THE SACRED CIRCLE OF ALL THE GODS

There are three hundred and thirty million gods in Hindu religion. As we know by now, that there is no sacred place or abode of India, which is not present in Varanasi. Unlike Varanasi, not all the abodes and sacred places are dedicated to Shi a and considering the fact of the presence of these places, the city is not !ust of Shiva alone but also shared by other gods and deities as well. It includes two other ma!or gods of the trinity " Vishnu and Brahm as well as Ganesha, Bhairava, Sun, Ganas, Ngas and Yakshas. #hile there are arious forms of the mentioned god, goddesses and deities, some are numbered in $%shi such as Dwdasha dityas, Chhappan Vinyakas, Ashta Bhairavas, lords of the eight directions i&. Ashtadigplakas and numerous ganas, ngas and Yakshas. The city is di ided into Mandala i&. a sacred circle representing the entire uni erse with its powers and inter'can as. In $%shi, it is regarded as a di ine plan of the city. (ifferent gods possess the Mandalas where the borders are under the authority of fearsome and protecti e deities, and one of the gods is the center of it, as Shiva in the case of Varanasi. $%shi is one of such Mandalas consisting of all the Hindu gods, goddesses and deities. The Mandala is belie ed to be Pan hkr!shi )*i e Kroshas+ e,ui alent to about -- miles, in its circumference. Along this route, there are many guardian deities located at distances. .eside the belief of e ery sacred place/s presence in Varanasi, the presence of all the gods and sages too is belie ed.

How did $%shi become the city of all the gods0 There is a ery long myth cycle described in the "ashi "handa of Skanda Purana telling about the habitation of all the gods in $%shi. Here is the summari&ed description " 1ong 'long ago, the world was besieged by a drought lasting for si2ty years and causing the break down of social order. Brahma got worried o er the circumstances. #ith his di ine ision, he found a sage'king named #ipun$aya, the only man capable of restoring the order. Brahma re,uested to him to assume the kingship of earth. Ripunjaya agreed on one term that all the gods would retire from earth and go back to hea en, which was accepted by Brahma. Ripunjaya changed to Div!dsa, 3the ser ant of gods4, and took o er the kingship. 5n the other hand, Shiva had already granted a boon to 6ount %andara being Shiva/s dwelling. So, the reign of Divodsa begun and Dharma flourished on. There was prosperity, peace and brotherhood e erywhere. (espite of all those things, the gods, being banished from earth, plotted to bring the downfall of Divodsa. Agni, Vyu and &ndra withdrew their powers i&. fire, air and rain from earth but the king created all of his own with his ascetic heat, his 3'ap!(ala. Shiva and Prvati, both were suffering being away from Kshi. Shiva sought a way to create a flaw in the Dharma of Divodsa and sent his si2ty'four Y!ginis causing him to fall from the power. Shiva, e en sent ditya )Sun+, Brahma and the of the anas but, the first success was awarded to the lord anas, Gan)sha, who ser ed his purpose but failed to relin,uish the holy

city like his predecessors, which e en Shankara cannot lea e. #hen !ishnu arri ed at $ashi, he first landed at the dik"shava ghat. He created such conse,uences that Divodsa was fully persuaded to forfeit his kingship and retire. The period of the banishment of the gods from earth was the time when the legend of $%shi emerged in its earliest form. After the ultimate deed of %ahdeva, Divodsa left for the hea en physically as per the boon granted to him by Brahma. The formless Shiva came back to $%shi once again, with attention of all the deities sent by him who were too mesmeri&ed to lea e the city. Divodsa/s kingship was erupted by the gods not because of $%shi being a great tirtha as all the gods are present here7 but

in fact, because all the gods are present in $%shi as it is such a great tirtha. #hen Shiva rode back to $%shi to take back his centrali&ed role and position there, the Sa#r"d $ir#l" o% &ll th" ods was already in place. All the deities sent here, established a 'inga here and settled down. 6ythology becomes geography and geography becomes reality in V%r%nasi. The Pan hkr!shiya Ytr, which is obser ed around the Sa#r"d $ir#l", will be discussed upon later. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' #e*eren es+ , - k. Diana /0 Banras+ City !* /ight. /!nd!n. 1234. 1567189:

