The Temple of the Mother (Maatri Mandir) - Varanasi

 

 The above picture is of the Maatri Mandir  (Temple of the Mother) at Manikarnika ghat in Varanasi (Banaras, Kashi). The temple which reminds of the leaning tower of Pisa (more info on: http://towerofpisa.info/)  has an extremely interesting story to it.

A son from the east state of India - West Bengal was very poor, dependent only on his mother throughout his youth. He could not do anything for his mother while she was alive. After her death, though, he became rich and planned to construct a temple to pay back all what his mother had done for him.

Soon after the temple was constructed, it started leaning and tilted to one side as can be seen above in the picture I have taken. The lesson being that "no one can ever repay the debt of his/her mother".

A lovely story indeed!!

Varanasi is full of stories like these. It is one of the oldest cities of the world and hence if you sit down to chat up with locals there, they will flood you with numerous stories like these. Believe me you, every ghat, every historical building and every narrow street of Varanasi has a story(ies) to it,

To know more about ghats of varanasi read this post: http://tourdaworld.blogspot.in/2015/06/the-holy-city-of-banaras.html

Story of Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi

During my visit to Varanasi, I was fortunate to have heard a few stories about the ghats of Varanasi from the locals themselves. This is something I love about Indian cities. All cities have tonnes of stories to tell - all linked to the religious places and temples.

The most prominent of 80 odd ghats of Varanasi is the Dashashwamedha ghat. Ganga Pooja happens everyday on this ghat. When I checked as to how the ghat got it's name, the story which goes like this was narrated to me:

Brahma Deva (Lord Brahma) did Ashwamedha Yagna on the very place to welcome Lord Shiva. During the yagna he sacrificed ten horses - hence the word "Dasa" which put together with Ashwamedha gives us Dashashwamedha.

The Dashashwamedha ghat is the most prominent and the most beautiful of Banaras ghats. Priests perform agni pooja every evening and the atmosphere is extremely magical. A must visit during the evenings.

The Holy City of Banaras

It was Deja vu for me! Going back to Varanasi (Kashi or Banaras or Benaras.. whatever you like) after a gap of 12 long years... and it was a life changing trip for sure...

Varanasi takes it's name from two rivers - Varuna and Assi which flow through Banaras and join in to Ganga which is the lifeline for the city. Of course the other lifeline is my Alma Mater - Banaras Hindu University now also renamed as Kashi Hindu University!

This was a business trip I was supposed to be on but turned out to be a soul searching trip for me! There is something about Banaras, about the ghats, the narrow lanes, the timeless existence of the city that feels spiritual in itself. No it's not about the hundred thousand temples which occupy the city.. that's the commercial part... it's the history and more history around the city which encapsulates one!

Some pics below of the ghats of Banaras.. hope you enjoy them

The pics are taken from my Mi3 phone camera (13mp).. oh how I wished I should have taken my SLR..