THE PANCHGANGA GHAT

THE PANCHGANGA GHAT,

In the north of Manikarnika, possesses the power of five mysterious streams that flow symbolically This is the ghat where widows come on Kartik Purnima to light lamps for their dead husbands. This ghat also has the ashrams and mathas of important religious sects like the Ramananda, the Tailangaswami and the Ballabhacharya. In fact, it was at this very ghat that Kabir was initiated into Ramananda’s sect. Even today these institutions are considered important centres of ancient Indian philosophy and religion. into the Ganga . the Dhutpapa (cleansed of sins), the Kirana (sun’s rays), the Dharmanada (river of dharma), the Yamuna and the Saraswati.

The legendary Bindumadhav Temple once stood here. Of the six- feet high idol of Vishnu in this temple, Tulsi Das wrote, ‘Blessed are the eyes of those men who have the sight of you!’ Today the ghat is dominated by the Alamgir Mosque that Aurangzeb built after demolishing the temple.