U.P. Theerth Yatra - Day 4

Kashi Vishwanath Mandir 

Our Day 4 was reserved exclusively to go to few select temples within Varanasi. We began by visiting Kashi Vishwanath temple in the morning. Thanks to a contact, we luckily got 2 special entry passes called 'Protocol Entry'. The timing for our entry was between 8 & 9 a.m. So, we woke leisurely around 6 a.m., finished our morning routines including prayers. As this hotel had a good place (in the terrace) for drying clothes, we also washed a few clothes - mainly the towels used for the dips in the previous two locations.

As it was Sankatahara Chaturthi on this day, we were observing a fast till Sunset. So, we proceeded from the hotel around 7.15 a.m. and went towards the Godowalia Chowk area in a cycle rickshaw - a distance of about 1.5 k.m. Like in Ayodhya, we only carried our entry ticket and our wallet as electronic items are not allowed inside the temple. At the chowk, we had tea at a roadside vendor. Then we started walking towards gate 4 which is the entry point for Protocol ticket holders. This distance was only about 500 meters. As there were unprecedented crowds, it took us a long time to reach. 

The road was flooded with pilgrims walking in both directions. On one side of the road, there was a huge queue of people waiting in the line for hours for a few seconds of darshan. There were all kinds of people on the road - many vendors selling their wares, many beggars seeking alms using different techniques to gain sympathy. We could also see several dead bodies being transferred to cremation grounds - most of these were of people who died elsewhere but were brought to Kashi for the last rites. The crowds were so huge that we feared that we could get lost here or there could be some kind of stampede. I understand that on that day alone, there were more than a million pilgrims at Kashi - most of them either on their way to or back from Prayagraj. 

When we reached the entry point, we found a huge number of people trying to gate crash - some were claiming they were old, some handicapped etc. Each had some reason to plead with the guards to let them through. Somehow, we reached the front by squeezing through the rush and showed our ticket printout as well as Aadhar card to the security guys who allowed us entry. After entry, we decided to leave our footwear near the barricade so that we could collect it on our way back.

After we entered, we walked in through the gates only to find that there was a huge queue of protocol ticket holders. We joined the line and waited patiently for about 30 minutes in the slow-moving line. After some distance, we found that there was a secure place to keep slippers and mobile phones. As we walked in towards the temple, we could see the old structure that had been converted into the mosque - there were clear signs of the pre-existing temples. The pillars, the archways, the doors etc. are all clearly pointing to the old temple. Along the way, we could have a darshan of the Vyas ka Tekhana which has been permitted from 2024. We also had darshan of the original huge Nandi of Kashi temple which is facing this underground temple.

Annapurna Devi

After we entered the main temple premises, we could see multiple queues coming from different directions. To reach Kashi Vishwanath temple, there must  be at least 5-6 queues which originate from different points and winds its way through different gullies before finally converging at this place. As the Kashi Vishwanath sanctum has 4 doorways, the different lines are directed towards different doors where people are allowed to have darshan from a distance of about 10 feet for maybe 4-5 seconds. People who bring with them garlands, water, flowers, Bael leaves, milk etc. pour / fling it towards the Lingam and are then quickly ushered out by the security personnel. Due to the multiple queues, there are many barricades around the sanctum area, and one cannot even do a proper circumambulation here. We too had the brief 5 second darshan of the Jyotirling whose one glimpse is sufficient to remove all ailments of the body & mind.

Visalakshi temple

From here, we wanted to go to the nearby Annapoorna temple but were told that if you go there, you cannot come back the same way. As our slippers were kept near the place from where we entered, we decided to go back to the same place. When we came out, we realised that it was not possible to go near the barricade area as entry to that area was restricted. After pleading with the security guy, he allowed me to go & collect the slippers. When I went there, I found that all footwears were heaped into several heaps. It seemed impossible to trace and locate our footwear as there were literally a few hundred slippers in each bunch. By sheer luck, I could locate both our footwears and come out.

