A brief guide for Kasi pilgrimage – (web site collection)
Though there are a number of people going to Kasi every year, there does not seem to exist a proper guide for them regarding how they should proceed, what are the rituals in Kasi, where they are done, the places to be visited in Kasi etc. What follows is an attempt to fulfil this need which was felt when I went to Kasi recently (year 2007).
First, we must understand that the main purpose of going to Kasi which includes, Prayag and Gaya is to propitiate our ancestors and facilitate their getting salvation. When once this is done, the ancestors do bless us. Going to various temples in Kasi and other places is only secondary or incidental. The ritual portion of the trip does not ask one to go to the temple of even Kasi Viswanath.
2. In spite of asking knowledgeable people, I was not advised that one should go to Rameswaram first and collect sand from there to be deposited in the Sangam of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathy at Prayag. So, those who are planning the trip should go to Rameswaram first. What is to be done there? Here we have to do the sankalpam for going to Kasi and take sand from the sea to be deposited at the Sangam in Prayag/Allahabad. There is no other ritual connected with our ancestors to be done here with reference to going to Kasi. Other rituals like taking bath in the sea, in the different theerthams , going to Ramanathaswamy temple etc., can be done; but they are not connected with our going to Kasi
3 Prayag or Allahabad: This is the first place to be visited during the Kasi pilgrimmage. Even this information is not given properly when I planned my visit. Somehow, we managed to come to know of it and then changed the itinerary.
In Prayag, one has to do the following rituals: Veni Madhava Puja, Veni danam and taking bath at the Sangam and Pinda Pradanam.
We did the rituals at Kasi Mutt. First we (couple) did the Veni Madhava Puja and the sankalpam for veni danam. All necessary articles for the rituals were provided by the Vadhyar except blouse pieces which were given away to sumangalies along with fruits, pan leaves, supari , mirror, kumkum, comb etc. keeping all in a ‘murram’. After that, one should go to Veny Madhav temple which is not very far off from Kasi Mutt. Then, the couple go to Sangam for veny danam and bath in the Sangamam. A panda is engaged for this and he conducts the rituals. First, the ladies do puja to their husbands by smearing turmeric powder on his feet and then applying kumkum etc. By doing this, they take permission to cut the tip of their hair. The husband combs the hair of his wife and plaits it and after that the tip of the hair to a length of one inch and a half is cut by him and given to the panda. He mixes this with turmeric powder and then throws in the Sangam. After this ritual, we take bath in the Sangam. The people who come along with us to the Sangam guides us for all these.
It is at the Sangam that one should collect Ganga water. One has to engage someone for this as he has to go and collect water from Ganga before it joins Yamuna. The rivers can be distinctly seen before they merge with each other. Of Saraswathy cannot be seen as it flows underneath.
Either on the way or return from Sangam., one can visit temple of Hanuman and the one built by Kanchi Mutt.
On return to Kasi Mutt, we do Pinda Pradanam . The ritual is similar to what we do during sradham , but the number of pindams is more by 5 . All arrangements were done by the Kasi Mutt prople with priests with the knowledge of Bodhayanam rituals. All these were over by about 2PM. And then we had our meals.
Initially a sum of Rs600/ was paid to vadhyar just before the sankalpam for Veni Madhava Puja. This meets all the expenses for the rituals. However, one has to pay to the boat man (20), panda (20 for rituals +30 for brahaman bhojan), 10 for collecting Ganga water, 10 for helping us getting down from the boat for bath and climbing into it after bath etc. People come with milk for pouring into ganga @10/glass. All these costs you money. When one goes for bath, it is better they don’t wear costly ornaments. Especially, ladies should not wear costly chains, bangles etc which can be easily taken away. It is just a precaution. Why should one tempt others to do something wrong?
It is said that Prayag is head of Vishnu, Kasi is his Nabhi and Gaya his feet. So, we should visit these places in this order.