PACHKROSHIYA YTR I
In a way, The (an#hkroshiya Ytr route symboli&es the cosmic circuit, the Mandala. #hate er may be the belief of the archaeologists and of the de otees, the fact that (an#hkroshiya Ytr has been meant to reali&e the perception of the form of Indian culture, which, was isuali&ed by the re ered sages, Rishis and Munis, thousands of years ago. The impact of the time may ha e caused the human belief being o erlapped by the materialistic labyrinth but still people are eager to come to know about the Indian doctrine. And this " to philosophi&e oneself, is the reason of obser ing )irthaytrs )pilgrimage+ e en by the busiest people. As mentioned in the Kshi Khanda " 3Na Vandyam Divasam "uryt Vin Ytrm "wa hitkriti:4 Those who li e in $ashi must obser e at least one of the Antarvedi Parikram )lowland 8between two ri ers7 Pan hkr!shiya Parikram ang and Yamun in this case9 circumambulation+, Dainik Parikram )daily circumambulation+ or )(an#hkroshiya circumambulation+. Along the Mandala route of (an#hkroshiya, there are -:; sacred places and shrines. This archetypically connotes the integrity of cyclic time i.e. -< &odiacs and = planets )-<>=?-:;+ and also <@ *akshatras )constellations+, each with A $haranas )stages+ )<@>A?-:;+. This Ytr )Bourney+ is obser ed e er since the ancient times and by the medie al times, it became ery ery popular, which, is still widely in ogue. *irst of all we will come to know about the meaning of the phrase (an#hkroshiya Ytr. (an#h ? *i e, Krosha ? a unit for measuring distance )- Krosha ? <.< miles appro2.+ and Ytr ? !ourney. Hence, (an#hkroshiya Ytr is a !ourney of fi e Kroshas, e,ui alent to -- miles or -@.C kilometers, appro2imately. This route is belie ed to be the outer limit of $ashi. It is a Mandala, o er which we already discussed in 3The Sacred Dircle of All the Eods.4 Thus, the circumambulation of the Kashi Mandala is like circumambulating the entire cosmos. 5bser ing this

Ytr is meant for 3oneness with the cosmos, the almighty,4 meaning attaining the eternal sal ation. The Ytr is commenced from Manikarnik Ehat. Along the route, there are -:; shrines of which, FC are associated with the ang"s. The number -:; is a sacred number for Hindus. The G;/ in it, is the G;/ directions, G:/ is the oid )emptiness+ and G-/ represents the infinite cosmic unity and thus it manifests the Goneness with the cosmos/. Among the -:; shrines, HC are related to Shiva, -- to an"sha )!inyaka+, -: to anas, -- to D"vis and A shrines are related to !ishnu. There are also shrines of Bhairava as well as some Kundas )ponds+ and Koopas )wells+ in the typical route of the (an#hkroshiya Ytr. 1ately, we will discuss about the ma!or salient sites of the Ytr beside all sites being of e,ual importance to fulfill the conditions of the Ytr. #e will also focus on the significance and rele ance of the (an#hkroshiya Temple. 6eanwhile, for general information you should know that there are fi e ma!or stoppages in the !ourney. They are as follows )-+Kardam+sh,ara "3god of Kardam4, Kandav )C miles from Manikarnik+ )<+Bhima#handi " 3the great $handi,4)-: miles from Kardam+sh,ara+ )F+Rm+sh,ara " 3the god of Rma, )-A miles from Bhima#handi+ )A+Kapildhr " 3the stream of Kapila, )-A miles from Rm+sh,ara+ and, )H+Manikarnik -- . )C miles from Kapildhr+. After returning back to Manikarnik, the pilgrims bathe there and then isit the shrines of Siddhi !inyaka, !ish,anth, &nnapurn, Dhundhirja, Dandapni and Kla Bhairava to finali&e their (an#hkroshiya Ytr. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' #e*eren es+ , Dr: Sharma #amrang. Pan hkr!shi Yatra. ;ttar Pradesh < "ashi Ank. G!vt: !* ;:P:. /u kn!w. 1235. 3272=: , Singh #ana P:B: > #ana Pravin S:. Pan akr!si yatra !* "asi+ Divine 'yp!l!gy and Pilgrims Chara teristi s. ?airs and ?estivals !* Varanasi. @Ana Pravha. Varanasi. B==4. 11714:

PACHKROSHIYA YTR II
.esides being a religious obser ance, the (an#hkroshiya Ytr has many di erse spiritual aspects. As we ha e discussed in the last session upon the fi e ma!or stoppages in the Ytr, they are not only ma!or entities rather they also symboli&e the (an#htatva )fi e elements i&. fire, water, earth, air and sky+, the fi e Karm"ndriyas )fi e organs of action i&. eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin+ and the fi e /0an"ndriyas )fi e organs of sense i&. see, hear, smell, taste and touch+ as well. Howe er, all of these manifest the inclination of the pilgrims to the almighty, the supreme power, and oneness with the supremacy. #hate er may be the moti e of the Ytr, one thing is crystal clear that for a certain time only but trav"ling tog"th"r gro,s a s"ns" o% amia1ility, d"m"anor, #o-ordination and #o-op"ration as it is articulated in the Rigv"da )-:I-=I<+, 3Sanga hhadhwam Samvadadhwam samv! %annsi @ntm:4 Jich'poor, young'aged, men'women all ha e a feeling of 3%t Bhumih Putr!ham Prithivyh,4 means the earth is the mother and I am her sonIdaughter. The (an#hkroshiya Ytr is obser ed in the $haitra Msa )6arch'April+ and in (hlguna Msa )*ebruary'6arch+, generally but the most auspicious day for such an auspicious and holy !ourney is directed on Mahshivartri, 3The great night of Shiva,4 which is celebrated on the (hlguna Krishna $haturdashi Kthe -Fth day of the waning fortnight in (hlguna Msa )*eb'6ar+L. 5ne can notice the determination of the bare'footed pilgrims shining on their faces, which displays their de otion and dedication to the ultimate lord Shiva. The earliest account of the limits of the Kshiksh"tra is transmitted in the !aranasi Mahtmya of the Cth century Skandapurna. This sacred Muktiksh"tra )the &one of liberation+ known as the &vimukta )ne er forsaken by Shiva+ stretches in the north to the !arun ri er and in the south to &si ri er, and Madhyam"sh,ara )the lord of the center+ temple being the center of it. 6eanwhile, the Kashi Khanda mentions the &vimukta Ksh"tra stretching to one krosha in e ery direction from the Madhyam"sh,ara temple. The corners of the pilgrimage route are located as

Durgkunda, Bhim#handi, Rm"sh,ara and Kapildhr. .efore beginning the Ytr, one has to make religious preparation sanctify the inner self, being eligible to commence it. This includes taking Sankalpa )declaration of intention+ and isiting some specific shrines but we won/t get into it and keep on discussing the Ytr. There is no authoritati e mention of the accurate se,uence of the shrines in the Ytr and the e2act shrines and their collecti e number both along the (an#hkroshiya route in any of the ancient te2ts as they differ in their descriptions. Anyways, we will ha e a look on the Ytr in its contemporary form. 5f the -:; shrines, there are many situated in the premises or icinity of a single place. The (an#hkroshiya temple, in a way, represents the geo'spiritual boundaries of the Kashi Mandala. This temple, on the basis of its architecture and engra ings, can be called as a G.uilt 6ap/. The temple bears hundreds of niches in its (radakshin (atha )the circumambulatory path+ representing the temples of $ashi and a serial of the shrines to be isited in the Ytr. It can also be referred as a three dimensional ersion of the picture map of Varanasi. The date of the temple/s origin can not be determined. The priest of the temple tells that the engra ing in the niche placed at the entrance of the temple is of the one who came from 6aharashtra, A:: years ago to build the temple, while some belie e it to be of the future &vatra )incarnation+ of !ishnu, known as Kalki )related to Kaliyuga+. The reason to build this temple would certainly had been an act of charity in the sense that the blind, lame, old and physically disabled people who may not be able to obser e the (an#hkroshiya Ytr, shall earn the (unya )the irtuous merit earned through religious acti ities+ of it being able to see all the shrines at one place only. There is a particular niche dedicated to all the shrines of Varanasi, which, e2isted at the time of the construction of the temple. To mention " the -< /yotirlingas and S,ayam1hulingas, =C Shakti d"iti"s, HC !inyakas, CA Yoginis, -< dityas, !ishnu, Brahm, 'alit A. anas and Bhairavas, all are there. Here is the list of the -:; shrines angak"shava H. /arsandh"sh,ara C. Somntha 3. Dla1h"sh,ara ;. isited in the obser ance of Ytr " -. Manikarnik"sh,ara <. Siddhivinyaka 2.