Visalakshi Devi

Then, we started walking around the temple area through the huge crowd to reach Annapoorna temple. After some distance, we entered the gully area that would lead us. We kept asking for directions from the locals to reach Annapoorna temple. When we neared it, we found the gully blocked with barricades. We were asked to go around another way. After some more walking, we came to another barricade which prevented us from going further. We were feeling helpless as we desperately wanted to have the darshan of Annapoorna Devi.

We then decided to first have darshan of Visalakshi Devi. When we reached this temple, we found an unusually long queue waiting for darshan. We joined the line, and after about 20 minutes, we got darshan of Visalakshi Devi. The main deity is a small idol who stands immediately behind a larger idol of the Devi. This temple is visited mostly by South Indians. After this darshan, we made one more attempt to have darshan of Annapoorna Devi. So, we went back through the gully to reach the barricade. Here, I showed our protocol pass and assured the policeman that we only wanted to visit Devi temple, and we were not trying to join the queue of devotees going towards Vishwanath temple. By divine grace, he seemed convinced and let us through.

Dundhi Ganapathy

On the way, we had a good darshan of Dundhi Ganapathy which was one of the deities we wanted to have darshan of. As we were going towards the Devi temple, a local shop keeper came and told us he can get us quick darshan. We went with him along with another couple. He sold us a saree each to be given as an offering to Annapoorna Devi. He then took a service charge for escorting us to the temple. As we entered the temple, we realised that maybe we did not need his help and that he was just taking advantage of our confusion. We went into the temple and found it surprisingly almost empty. In contrast with the thousands of devotees lined up for darshan of Kashi Vishwanath, hardly any were coming to this temple. It was partly due to the barricading of the gullies leading to this temple and partly due to the eagerness of the devotees to go first for darshan of the Jyotirling. We had a good satisfying darshan of the Devi and were allowed to go inside the sanctum by paying Rs. 100 each.

Rare Ekadashi Idol

After this, we came out and slowly walked towards Kaal Bhairav temple which was another 2 k.m.s away. On the way, we purchased some bananas as we were famished and tired. It was hot and sunny by this time. We took an auto to reach the Kaal Bhairav temple. When we arrived, we found that there was a very long queue to go to the temple. Everyone who visits Kashi tries to visit Kaal Bhairav who is the guardian deity of this holy town. As it was midday and, as we were tired, we decided to go back to our hotel and come back in the late evening. We took an auto to go towards the nearest ghat and, from here we took a ferry to go to Shivala ghat which is a short walk away from our hotel. It was an open uncovered ferry where we got really baked in the heat during the 30 minutes it took us to reach our destination.

Bindu Madhav

After we came to our hotel, I did my midday prayers and took some rest. In the early part of the evening, I walked 15 minutes to reach Dasashwamedh ghat (one of the holiest ghats of Kashi) and did my sankalpam and had a good snanam in holy Ganga. As per Kashi Khand of Skanda Puranam, having a snanam at Dasaswamedh ghat is 10 times more beneficial than having it at Prayagraj. After this, I walked back to the hotel and did my evening prayers. Later, we took a ricksha to reach Godowalia and then walked to the other side of the barricade and took another ricksha to reach Kaal Bhairav temple. The queue was less than the morning but it was still very long. So, we decided to walk about 750 meters to the Bindu Madhav temple. This temple was also virtually empty. We had a leisurely darshan of the Bindu Ganapathy, the Bindu Madhav and also the rare Ekadashi idol.

After this, we walked back to the Kaal Bhairav temple. We purchased some garlands & other offerings from a nearby shop and joined the queue at that point itself. We had cut into the queue and were feeling guilty but, due to paucity of time, we went ahead. After being in the queue for about 20 minutes, we entered the temple and had a good darshan of Kaal Bhairav. We also got new holy wrist bands tied to our wrists – this is something very sacred and it is believed that Kaal Bhairav offers His protection to all who wear this.

After this, we took a ricksha to go towards Godowalia chowk. After reaching there, we went to a restaurant and had a simple dinner (our breakfast) of Rotis, Daal and Jeera Aloo. We then returned to our hotel to catch a short sleep as we had planned to leave for Prayagraj at 2 a.m. the next day. Thus ended the long & satisfying Day 4 of our yatra.