The Potter's Wheel Of Benares

Oh! The pot is everywhere!

Where there is buttermilk, in the cupboard, a pot

Where water is stored, at the waterstand a pot

Where food is kept, on the stove, a pot

Where there is jaggery, in the attic, a pot

In the heart of the home

As ëgotraji, ancestors, a pot

Vastu, during house warming,

At the threshold of each home, a pot

Where a marriage ëpandali is built, a pot

When the ëgarbai dance takes place,

In the courtyard a pot.

During sickness,

Left in the outskirts of the village, a pot

At every stop in a pilgrimage, a pot

In death, at the cremation ground, a pot

At a ëYagnai representing the planets are pots

In the village square, the singer plays a beat on a pot

                ~ Parkriti: The Oral Tradition

     Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts

Mud glasses under the scorching Sun..@Dhulipur, Varanasi

Miniature Mud Art

Kulhad Chai an ectasy!

Malai in Matka... Benares Special!

Maati Kahe Kumhar se, tu kya rondhe mohe

Ek din aisa aayega, mein rondhugi tohe

                                      ~Kabir Das (15CE)

Livelihood on wheels- a potter engaged in his daily work at Dhulipur, Varanasi

The potter turned to knead the clay

And heard it say:

Be not too proud thou

Tho’ you may shape me now

A time will come when it will be me

That shapes and kneads thee. 

(The clay kneading the potter refers to the body returning to the earth after death)

Philosopher in the Potter 

Also it is famously written as

"Guru Kumhar Sikh Kumbh Hai, Gadh Gadh Kadhe Khot
Antar Hath Sahar De, Bahar Bahe Chot "

which means that Guru is the Potter, disciple is the (unbaked) pot
Gives Shape and cures the flaws with care Protecting (always) with palm from inside While pounding the pot from outside.

Tilbhandeshwar Temple Varanasi

It is rightly said that “Kashi mai har kankar kankar mai Shankar hai”. This Anandavana is a splendid site of Shaivism which is home to the numerous shrines of Mahadev along with the most reputed jyotirlinga of Lord Vishwanath.

Through the narrow lanes... 

Located in Bhelupur, Tilbhandeswar is one of the biggest shiva-lingas in Kasi. It is a huge round dome shaped Swayambu Linga with around 15 feet diameter. It is supposed to be increasing in bulk by the size of one til every day. Hence, it is named as Tilbhandeswara. In present day it is about 20 feet in height.

Entrance- Thilbhandeswar Mahadev temple

According to the legend of Kedar-Khand during olden times, the site at which the present temple is located used to be sesame/Til fields. One day suddenly some farmers noticed origination of a Shiva Linga in the Til field.  From then people around started worshipping it and offering Til to him. Henceforth, the Swayambu Linga here is known as Tilbhandeswar.

The present day temple was built by a king of Vijayanagara Dynasty.

Tilbhandeswar- the Swayambu Linga

It is said that Lord Shani himself did penance to the Linga here to get relieved from difficulties of his life by offering Til which were his favorite. Thus the Linga here came to be known as Tilbhandeswar and it is believed that he remove the grievances of the devotees associated with Shani. He is offered til and til oil on lines of Lord Shani.

According to another legend a rishi named Vibandha did penance here at this site. Lord Shiva blessed him in the form of a Swayambu Linga and told that it will increase everyday in the size of one Til in the Kalyug.

It is said that Mata Sharada resided here for some period of time which further increased the prominence of the site.

walls of the main shrine

Evidences of Mohammadan attacks are clearly seen on the mighty linga.

It is said that the British tried to measure the growth of the Tilbhandeswar by tying ropes around and the following morning the ropes were found broken.

Nandhi lies crouching in the verandah opposite the idol.

Nandhi in front of Mahadev

On either side of the main temple are small shrines of various gods.

The idol of Dakshinamurthy caught my attention. It is on the posterior wall of the main temple. It is seldom found in Benares as Shiva is almost always worshipped here through the phallic symbol- Linga.

Lord Dakshinamurthy- rare sight in Benares

The veranda of the temple is beautifully embellished.

In the courtyard- an artefact

on the wall- an old rare painting of  Lord Hanuman

There lies an Ayyappa swamy temple on the right while ascending the steps to reach Tilbhandeswar.

This is one among the prominent minor shrines of Varanasi which should be in your bucket list when you visit here.

Pishach Mochan Kund Varanasi

In the outskirts of the city, on the western side in Chetganj, is a large square tank or reservoir called Pishach Mochan Kund. Pishach means demon and Mochan means release or deliverance.

Pishach Mochan Kund-Chetganj

As per the legend, once a very powerful demon - Pishach entered into Benares to worship Lord Shiva. It was stopped at Panchkosi roads by deities. However, it overcame them and settled in Benares. Day after day thereon, it started its atrocities and did not allow any deity to stay in Benares. The worried deities approached Bhaironath - the kotwal or deified Chief Magistrate of Benares. Bhaironath had a fierce battle with the Pishach at the spot where the present day tank is located. He severed the head of Pishach and submitted it to his master Lord Vishweshwara.

 

Pishach Head in 1910- adopted from BENARES the stronghold of Hinduism by Philips Cape

The demon on becoming body-less had not lost its life and its tongue and therefore implored Lord Vishweshwara not to banish it from the city but to allow him to reside on the spot where it was decapitated. It also requested that all pilgrims proceeding to the city of Gaya should be directed first to visit the Pishach mochan. To this Lord Shiva gave his consent, believing that the Pishach acted out of its devotion and ordered that it should not allow any other evil spirit to visit Benares. 

Pishach Head now - 2019

That particular kund is built in regular manner with Ghats or stone stairs on the four sides leading down to the water. 

These waters are considered to have peculiar efficacy in ensuring deliverance from the power of demons and all kinds of bad evil spirits thus preventing horrible dreams or destroying their bad effect thereby removing mental and physical sickness.

The temple on the bank was erected later by a Queen poetess of Udaipur Meera Bai according to the Vaishnava work Bhaktamala. 

Pishach Mochan Temple built by Meera Bai on the banks of the kund

The main temple has Lord Shiva, beyond him on the wall lies Lord Ganesh covered in Sindoor. 

Lord Shiva with Lord Ganesh on the wall behind

While Lord Shiva's vehicle Nandhi lies in front. 

Lord Shiva's mount- Nandhi

Beyond the main shrine; lies the hideous head of the demon Pishach facing the Lord Shiva and the Lord Hanuman under another roof.

Pishach head facing Lord Mahadev

Pishach Head- Lord Shiva- Nandhi all in a straight line

Every year annual Lota Bhanta mela occurs at Pishach Mochan Kund. 

Keeping aside the veracity of the myths and stories, Pishach Mochan temple is a one of the good places to visit, particularly when oneself  is "In and around Rudravāsa".

Kaudi Mata Gavvalamma Temple Varanasi

Among the minor temples of Benares, this temple is of special importance. Kaudi Mata is called Gavvalamma in Telugu. The temple is located near Durgakund, in the lane opposite to the Durga mandhir in Bhelupur.

Kaudi Mata Gavvalamma Temple

Kaudi Mata is considered as a sister to Lord Vishwanath. She is the forest goddess/ Grama Devatha of South India  who came to Benares to worship Lord Shiva. People here did not behave well with her. Irked with them, the goddess abandoned food and water.

After this Maa Annapurna Devi came and placed her in the form of Kodiya Devi here. She blessed the goddess who is considered worthless and told that Kaudi/Conch shells which are usually considered worthless will become valuable and will be offered to you. With your good influence, there will be no grief in the Devotee’s life. Without offering Kaudis to you a pilgrim’s Kashi Darshan would be incomplete.

offerings to the Kaudi Mata- 5 kaudi (conch shells) and a piece of cloth

From then devotees offer a piece of cloth, Kumkum, Turmeric and 5 conch shells to Kaudi Mata. Four of them are presented to the mother and the fifth one is returned to the devotee who keeps it at his money point which is supposed to make him prosperous. 

Gavvalamma/ Kaudi Mata with conch shell garlands 

Some ancient literature considers, Kaudi Mata as re-incarnation of Shabari, an ardent devotee of Lord Rama in Dwapara Yuga. She used to pluck fruits for Lord Rama daily and would taste it first and if it was sweet she would offer to the God and used to discard the bitter ones. She just wanted to give sweet fruits to Lord Rama and the thought never came to her mind that she should not taste them before they are offered to the deity.

When she realized her mistake, she told the truth to the Lord Rama. Rama forgave her and blessed her that you will be worshipped in Kalyug and you will be offered Conch shells, now go and settle in Kashi, you will be relieved from your sin there. Thus, she settled here as Kaudi Mata. 

The main deity is on a raised platform with a small circum-ambulatory path around it. It is a modern day temple without any architectural significance. 

There is no such temple of Kaudi Mata anywhere in the country. It is a worth visiting one.

Padao Hanuman Temple- Temple with bells

On the Grand Trunk road (National Highway-19 Delhi to Kolkata ) while travelling towards Dhulipur at Padao on the left of the Highway, there lies this small Hanuman Temple whose corridor is filled with  Bells.

People do wish the deity and when their wishes get fulfilled they hung up a bell made up of bronze as per their capacity

The main temple is a small rectangular room with a small triangular arch all covered with tiles and has tiny doors opening inside.

The deity of Hanuman is coated with Sindhoor.

Tiny, delicate jasmine garlands  worth only rupees 2 are sold by a guy, which the devotees offer to the god.

The dwaja-sthamba or the divine pillar is immediately behind the main deity and people circumambulate around it.
Even though its a small temple, its a worth visiting place on the Grand Trunk Road

VARANASI: Stories in between Varuna and Assi

The Historical Story of Varanasi:

Benares often considered as the Mecca of Hinduism lies on the northern bank of the holy Ganges about 75 miles below its junction with river Yamuna at Allahabad.

Sunset at the Holy Ganges

With about 84 ghats, it has a finest river frontage. It is a picturesque appearance to view Ganges standing on Dufferin Bridge. (Constructed in 1882-87)

Dufferin Bridge

Kashi is generally taken to signify “the shinning”, “the illustrious”. As an etymology for Baranas it has been suggested that it was derived by combining the two words “Barna” and “Assi” the two rivers which from the northern and southern boundaries of the city respectively.

The first definite historical event known about Benares is that the Kasis one of the Aryan tribes which were then occupying North India established themselves in the Ganga valley, near Benares between 1400-1000 BC.

Some accept a dream king kasha as the founder at the city/kingdom but this theory has no historical foundation.

In 7^th century Hiuen Tsang described Benares in his literature.

During 11 & 12^th centuries Benares was included in Kingdom of Kannauj. 

As of the 12^th century, Shahabuddin Ghori sacked Benares and destroyed nearly a thousand temples, establishing Mahommedan government and leaving a governor in charge. 13, 14, 15 and 16^th centuries continued under Mahommedan domination.

In 16^th century under liberal minded Akbar things greatly improved and Benares gained its former power as a centre of Hindu religious life.

Later on after the death of Akbar, Aurangzeb reign was marked with great trouble and humiliation for Hindus of Benares. In 1669, he destroyed an old Bishwanath temple of the Hindus and erected a mosque on it,close to Gyan Bapi--- Alamgir Mosque.

On death of Aurangzeb, Benares had to pass through many vicissitudes.

Eventually, in 1772, it was made over to Saadat Khan the Nawab Wazir of Oudh, who farmed it out to Mir Rustom Ali.

During his time, Manasa Ram, a Gautam Bhuihar Zamindhar of Gangapur, a village some nine miles west of Benares- managed to extend his power and in the end attained the position which belonged to Mir Rustum Ali.

Upon his death, the title of Raja was granted to his son Balwant Singh. Balwanth Singh in 1748 overthrew power of Nawab Nazir and set up as an independent king and established a fort and made Ramnagar his capital.

Entrance of Ramnagar Fort

Ramnagar Fort- On the banks of river Ganga- Tulsi Ghat

Tulsi Ghat- on the bank lies the fort of Raja of Benares

In 1770, on the death of Balwanth Singh, succession difficulties a raised

The legitimate heir was Mahip Narayan Singh the only grandson of Balwant by his only legitimate child a daughter. Another illegitimate son, Cheth Singh by a rajput women was made Raja finally- after a conference b/w the Nawab Shuja-ud-daula and Warren Hastings in 1772 .

In 1781, things turned bad between Chet Singh and Warren Hastings and a revolt occurred. Mahip Narayan Singh the rightful heir was installed as Raja.

In 1791, Wazir Ali had been appointed as Nawab of Oudh but had within a year been deposed on the ground of illegitimacy, profligacy by Governor General Sir John Shore and sent to Benares on the border of his kingdom where he lived in sulky retirement on a large pension.

Wazir Ali immediately commenced to plot against the British power with all the disaffected Muhammadan and Hindu nobles of northern India. Davis a British military officer being in close touch with native society was able to get reliable information of Wazir Ali's proceedings.  

He failed to arouse his chief Governor Cherry about impending danger. He informed the situation to Marquis Wellesley the then Governor General, who ordered that Wazir Ali should be immediately removed to Calcutta.

This was a terrible blow to the ex-nawab and finding it impossible to persuade the Government to revoke these orders, he sent notice to Cherry that he would be ready to start on the 16th January, 1799 and would breakfast with him on the 14th.

At the same time he warned his fellow-conspirators to prepare for immediate action.

When they reached the Residency, Mr. Cherry, still unsuspecting—in spite of repeated warnings received Wazir All with his usual friendliness. On the moment of attack the British cavalry came at rescue and drew off Wazir Ali’s gang.

Wazir All escaped to Nepal. After few defeats he was driven to take refuge at Jaipur. He was then extradited and brought as prisoner to Calcutta. After many years of close confinement in Fort William, he was sent to the State prison at Vellore, where he died.

Except by an occasional riot between low –class Hindus and Muhammadans, some trouble with a native regiment in the days of the Mutiny, Benares has not disturbed the British India since 1799.

From the Hindu point of view, the city has flourished exceedingly under British rule. Its temples and shrines have multiplied, and the strong arm of the law prevented the desecration and destruction which occurred in Muhammadan times.

The railways have largely increased the numbers of pilgrims who throng the ghats and holy places and thus enriched the Brahmin priesthood and the locals.

Mahip Narayan Singh was succeeded by his son Udit Narayan Singh (1795-1835).

Next ruler was Ishwari Prasad Narayan Singh (1835-1889). He remained neutral during Revolt of 1857.

Next ruler was Prabhu Narayan Singh (1889- 1931) He donated 1300acres of land to establish today’s famous Benares Hindu University. In 1911, Bhadohi, Keramnagar, Chakia and Ramnagar together with city of Benares became the newly created princely state of Benares- separated from Kingdom of Oudh.

Next ruler was Aditya Narayan Singh (1932-39; only for near 8yrs). Having no children, he adopted distant cousin to succeed him- Vibhuti Narayan Singh

The reign of Maharaja Vibhuti Narayan Singh acceded to the Dominion of India in 1947 and merged his territories into the United Provinces in 1949, but continued to enjoy a status. After his death, his only son Maharaja Anant Narayan Singh succeeded him.

Royal titles got abolished in 1971, since then a part of Ramnagar fort is converted to a museum called Saraswati Bhavan. 

Saraswati Bhavan- Museum in Ramnagar Fort

Even though the title of Raja is abolished, people of Benares deeply revere the royal family and make them an integral part in every celebration. 

Sadhus on the ghats of holy Ganges