Sublime Sarnath

About eight kilometres from Varanasi lies ‘Sarnath’. A small town, quiet and quaint in appearance, Sarnath has a very ancient history. It is said that the Buddha after attaining enlightenment at Bodhgaya, proceeded to this place and for the first time taught the ‘Dharma’ to his five disciples, and sent them in various directions to preach it. The archeological excavations also reveal the existence of a large monastery, constructed using brick and clay.

The Buddha teaching Dharma

Engaging the services of a guide, we proceeded towards ‘Mulagandha kuti vihara’, the main shrine of Sarnath. “This was the place where the Buddha used to sit in meditation” the guide told us. “The structure was erected during the Gupta period.” The temple appeared to have undergone many alterations in the subsequent periods. An image of the Buddha in the preaching position formed the main deity, while the life of the Buddha from his birth unto nirvana was depicted along the walls by paintings. 

Mulagandha kuti vihara

The Buddha inside the vihara

The Dharmekh stupa

About a hundred meters from the temple was the famous Sarnath stupa – the Dharmekh stupa. According to our guide, this stupa was constructed by emperor Ashoka and it contained the relics of the Buddha. I was fascinated by this large solid structure with its beautiful carvings. “These carvings form the basis for the designs of the Benaras silk sarees”, said the guide. The lower part of the stupa was constructed using stones, while the upper part which had lost its plaster revealed brick work.

After a visit to a Jain temple nearby, we made our way towards the archeological excavations. These revealed a large number of halls and rooms with brick walls, and round structures used for seating. While we were going through the remains of the monastery, a Japanese organization was doing a video shoot. The influence of Buddhism can be felt more in Japan, China, and other south east Asian countries like Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and Srilanka than in India. Explorators from these countries had built their own shrines, in which were placed the idols found in their countries. In between the remains of the monastery stood the Ashokan pillar, which was at one time surmounted by a four faced lion capital. Our national emblem had its origin from this lion capital, which now decorates the main hall of the Sarnath museum.

The excavation site

After having a look at the magnificent idol of Buddha in the Burmese shrine, we proceeded towards the museum. The lion capital placed on a round abacus, which stands on an inverted lotus shaped pedestal, bound us by its magnetic spell of attraction. The sculpture has a vigorous workmanship. On the abacus are carved a bull, a horse, an elephant and a lion, separated by a smaller wheel or dharmachakra. On top of the four lions was once present a larger wheel with thirty two spokes, of which only four spokes had been recovered. The other antique pieces in the museum consisted of the idols and sculptures recovered from the excavations. Apart from the many sculptures of Boddhisatva and Buddha, there were also idols of Vishnu and Shiva along with their consorts. This gives vent to the idea, that the revival of Hinduism during the Gupta period might have led to the decline of Buddhism.

Taking with us, the memories of a great place, we now started back to Varanasi and thence home. Allahabad, Varanasi and Sarnath are just three places, which bring back the reminiscences of India’s cultural past. Each and every part of India possesses a vast cultural heritage and is worth visiting.

Venerable Varanasi

Three hours journey by bus from Allahabad brought us to Varanasi, the ancient pilgrim centre. This place, whose existence has been mentioned in the Mahabharatha and Skandapurana at least 3000 years ago, is said to have possessed from times immemorial, a great spiritual quality, which had and has been attracting pilgrims from all parts of India. Both the place and Ganga on whose banks it exists are considered sacred and holy.

 Our programme of the day was to go to the Ganga and then to the temples.  We started from our guest house where we had lodged the previous night, at about 7:30 A.M. Here cycle-rickshaws and auto-rickshaws were the most common transportation services. Horse drawn carriages were rare. We hired rickshaws for going to the river. The cost of living in either Allahabad or Varanasi is very less comparatively than the southern cities. Varanasi, though a very old city, was not as old in appearance as Allahabad. The old and modern cultures had intertwined around the city giving it a distinct appearance. Though the buildings, vehicles etc. were modern, the city still retained the cultural basis, which it had inherited form the past.

 The Ganga at Varanasi flowed from south-west to north-east with the city situated on the north-west bank. The river having completed the greater part of its journey in the hills, slowed down and flowed peacefully forming meanders in the plains here. On the bank of Ganga were situated the various Ghats and Temples. One could see pandas (as the pundits are called) performing sacred rites all over the place.  The place was also strewn with wood and hay. The previous day being Vijayadasami, people had merged the images of Durga in the river. The images had been made of mud and hay and were kept upon wooden platforms. Now that the mud had been dissolved, the hay and the wood floated towards the banks. We   hired a boat to take us to the other bank. The ride in the boat was very exciting.  When the boat reached the centre, we could view almost the entire bank of Ganga which was shaped like a curve. This part of the city, near the banks of the Ganga really looked ancient. “A dip in the sacred Ganga and all your sins will be washed out” – is the legendary saying. Know not how much truth lies in it, but having a dip has become ritualistic. Another boat ride across the river and we were back.

Ganga 

A 15-20 minute walk through intricate narrow lanes led us to the temple of Lord Vishwanath. The temple is surrounded by shops selling flowers, coconuts, sweets etc. The temple is not the original one. The original temple was plundered and brought down by the Mughal king Aurangzeb. That was why the present temple was built in an area surrounded by houses and shops, so that it would not be conspicuous. This temple constructed in 1785 A.D. by queen Ahalya bai Holkar of Indore was later covered with gold by Raja Ranjit Singh of Punjab. The lingam inside the temple, the presiding deity Lord Vishwanath is placed a few feet below the ground level. After having a view or 'darshan' of Him, we moved towards the temple of Goddess Annapurna, which was close by. A bit farther was the temple of Goddess Visalakshi, which was built by a king of Tamilnadu and hence was in south Indian style.

Birla mandir at BHU

In the evening we went to have a look at the city. But that day the shops were all closed on account of “Bharat Milavat”, the day Bharat, the brother of Ram met him after 14 years of his exile. People there associate the festival of Dasara to the home coming of Ram. The festival itself is called Ramleela. On Maharnavami, an effigy of Ravana is burnt, which is called “Ravan Dahan”.  After having a look at the city we retired to the guest house for the night.

Our next destination was the Banaras Hindu University. The statue of Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder, adorns the gateway of the B.H.U. Apart from the numerous colleges and educational institutions, there was a beautiful temple of marble built by the Birlas. The flooring and walls of the temple, the benches and seats outside were all of marble stone. The temple was two storeyed and contained the idol of panchamukha Shiva in one of the sanctum sanctorums while in the other was present the idol of Laxmi Narayana. The presence of this temple within the B.H.U. campus made the gates of the university open to one and all. 

From here, we made our way to Sarnath, the ancient buddhist centre.

Allahabad

Situated in U.P. on the banks of Ganga and Yamuna, is the city of Allahabad, one of the oldest cities of India. Earlier known as Prayaag, it was named Ilahabad and later Allahabad. The influence of the Muslim culture could be felt in and around the city. The buildings were all old fashioned and had been built in the Muslim style. Not a trace of modernity was found in the main part of the city. Old fashioned carriages drawn by horses called ‘tangas’ and three wheeled diesel run vehicles larger than auto rickshaws called ‘tempos’ were a familiar sight.

We started for ‘Triveni Sangam’, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical and mysterious Saraswati, at about 9.30 AM. The atmosphere was cool and we hired a tanga. The Sangam was at a distance of about 7-8 Km from the main city. Watching the buildings which stand as symbols for the once dominantly prevalent Muslim rule and culture from the tanga was nice. But one of the spokes of the wheel broke interrupting our thoughts.  So we had to do the remaining journey in a tempo. I was very enthusiastic expecting to see a vast ocean like Ganga, like the one Nehru had described in his will and testament.

“Smiling and dancing in the morning sunlight, and dark and gloomy and full of mystery as the evening shadows fall, a narrow, slow and graceful stream in winter, and a vast roaring thing during the monsoon, broad-bosomed almost as the sea, and with something of the sea's power to destroy, the Ganga has been to me a symbol and a memory of the past of India, running into the present and flowing on to the great ocean of the future.”  (excerpt from Jawaharlal Nehru’s will and testament)                                                                                        

I wanted to see the great river which had inspired Nehru so much. But my enthusiasm was put off the moment I saw the river. There was scarcely any water in it. I was disappointed to see only soft silt in place of water. Grass grew all over the area and cattle were grazing about. The Yamuna was better with more water. It started drizzling and so we could not go down to the middle of the Sangam. The Sangam is famous for the Kumbhmela conducted once in every twelve years.

Overlooking the Sangam, on the banks of Yamuna, was the fort, a large massive structure, which was said to have been constructed by Akbar in 1583A.D. The architecture did not resemble much of the Mughal type, yet, the fort was attractive. Rows of parrots perched on the balcony tops of windows and the walls of the fort, presented a very spectacular sight. Within the fort was an Ashokan pillar dated 232 B.C. There was also an old underground temple called the temple of Akshay vat. The other parts of the fort were closed for visitors. After seeing another temple near the Sangam, we moved to the ‘Anand Bhavan’, the ancestral home of the Nehrus. But the day being Vijayadasami, it was closed for visitors. From what I could see from the gates, it was an old fashioned beautiful double storeyed structure surrounded by a beautiful garden. Within the compound had been constructed a Birla Planetarium. Disappointed, we started for ‘chowk’, a busy shopping centre, did some shopping and returned to our lodge for a little rest before we started for Varanasi.

Foreword

The urge to write had been there, probably a flicker somewhere deep inside me. I was thinking of starting a blog and was wondering about what to write, when rummaging through some old papers, I came across my travelogue of Allahabad, Varanasi and Sarnath. I had originally written it to share my experience of these places with my friends, sometime in Oct, 1994. It gave me readymade material for starting a new blog. So here comes “Going places”.

Earlier too I had tried my hand at writing. When I was working, I was given the task of writing the monthly news letter, of our unit. Within a month or two everyone in the unit was eagerly waiting for my news letter on the last working day of the month. It gave me immense pleasure. When I quit my software job, I was thinking up of taking up writing. I came up with my blog “Quiz your brain” ( http://quizyourbrain.blogspot.in/ )which combined both my skills in writing and interest in quizzing. But I could only blog for a few months. Now more than ten years later, I plan to revive it again, soon.

With “Going places”, I intend to write about the different places in my life. I hope it will sustain the interest of readers, and help me go places in my writing.