4 Kasi: In Kasi, we need minimum of two days. It is better we plan the trip with at least two extra days as otherwise, we will be quite tired. Here the rituals are pinda pra pradanam and sradham. Dampathy puja and Ganga puja are optional.
The pinda pradanam ritual is done in the boat. Havis is prepared in the boat itself.
It is to be done at 5 different places repeating the rituals including bath in the ganges. Perhaps, it has been reduced to five important ghats as otherwise one will have to stay in Kasi for days together. All facilities are made by the Vadhyar.
At the end of the rituals, you may pay to the boatman a token money though he is paid by the Vadhyar for his services.
One should be careful not to lose his poonal while taking bath in the ganges. One
may take it around his neck so that it does not flow away in the ganges when one takes a dip. All rituals are done wearing wet cloths only. After completing this, one returns to Vadhyar’s house to do sradham if arranged on the same day.
Sometimes, it is arranged in two days. Depending upon the availability of Brahmins, convenience of Vadhyar and also our convenience, this can be done.
5 Gaya: When once Pindapradanam and sradham are completed in Kasi, one can go to Gaya. Here also we do sradham and pindapradanam only, but at three places on the same day. First we are taken to the banks of river Phalguni where
there is a small Sri Rama Temple and also VishnuPadaTemple. In the small hall
at the SriRamaTemple, we do the Pindapradana ritual, same as we do in the boat in Kasi. Havis is prepared here for which arrangements will be made by the people concerned. After that we move to Vishnu Padam temple, which is not very far off. There is fairly big hall where various groups are engaged in rituals. We also take a place under the guidance of Vadhyar. We go to lthe temple hall equipped with 64 pindams, which Vadhyar would have asked us to prepare earlier. Of course, preparation of pindams are the task of the ladies of the group when the males are engaged in the actual rituals. The pindapradanam proceeds in the normal way as in boat in Kasi. When all the pindams are put on the darbha grass for identified ancestors, Vadhyar tells us that the remaining pindams may be offered to those who are dead – they can be our relatives, friends, teachers, servants, pet animals/birds, trees or plants etc. Many people come with a list of these which I think is really useful. Those who has helped in one way or the other or who were intimate with us can be recalled by name and ;pindam offered. It is better to prepare a list in advance taking our memory to our childhood days, school days, college days and trying to remember those who have helped us life in various ways. Then many relatives who are dead and gone may be listed. One will be surprised that the number of pindams prepared , ie.64 is found insufficient. Vadhyar comes to our rescue that we may even keep a grain of rice in memory of them in case the pindams are exhausted.
After this all the pindams are put in the Padam of Vishnu inside the temple.Then we return to the lodge where everything is set for sradham. This sradham is with Gaya brahmins. If we are in the practice of giving veshti, we should give them. We should be equipped with that. After the homa portion of the sradham is over, the Gaya Brahmins are called in, their feet are washed, new cloths given and then they are led for meals. After the meals, they are sent away with dakshina etc.
Then we proceed to Akshaya Vatam ie the Evergreen Banyan Tree taking with us pindam prepared for crows and another set of small 64 pindams. This is around 3KM away and nowadays we go by autorikshaws. The place well kept and under the shade of the Vata Vriksham we sit for the rituals, after keeping the pindams for the crows are offered. Here also, the pindapradanam ritual is repeated. After finishing the usual ones as in the boat in Kasi, Vadhyar asks the ladies to take 26 pindams and keep them on the husbands joined palms. These sixteen are meant for the mother. Vadhyar explains why these sixteen are offered to mother. We are asked to keep these sixteen on the pindam which is already placed for the sake of mother in the darbha grass. One should know this. It is better that they learn this in their house from the priests before they proceed to Kasi. After this, all the pindams are offered to various people/animals/plants etc. as we did in Vishnu Padam temple. Then we proceed to the Varavriksham after collecting all the pindams and drop them close to its trunk. We have to pay for this.