Shulatnk"sh,ara =. !rh"sh,ara -:. Dashsh,am"dh"sh,ara --. Bandid"vi -<. Sarv"shvara -F. K"dr"sh,ara -A. 4anumadish,ara -H. &rkavinyaka -C. 'olrkakunda -@. Sangam"sh,ara -;. Durgkunda -=. Durg <:. Durgvinyaka <-. !ish,aks"n"sh,ara <<. Kardamakunda <F. Kardam"sh,ara <A. *ilakanthagana <H. Kardamakupa <C. !irupksha <@. Som"sh,ara <;. *gantha <=. $hmund F:. Moksh"sh,ara F-. Karun"sh,ara F<. !ira1hadr"sh,ara FF. !ikatadurg FA. 5nmatta Bhairava FH. *ilagana FC. Klakuta F@. !imaladurg F;. Mahd"va F=. *andik"shagana A:. Bhringiritigana A-. &mrit"sh,ara A;. anapriya A<. !irupksha AF. Yaksh"sh,ara AA. !imal"sh,ara AH. Mokshad AC. /0nanad A@. andharvasgar A=. Bhima#handi H:. Bhima#handi !inyaka H-. Raviraktksha H<. *arakrnavatraka HF. 6kpdagana HA. Mah1hima HH. Bhairava HC. Bhairavi 73. Bhootantha H;. Somantha H=. Saptasgara C:. Klantha C-. Kapardish,ara C<. Km"sh,ara CF. an"sh,ara CA. !ira1hadragana CH. $hrmukha CC. anantha C@. D"halivinyaka C;.

Shodashavinyaka C=. 5ddandavinyaka @:. 5tkl"sh,ara @-. )apo1humi @<. Rudrnid"vi @F. !arantirtha @A. Rm"sh,ara @H. Somantha @C. *ahush"sh,ara @@. Dyv1humish,ara ;-. @;. Bharat"sh,ara @=. ;<. 'akshman"sh,ara D"vasangh"sh,ara ;:. ;F. Shatrughan"sh,ara &sankhytalinga

(shapnivinyaka ;A. (rithvish,ara ;H. S,arga1humi ;C. Yupasarovara ;@. Kapiladhr ;;. !risha1hadh,aja ;=. /,lnrisimha =:. !aransangam =-. Sangam"sh,ara =<. dik"shava =F. Kharvavinyaka =A. (rahld"sh,ara =H. )rilo#han"sh,ara =C. (an#hagang =@. Bindumdhava =;. a1hastish,ara ==. Mangalgauri -::. !ashishth"sh,ara -:-. !mad"va -:<. (arvat"sh,ara -:F. Mah"sh,ara -:A. Siddhivinyaka -:H. Manikarnikd"vi -:C. Saptavarnavinyaka -:@. !ish,"sh,ara and -:;. !ishnu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#e*eren es+ Niels Guts h!w. B-NA#-S+ 'he Sa red /ands ape !* Varanasi. /!nd!n. B==6. 1147118. 1B=. BB2: