from the sky) in course of time but there is no fall for those who die in Avimukta. Whatever ³⁹ evil actions may have been com- mitted by an evil-minded man or woman, knowingly or unknow- IV] ingly—all those are reduced to ashes when he enters Avimukta. Even a mleccha resident in Kāśī is better, since his future will be blissful, but not one residing elsewhere, though he may be a dikṣita, because he will not be a recipient of mukti."

In some passages a mystic flavour is imparted to Vārāṇasī and the riverṣ For example, the Kāśīkhaṇḍa says that Asi is the Iḍā nāḍī, Vārāṇasī is the Piṅgalā nāḍī, Avimukta is susumnā and Vārāṇasī is all the three.⁴⁰ The Liṅgapurāṇa, however, puts the matter somewhat differently. It holds that Asi (the dried-up river), Varaṇā and Matsyodarī (i. e. Ganges) are respectively the Piṅgalā, Iḍā and Susumnā.

It is time now to turn to the individual sacred spots in Banaraṣ It is stated in some of the Purāṇas⁴¹ that at every step in the Kāśīkṣetra there is a holy place and that there is not even as much space as a sesamum seed in Kāśī which has not a liṅga (emblem of Śiva). As a matter of fact the Kāśīkhaṇḍa names 64 liṅgas in chap. 10 alone. But one must look to the tīrthas that are specifically nameḍ Hiouen Thsang says that there were one hundred temples at Banaras in his day and he speaks of a temple where the copper image of Deva Maheśvara was a little less than 100 feet high (vide Beal’s B. R. W. W. vol. II. pp. 44–45). Unfortunately, the fanatical zeal and ruth- lessness of Moslem rulers demolished almost all Hindu temples at different times from 1194 to about 1670 A. D. Mosques and mausoleums were erected on their sites, and the materials of the temples thus razed were used in constructing mosques and for serving as breakwaters &c. Kutubdin Aibak destroyed about 1000 temples in 1194 A. D (vide Elliot and Dowson’s ‘History of India’, vol. II p. 222) Alauddin Khilzi boasted that he had destroyed one thousand temples in Banaras alone (vide Sherring p. 31, Havell p. 76). About 1585 A. D. Nārāyaṇa- bhaṭṭa re-established the temple of Viśvanātha with the help of Rāja Todarmal⁴². Even this temple was desecrateḍ The following passage from the Ma-A'sir-i-A'lamgiri quoted by Elliot and Dowson ('History of India,' vol. VII, p 184) is instructive: "It reached the ears of his Majesty, the protector of the faith, that in the provinces of Thatta, Multan and Benares, in the latter foolish brāhmaṇas were in the habit of expounding frivolous books in their schools and that students and learners, Musalmans as well as Hindus, went there even from long distances, led by a desire to become acquainted with the wicked sciences they taught. 'The Direc- tor of the Faith' consequently issued orders to all the governors of provinces to destroy with a willing hand the schools and temples of the infidels, and they were strictly enjoined to put an entire stop to the teaching and practising of idolatrous forms of worship. On the 15th Rabiu-lakhīr (i. e. December 1669) it was reported to his religious Majesty, leader of the Unitarians, that in obedience to order, the Government officers had destroyed the temple of Bishnath at Benareṣ"

A mosque, which still exists, was built on the site of the Viśveśvara temple by Aurangzeb, who even changed the name of Banaras to Muḥammadabaḍ The result is that, as stated by Sherring (p. 32), it would be difficult to find twenty temples in the whole of Banaras of the age of Aurangzeb (1658-1707 A. D.). Many of the temples were built by the Maratha Chiefs and Sardars and during the British occupation many more were built. Prinsep calculated in about 1828 that there were in the Banaras city proper 1000 Hindu temples and 333 mos- ques; a more recent estimate puts the figures at 1454 temples and 272 mosques (Sherring⁴³ pp 41-42).

Viśveśvara or Viśvanātha is the tutelary deity of Banaras and the principal and most holy temple in it (vide n 1429 a) It is prescribed that every resident of Kāśī must every day bathe in the Ganges and visit the temple of Viśveśvara (vide Tri S p. 214). After Aurangzeb pulled down the temple of Viśva- nātha, there was no shrine of Viśvanātha in Benares for over a hundred years The liṅga was probably removed from place to place as the vicissitudes of the times required and the pilgrims performed parts of the worship (such as namaskāra and circumambulation) at the site of the image, but they could not perform other portions of the worship such as bathing the image with Ganges water ⁴⁴. The present temple of Viśvanātha was built in the last quarter of the 18th century by Devī Ahalyābāī Holkar (Altekar, p. 57). The Tri. S. p. 183, while on the question of the appearance (prādurbhāva) of Viśveśvara, observes that there is no blemish in the case of the Viśveśvara- liṅga due to the touch of the untouchable, that every day Viśveśvara removes it by a bath in Maṇikarṇikā at dawn and the worship offered by Himself and quotes a verse of the Sanat- kumāra-saṃhitā in support ⁴⁵. What the Tri. S. means is: Generally great care is taken about liṅgas. All and sundry are not allowed to touch them but in the case of the Viśve- śvara-liṅga any one, even a great sinner, may worship it and pour Ganges water over it. Whether Nārāyaṇabhatta meant that even the so-called untouchables might touch it is not clear.

It appears that Vācaspati ⁴⁵ holds that Avimukteśvara liṅga is the same as Viśvanātha, but both the Tristhalī-setu (p. 296) and Tīr. Pr. (p. 187) reject this idea. The Skanda- purāṇa (Kāśī, 10. 93) mentions Viśveśvara and Avimukteśvara as separate liṅgas. Besides worshipping Viśvanātha, every pilgrim to Benares has to visit the five tīrthas ⁴⁶ (Pañcatīrthī). According to the Matsyapurāṇa the five essential tīrthas in the Ānandakānana of Viśveśvara are Daśāśvamedha, Lolārka ⁴⁶ Keśava, Bindumādhava and Maṇikarṇikā.⁴⁷ In modern times the five essential tīrthas called Pañcatīrthī are the confluence of the Asī with the Ganges, the Daśāśvamedha ghāṭ, Maṇikarṇikā, the Pañcagangā ghāṭ and the confluence of the river Varaṇā (called Bārṇā by the common people) with the Gangeṣ This is based on the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.⁴⁸ The shrine of Lolārka is situated at the confluence of the Asī (the southern boundary of Banaras) with the Gangeṣ The Kāśīkhaṇḍa⁴⁹ furnishes a popular etymology for the name Lolārka, viz. that the mind of the Sun on seeing Kāśī became agitateḍ The Asī is a tolerably wide stream (about 40 feet) in the rainy season, but is dry at other timeṣ The several gigantic ghāts with their flights of stone steps are a grand sight at Banaraṣ The Ganges while passing by Banaras takes a great sweep so that its mighty current flows in a northerly direction (that is towards the Himālaya) and is therefore held to be peculiarly holy here. The Daśāśvamedha-ghāṭ has been famed for centuries, Jayaswal's interpretation of the epithets applied to the Bhāraśivas in Vākāṭaka grants should be accepted viz. the Bhāraśivas were an imperial dynasty, were crowned with the holy waters of the Ganges and took their ceremonial baths on the Ganges at the end of ten Aśvamedha sacrifices, on account of which the Daśāśvamedha-ghāṭ ⁵⁰ at Banaras was so named (Jayaswal's ‘History of India’ 150 A. D.–350 A. D. p. 5). In order to realize the grandeur of Banaras on the side of the river one must be at The Daśāśvamedhaghaṭ at dawṇ For the eulogy of Daśāśvamedha, vide Kāśikhaṇḍa 52. 83 ff and Tri. S. p. 159. The Kāśikhaṇḍa says that formerly the tīrtha was called Rudrasaras, but as Brahmā performed ten Aśvamedhas there it came to be called Daśāśvamedha (chap 52. 66–68). The Maṇikarṇikā (also called Mukti-kṣetra) pool is the very centre of the religious life of Banaras and ⁵¹ is the most holy among all the Banaras tīrthaṣ The Kāśikhaṇḍa gives a phantastic story of its origin (in chapter 26 verses 51–63 quoted in Tri. S, pp. 145–146): Viṣṇu dug with his discus a puṣkariṇī, filled it with the perspiration from his own body and performed severe austerities on its bank for 1050 (or 50000) yearṣ Śiva came there and being pleased shook his head and an ear-ornament studded with jewels fell into the pool, which thenceforward came to be called Maṇikarṇikā. The word is ⁵² derived in two ways in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa. Śiva who is like the wish-yielding jewel whispers in the ear (karṇikā) of good men the Tāraka mantra at the time of death. The extent of Maṇikarṇikā north to south is said to be 105 hastas i. e. about 160 feet (Kāśikhaṇḍa 99. 54). In modern times the waters of the Maṇikarṇikā pool become foul and fetid because it is shallow (two or three feet deep), because hundreds of pilgrims cast into it flowers and money by way of worship and because the priests stir the waters with their hands and feet to find the coins dropped by pilgrimṣ Our methods of worship must be changeḍ The flowers and gifts should be placed on the banks of the pool and then taken away by the priestṣ The Tri S. p. 147 mentions several mantras (two of which are set out below) to be recited when contemplating on Maṇikarṇikā ⁵³. Near the Maṇikarṇikā pool is the temple of Tārakeśvara so named from the belief that Śiva will whisper the mantra called Tāraka in the ear of the dying man brought to the sacred pool⁵³ (vide Kāśīkhanda 7.78, 25. 72–73 and 32. 115–116). The Pañcagaṅgā ghāṭ is so called because it is supposed that five rivers, viz the Kiraṇā,⁵⁴ Dhūtāpāpā, Gaṅgā, Yamunā and Sarasvati, meet here (though four of them are invisible) This is very highly eulogised and it is said in the Nāradīyapurāṇa and the Kāśīkhanda (59. 118–133) that when a man takes a bath in the Pañcanada he is not born again in a body made up of the five elementṣ It is said that this confluence of five rivers had different names viz. Dharmanada, Dhūtāpāpaka, Bindutīrtha and Pañcanada in Kṛta and the following Yugas respectively The Kāśīkhanda in chap. 59 deals with the confluence of five rivers and gives phantastic legends as to why the rivers were called Kiraṇā (59. 108–113) and Dhūtāpāpā (59 101–106 ). The river Varaṇā is the northern boundary of Vārāṇasī and the end of the ghāṭs on the northern side is reached at the confluence of the Varaṇā with the Gangeṣ That the ghāṭs have been there for at least a thousand years can be proved from copperplates and inscrip- tionṣ The Gāhaḍvāla rulers of Kaṇoj (of whose times at least 55 copperplates and 3 inscriptions on stone were issued during the period 1097 to 1187 A. D), being devotees of Viṣṇu, several times made grants at the Ādi-Keśava ghāṭ. Vide J. R A S. for 1896 p. 787 (king Madanapāla’s grant on the occasion of a Sun-eclipse after Mahārājñī Pṛthvīśrīkā took a bath), I. A. vol. 19 p. 249 (grant of Govindacandra in saṃvat 1188 l. e. 1131 A. D.), E I 14 p. 197 (Candrādityadeva, who having bathed at Adikeśava-ghaṭṭa⁵⁵ at the confluence of the rivers Gaṅgā and Varaṇā bestowed on 500 brāhmaṇas 30 villages on the Aksayya-trtiyā of _samvat_ 1156). Those rulers made grants at other ghāṭs and sacred spots also For example, E. I vol. IV. pp. 97 ff (21 copperplates of Gāhadvalas, of which H in _samvat_ 1178 speaks of the grant of a village after a bath at the Kapila-mocana-ghaṭṭa at Banaras where the Ganges flows towards the north, grant L p 114 of _samvat_ 1197 made on a queen taking a bath at the ghaṭṭa of god Vedeśvara in Avimuktaksetra ; grant S. mentions god Krttivāsa; grant U. is made to the temple of Lolārka by Jayacandra in _samvat_ 1233), E. I vol. VIII p. 149 (five copperplate grants of Govindacandra in _samvat_ 1207 i, e. 1156 A. D. after a bath at Kotītīrtha on Uttarāyaṇa-saṅkrānti). The Kāśī-khaṇḍa promises Varuna-loka to those charitable people that build stone ghāṭs on the sacred rivers ⁵⁶