Next, the representative brahmin of the Gaya brahmins, who has been brought along with us , is asked whether the manes are satisfied and whether they all will go to heaven. He emphatically answers in the affirmative.
After this , we take a vow to abjure one leaf, one fruit and one vegetable for life. This is called Phalapatra Tyagam. The leaf is common for all and that is the leaf of the banyan tree. Vadhyar tells that we should not leave three fruits – the ‘mukkanigal’ as they are called in Tamil viz., Mango, Plantain and Jackfruit. This is because , the first two are taken for any auspicious occasions or even for household pujas. The jackfruit is taken for sradham in many houses. So we should not leave these inconveniencing ourselves greatly. The husband and wife should leave the same fruit and vegetable, so as to avoid any quarrel at home. After taking this vow, we return to the lodge to take our meals. It will not be earlier than 4PM depending the number of people involved. We had taken only a cup of coffee at about 7AM. Many who normally have problems when they fast for such a long time, did not feel any trouble on that day!
With the Gaya sradham and the ritual at Vata Vriksham, all rituals to be done are over. In case we are doing Dampathy Puja and Ganga puja, we can go back to Kasi and get these done now at Vadhyar’s place. This is not part of the rituals.
One should abstain from shaving after having started the ritual at Prayag till we finish it in Gaya.
6 Other visits: For having gone upto Kasi,
one can visit the following places.
BudhGaya: One can go by an auto even at 5PM to Budh Gaya. The most important thing to be seen here is the Bodhi Tree under which Budha got enlightenment. This tree is NOT a Banyan Tree , but a Peepul Tree. There are other temples, dedicated to Budha and built by other Budhist countries. They can be visited if interested.
In Kasi: Here there are many temples to be visited. Of course, in Kasi every square inch is holy and there are innumerable temples. Whenever, one goes for a bath in Ganga, one can carry a pitcher so that he can bring ganges water to do abhishekam on lingams installed on the banks as well as on the lanes and bylanes.
Kasi Viswanath temple: This, of course, is the most important temple in Kasi. The temple, as is well known, is small. The ‘road’ that leads one to the temple is only a lane in which all vehicles except four wheelers and bullock carts negotiate. There are large number of cows blocking the way. There are number of shops on either sides of the lane. They sell all types of flowers and other puja articles. They don’t seem to be very costly considering the importance of the temple. Because of the Ayodhya problem, I think, there is permanent police security in the vicinity of the temple. Crowds are well controlled. One can easily enter the sanctum sanctorum within a very short time. I was pleasantly surprised at the short time we took to enter the temple and have darshan. Of course, one has to be on the move always as there are people behind.
One can buy things for abhishekam of the lingam and , of course, we ourselves do the abhishekam. I did not see vibhuti being sold. So one can take one or two packets from the south for the purpose of abhishekam. It will be worthwhile to take a plastic bottle to collect ‘abhisheka theertham’ from the square enclosure where the lingam is kept. One can bring it home as ‘theertham’, Pandas did not trouble much, though they do ask for money. Once you come out of the sanctum sanctorum, you straight away enter the shrine of Annapooneswari. Here also one can do puja / archana etc. But I think it costs one a bit. It is better to do it after knowing the ‘price’. One can come doing the pradakshinam and again enter the sancotum sanctorum to lhave darshan again. The arati is at 7-30PM and one has to pay ;Rs51/ in advance to be inside the sanctum sanctorum during the arati. Or one can see the whole ritual, which lasts for about an hour, on a TV just outside the sanctum sanctorum. There are slokas nicely chiselled on the marble walls which one can read.
On the way to Kasi Viswanath temple, one can see Dundu Ganapathy shrine, Saneeswara Bhagavan shrine and conduct small rituals in these places.
A little away from Kasi Viswanath temple, there is Visalakshi temple built by Nattukottai Chettiars of South.
Kalabhairava temple: This is an important temple. Fairly good crowd is there. It is here that one buys Kasi Charadu. It is tied on the hand as a sort of Rakshai. It is said that when once one takes a decision to go to Kasi, immediately Kalabhairava takes charge of his trip and well being during the trip ;and return. So as a thanksgiving at least, one should visit this temple. And it is said that without a visit to this temple, the Kasi trip is not complete. One has to reduce the price of Kasi Charadu by at least 75% before buying it at the shrine.
KowdiDeviTemple: This is a very small temple situated at a remote place. It is not bigger than a wayside shrine in Tamil Nadu. There is no crowd here. One is supposed to throw a ‘chozhi’ (kowdi) to the Goddesss and say, Kowdi for you and the punyam of Kasi visit is for me.’ A legend about this temple: The Goddess here is elder sister of Kasi Viswanath. She was very very orthodox. Daily she used to carry Ganga water for her brother’s abhishekam, taking extreme care that no body touches here on her way to the temple through a colony of low caste people. One day, a child touches her. And she returns to Ganga, takes ;bath , fills up the pot with fresh Ganga water and then goes to the temple. And she is late for abhishekam. The Lord asks her the reason and she tells what happened. The Lord was not happy at her attitude and tells her that she will stay in that colony hereafterwards and people who come to Kasi to have His darsan will come to lsee her also. Obviously, many do not know about this as there is no one in the temple.
DurgaTemple: This is a fairly big temple to ;North Indian standards. One should go there before 12 noon or in the evening.
Arati to Ganga: Just as in Haridwar, there is arati to Ganga Mata in Kasi also. It starts at 7PM and will go on for about 45 minutes. One can engage a boat and go for this to see it from the Ganga itself. It is long ritual worth seeing, though I felt that it is not as magnificent as the one in Haridwar.
Visit to Saranath, Saranath museum:
Saranath is a famous historical place connected with Budha. Many historical monuments have been unearthed from this place and they are all kept in a museum; the most important being the Asoka Sthambham of four lions, our National symbol. There are many other things in the museum, but one needs lot of time to see these in detail. Other things in Saranath are the Budha temples , built by various Budhist nations like Japan, Bhutan, Thailand etc.
BenaresHinduUniversity and Birla Mandir:
The campus of the HinduUniversity is very large and we can have just glimpse of it only. It is full of trees and is well laid out. The Birla Mandir here is dedicated to Lord Siva and the temple is fairly big. There are shrines for Hanuman, Parvathy and Ganesa together and a Nandi. It is worth visiting.
To all these places, viz., Kalabhairava temple,DurgaTemple, Kowdi Devi temple, Saranath, BHU and the Birla Mandir one can engage an Auto. Better to start early and visit the temples before proceeding to Saranath. The road is not at all good especially some stretches.
I think one should take advantage of going upto Kasi to visit all these areas though they are no way connected with our rituals. So, it will be necessary to have 2 or 3 days extra at Kasi so that one does not get unduly tired.
The trip from Allahabad to Kasi is generally by car or a van arranged by Vadhyar. It costs about Rs1000/- It is better to book sleeper coaches for the trip from Kasi to Gaya as the passenger trains will be crowded. We did not have the bad experience of people getting into sleeper coaches without tickets. Our reserved seats were vacant . It was against what people told about what generally happens in Bihar and other NorthIndianStates.
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A message from Shri.
Ramji <ramachandrankr@yahoo.com>
Those who wish to visit Allahabad -Varanasi-Gaya for doing the Pithrukarmas can avail the guidance of Sri T.S.Subramanya Ganapatikal of Trivandrum ( a retired senior Research officer of statistical dept). He will guide you to do all the pithrukarmas in the holy places. He is taking it as a free service to the Brahmin community. He is a knowledgeable person who has visited Kasi more than 200 times. His Phone no is 0471 2575367
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