things to do in varanasi – Harrytinkers travelog

4 Must visit temples in Varanasi

Posted on February 2, 2020 by harrytinkers

Kashi Vishwanath Temple

On the auspicious day of Makar Sankaranti we decided to go to the Kashi Vishwanath temple and get the blessings of Lord Shiva. It is a very beautiful temple and you would feel very peaceful after you go inside. There is a continuous chanting of Om Namah Shivaya when you enter inside the temple to enter the temple and sometimes you need to stand for a queue and queue goes through the small gullies of Varanasi and all these gulllies have these small shops which sell some of the other religious related souvenir.this temple has gone through numerous destruction and re-construction over a period of time still it stands as one of the most famous temples in India,

Another interesting fact is about the gold dome on the top which is said to have fulfilled loads of wishes of the devotees . It is believed that if you make a wish after seeing the dome, Lord Shiva fulfills your wish.it is located in Vishwanath Gali Godowlia and opens from02.30 am to 11.00 pm every day.

Maa Annaporna temple

Annaporna means goddess of food and nourishment. If you have visited Kahi vishwanath temple your next pitstop would be Maa Annapoorna temple.The main deity here is Maa annaporna ( incarnation of goddess Parvati).Its said to have two idols in the shrine, one Gold Idol and One brass idol. The brass idol is open for darshan everday whereas the gold idol is kept for darshan only a day before Diwali.The temple is pretty spacious to accommodate arounf 100 devotees at a time. It is located in Vishwanath Gali Godowlia and opens from04.00 am to 10.30 pm every day.

Note: Beware of the pandits who will do some random rituals and ask for money for the same.

Kaal bhairav temple

Kaal bhairav is the aggressive form of Lord shiva and is considered to be Main deity of he city .Its a very ancient temple and has beautiful architecture. So we were advised by the locals to visit this temple as soon as we reached Varanasi because it is believed that anyone who visits Varanasi has to visit the temple first and get permission from Kaal Bhairav to stay safely in the city .He is considered the Saviour God of the city and will save you from any difficulties. It is located in Bharonath, Vishweshwarganj and opens from 05.00 am to 9.00 pm every day.

Sankat Mochan Hanuman Mandir

One of the most visited temples in Varanasi after Kasi Vishwanath temple is This temple. The temple has more rush on Tuesdays nad Saturday being considered the day dedicated to Lord Hanuman.The temple premises has monkeys whivh will be roaming around and happily feeding on the offering by the devotees. It is located in Sankatmochan Saket Nagar Road, Saket Nagar Colony and opens from 05.00 am to 10.00 pm every day.

Note: In all these temple photography is strictly prohibited and in Kashi Vishwanath temples mobile phone are not allowed at all so you may have to keep it in the lockers provided there. Also Leather items like wallets and belts are also not allowed

India, streets to visit, things to do, varanasi

Ganga Aarti

Posted on January 31, 2020June 11, 2021 by harrytinkers

During the evening we decided to witness our first Ganga Aarti .The Ghats were getting prepared for the pooja with 6 stands for the priest to perform the pooja beautifully lit and decorated .All the buildings are also lit so colourfully. Behind the stands there was arrangement for people to watch the pooja. Also there were also arrangements to see the Aarti from front view from the boat which costs 50 per person, it’s not very expensive and if you are witnessing the Ganga Aarti for the first time you must sit here n watch it, you can see the beautiful Ganga Aarti been performed over here.

Ganga Aarti starts at the sunset and stretches up to 15 to 20 minutes. Ganga Aarti which is being performed by 6 priest all dressed in uniform of Maroon sweater and cream colour dhoti with cream colour veshti.As they perform Pooja with different procedures by lighting the lamp in all four directions. This Pooja is being offered to the Holy River Ganga and it happens every evening and every morning in the same method. It is so mesmerising to view that Ganga Aarti it is like magic the synchronisation of the priest and the bhajans which is being sung in the background everything is so magical it is a lifetime experience to see that because you go into that essence of the Pooja and you get spell bound in its whole essence, it is very beautiful.

Note: After the Ganga Aarti there is a Devi temple over there and they distribute Khichdi as the Prasad because simultaneously with the Ganga Aarti Evening Aarti in the temple also starts and finish at the same time so after attending the pooja.

Al so second day we went to watch the Ganga Aarti from dashashwamedh Ghat but from behind this time also it was as magical as it was from the front view because this pandit perform the pooja from all the four sides north south east west so whenever you are sitting you can witness the pooja as the grand as it is. The ambience when Ganga aarti is performed and everyone is involved its prayers and bhajans is mesmerising.

On the third day and last evening in Banaras to be decided to watch the Ganga Aarti from Shitala Ghat and this time we felt that dashashwamedh Ghat has much more elaborate Ganga Aarti than shitala Ghat the difference between both is Dashashwamedh ghat is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Shitala Ghat is for Goddess Parvati so all the bhajans which are sung in Shitala Ghat is regarding Devi and there will be difference in the way they perform the pooja and the number of priests performing the aarti were also less. The Ganga aarti in Dashashwamedh ghat is extravagant however in Shitala ghat is much more subtle.

Fourth day we decided to visit the Ghat in the morning to watch the morning Pooja and so what we saw the difference is in the morning there is only one priest which performs the Ganga aarti in the dashashwamedh Ghat as compared to 6th priest in the evening This is a different experience to see Ganga aarti before the sunrise.