Maha Shamshana Of Varanasi: Talking about religion, India is the place where these many different beliefs and practices co-exist. Faith is so deep. Let’s begin our journey by talking straight to the sacred land of Varanasi and listening to the deathly stillness at the Manikarnika Ghat.
But nothing as unusual as death tourism! Not a single day passes when dead bodies are not cremated here with the number going up to two to three hundred every day.
Manikarnika Ghat: Reveling the other Side Of Varanasi
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The routine ceremony starts when the dead body (wrapped in cloth) arrives and is carried on a bamboo stretcher with the chant ‘Ram naam satya hai’ echoing in the air. Next(Maha Shamshana Of Varanasi), the cost of cremation is calculated depending on the weight and type of wood used.
Sandalwood is the most expensive one of all varieties of wood available. Then the dead body dipped into the water of the River Ganges while the wood is stacked to build the pyre.
The Place Where Death Ends
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Early people said that Lord Shiva gave the boon of eternal peace to the Manikarnika Ghat. It is believed that for thousands of years, Lord Vishnu prayed to Lord Shiva asking that the holy city of Kashi, as Varanasi was known earlier(Maha Shamshana Of Varanasi).
Pleased by Vishnu’s earnest prayers, Shiva came to Kashi along with his wife Parvati, and granted him the wish. And by consequence, any dead soul that gets its last rites performed in Varanasi attains moksha (complete releasing from the cycle of birth and death). No wonder, this land is considered to be the most sacred for cremation by the Hindus.
Maha Shamshana Of Varanasi
There are a few more myths about how the Maha Shamshana came to be named so. One is that Vishnu dug a well (which is now known as the Manikarnika Kund) for Shiva and Parvati to bathe in.
When Shiva was taking a bath, one of his earrings fell into the well and since then it has been known as Manikarnika (Mani refers to the jewel in the earring and Karnam to the ear).
At the Manikarnika Ghat, death is celebrated. At the area of the ghat every day and night as dead bodies are cremated for eternal peace. The ghat is also known as the gateway to heaven by many worshipers(Maha Shamshana Of Varanasi).