One of the most meritorious of all pilgrimages is the Pañcakrośī by roaḍ Lakṣmīdhara in his section on Tīrthas in the Krtyakalpataru apparently takes no notice of it. The length of the Pañcakrośī road is about 50 miles and there are hundreds of shrines on the road Taking Maṇikarṇikā as the centre the whole road describes an irregular semicircle round the city of Banaras with a radius of five krośas (about ten miles) and hence it is called pañcakrośī. The word 'pañcakrośī' occurs very often in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa (as in chap 26, verses 80 and 114, chap 55 44). This pilgrimage may be very briefly described as follows --The pilgrim starts from the Maṇikarṇikā-ghāṭ and going along the bank of the Ganges arrives at the confluence of the river Asi with the Ganges and halts for the day at a village called Khāṇḍava about six miles from Maṇikarṇikā. The 2nd day's march (for eight or ten miles) ends at the village called Dhūpacandi where he offers worship to the goddess of that name. On the 3rd day the pilgrim walks 14 miles to the village Rāmeśvara. On the 4th day he walks eight miles and reaches the village Sivapura. On the 5th day he walks 6 miles and reaches the village Kapiladhārā, where the pilgrim offers oblations to his pitṛs On the 6th day he walks from Kapila-dhārā to Varanāsaṅgama and thence to Maṇikarṇikā, a dis- tance of six miles It is the practice for pilgrims to scatter grains of barley from Kapiladhārā to Maṇikarṇikā. The pil- grim bathes, pays _dakṣiṇā_ to the priest and then goes to the temple of Sākṣī-Vināyaka who is supposed to bear witness to the pilgrim's having performed the Pañcakrośī-yātra. There are numerous other sub-tīrthas in Banaras, some of which may be briefly noticed here. The Jñānavāpī may be mentioned first. The story of its origin is narrated in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, chap. 33. The Tri. S (pp. 148-150) refers to it. It is said that when Śiva (Īśāna) saw the Viśveśvara-liṅga a desire arose in him to bathe with its cool water. He dug a kuṇḍa with his trident to the south of the temple of Viśveśvara and with the water therefrom he bathed Viśveśvara-liṅga and Viśveśvara granted the boon that the tīrtha would be superior to all tīrthas and that, as Śiva is knowledge (verse 32), the tīrtha would be called Jñānoda or Jñānavāpī. One of the most popular and the most frequented temple is that of Durgā. In chap. 72 (verses 37-65) of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa there is a Durgāstotra called Vajra-pañjara which is referred to in Tri. S. p. 161. There is a temple of Bhairavanātha about a mile to the north of the temple of Viśveśvara. He is the Koṭwal or police Magistrate of Kāśī and wields a stone cudgel (of enormous thickness). His vāhana is a dog. Vide Kāśīkhaṇḍa, chap. 30, for Bhairava. There are many temples of Gaṇeśa The Tri. S. (pp. 198-199) names 56 Gaṇeśas and indicates their locations, following Kāśīkhaṇḍa, chap 57 59-115 (sat-pañcāśad-Gaṇa makhān-etān-yah samamariṣyati). In Kāśīkhaṇḍa (57. 33) the name Dhundhi applied to Gaṇeśa is derived from the root 'dhundhi' in the sense of 'searching' (anveṣane dhudhīr-ayam prathitosti dhatuḥ). Compare the Marathi verb dhundane.

The Tri S. discusses at some length (pp. 98-100) the question whether sins committed in all past lives are destroyed by entering Kāśī or whether it is only the sins committed during the present life that are destroyeḍ Some hold the view that sins committed in this life only are destroyed by visiting Kāśī and by bath in the various sacred spots the sins of previous lives are destroyeḍ Others hold that by entering Kāśī the sins of all past lives are destroyed, but bath at various sacred spots brings about only the cessation of the tendency to sin in different liveṣ Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa puts forward several other views and says that wise men should hold the view that appears proper.

Many of the purāṇas lay down rules about how one dwell- ing in Kāśī should act. The injunction is that in Kāśī one should not commit the slightest sin, since the punishment is far more heavy. The Matsya (chap. 185. 17-45) and Kāśīkhaṇḍa, chap. 96, narrate the story of Vyāsa, who while wandering about for alms in Kāśī, did not secure alms and being hungry and angry was on the point of cursing Kāśī in the words quoted below ⁵⁷ when Śiva coming to know his mind assumed the form of a householder, gave him the best of food and ordered Vyāsa not to enter Kāśikṣetra as he was an irritable man, but allowed him to do so on the 8th and 14th tithis only. The Kāśikhaṇḍa 96. 12-80 and 119-180 speak at great length about how one residing in Kāśī should conduct himself.

Some miscellaneous matters in connection with Banaras may be set out here. Vārāṇasī being a great tīrtha, śrāddha for the benefit of ancestors should be performed there and if it is not possible to perform a śrāddha with all details, at least offerings of pindas should be made.⁵⁸ The construction of mathas for those who practise penance there and endowing them with means for their maintenance are highly eulogizeḍ⁵⁹

In the 12th century A. D. there was a Kapālamocanaghāt⁶⁰ situated on the Gangeṣ In a grant published in E. I. vol. IV p. 110 dated samvat 1178 (1122 A. D.) the Emperor Govindacandra bestowed a village on a brāhmaṇa named Vyāsa after bathing at the Kapāla-mocanaghatta in Banaras where the Ganges flows to the north. The story of Kapālamocana-tīrtha is narrated in the Matsya-purāṇa, chap. 183. 84-103 and a reference is made to it in Kāśikhaṇḍa 33, 116.

It may be noted that in the Lingapurāṇa, pūrvārdha, chap. 92 verses 67-100, in Padma,⁶⁰ Ādīkhanda, chap. 34-37, Kūrma I. 32. 1-12 and I 35. 1-15 (tīrthas) and in the Kāśī- khanda, chap. 10. 86-97, chap. 33, chap. 53. 27 ff., chapters 55, 58 and 61 numerous liṅgas and tīrthas of Banaras are nameḍ The Kāśīkhanda, chap 73. 32-36 (quoted by Tri. S. pp. 264-265) mentions 14 of these as Mahāliṅgas, viz. Oṁkāra, Trilocana, Mahādeva, Kṛttivāsas, Ratneśa, Candreśvara, Kedāra, Dharmeśa, Vīreśvara, Kāmeśa, Viśvakarmśvara, Maṇikarṇīśa, Avimukta, Viśveśvara. It is provided in Kāśī- khanda 73 39 that yātrās of these main liṅgas should be celebrated every month from the 1st tithi onwards In Kāśīkhanda 73. 45-48 there is another series of fourteen great liṅgas diffe- rent from those in chap 73. 32-36. Fourteen āyatanas are named in Kāśīkhanda 73. 60-62.⁶¹ Twelve out of these are specified as liṅgas in Liṅgapurāṇa I. 92.67-107. In Kāśīkhanda chapters 83 and 84 are enumerated about 125 tīrthas of Banaras In chap. 94. 36 of the Kāśīkhanda 36 principal liṅgas are re- ferred to (14 Oṁkārādi, 8 Dakṣeśvarādi and 14 Śaileśādi). From considerations of space the other liṅgas and tīrthas are not mentioned here. But out of all these Viśveśvara is said to give quick resultṣ

It is laid down that every one residing in Kāśī must repair every day to the Ganges, take a bath in the Maṇikarṇikā and visit Viśveśvara.⁶²

What happens if a person commits sins outside Kāśī, comes to Kāśī and then dies, or if a resident of Kāśī commits sins in Kāśī but dies either at Kāśī or outside it? The Tri. S. after quoting several verses from the Kāśīkhanda, Padma- purāṇa and Brahmavaivarta states the following conclusions (p. 268). Sins committed elsewhere are destroyed by coming to Kāśī.⁶³ He who residing in Kāśī is always addicted to sins becomes a piśāca (goblin) for thirty thousand years, again dwells in Kāśī, secures highest knowledge and then obtains IV] mokṣa. Those who being residents of Kāśī commit sins have not to undergo the tortures of Yama whether they die in Kāśī or elsewhere. Those who after committing sins in Kāśī die there will be punished by Kālabhairava Those who die else where (after committing sins in Kāśī) first undergo torments inflicted by the ganas of Śiva called Yama, then undergo torments inflicted by Kālabhairava for thirty thousand years, are then born as mortal men, then die in Kāśī and secure release (from saṃsāra) at the enḍ

It is remarkable that the Kāśīkhaṇḍa ¹⁴⁶⁷ states that a little to the north of Kāśī, Viṣṇu assigned a place for his resid ence called Dharmakṣetra and that there Viṣṇu assumed the form of Buddha. This is a clear reference to Sārnāth about five miles by road to the north of Banaras, where Buddha delivered his first sermon The general rule for ascetics is that for eight months they must move from place to place and may spend the four months of the rainy season or two months in one place; but this rule is abrogated where ascetics enter Banaras and it is laid down that they should not leave Kāśī at all. ^1467a

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa remarks 'For devotees of Śiva who are full of faith there is, even in great calamities, no other remedy except the water of the feet of the image of God Incurable diseases even, whether affecting the body outside or inside, are got rid of by the touch with faith of the water of (washing the image of) the deity.' This reminds one of the miraculous cures believed to have been effected by the water of a pool at Lourdes in the first years of this century ^1467b.

It would be far beyond the scope of this section to dilate upon the great traditions of learning associated with the name of Banaraṣ It is sufficient to refer to Alberuni (vol. I. p. 173) who observed that Banaras and Kashmir were the