Mahesh Gogate
Centre for Indic Studies, Indus University, India
maheshgogate.iiss@indusuni.ac.in
Naresh Chhatwani
Indus Architecture School, Indus University, India
arch.hod@indusuni.ac.in
Abstract
Varanasi– also historically known as Kashi (Kāśī)– is believed to be positioned at the tip of Śiva’s trident (triśūla), presents a unique and enduring case of sacred place-making. Throughout history, there are very few sacred cities that have such a compelling history. The city is not merely a physical location; it is a symbolic and metaphysical construct where the abstract concepts of place (deśa) and time (kāla)– both intimately associated with Śiva– are rendered into lived experience.
On the early morning of 27th October 1830, Sri Enugula Veeraswamy, who served as an employee of the East India Company in Madras (now Chennai), arrived in Varanasi. His extensive pilgrimage to this sacred city and subsequent return to his hometown spanned over a year. In letters addressed to a friend, Veeraswamy describes Varanasi as the “great Kasi (Kashi) Maha khsetram”(1) (the sacred region) and provides a detailed elucidation of the concept of sthāna māhātmya; a literary work that venerates and articulates the merits of a sacred place. The original book based on the journal and letters written by Veeraswamy is in Telugu. It is evident that most probably Veeraswamy was well versed in Kāśī Khaṇḍa (Telugu translation in 1440) (2) of Skanda Purāṇa, as he extensively cites the ‘spatial text’ (3) of Kāśī Khaṇḍa and other Purāṇa-s. During his one- and-half- month stay in Varanasi, Veeraswamy took baths at various sacred temple tanks, performed funeral rituals for his dead relatives and worshiped at various temples as per the traditions mentioned in the texts. To this date, devotees and pilgrims from India and different parts of the world visit the several enduring sacred temple tanks, take bath, perform rituals, and proceed to the temple for the darśana of the presiding deity.
Figure 1: Pilgrim performing rituals at Dashashwamedha ghata, Varanasi. Photo by Mahesh Gogate. February 2016.
In the last several centuries, Varanasi was continuously invaded and, predominantly during the colonial regime, the fluid and spatial landscape of Varanasi was significantly transformed. Yet, the devotees still undertake the various pilgrimages and circumambulate around the temples and the city as mentioned in the Purāṇa-s and depicted in various distinctive pictorial maps. During the eighteenth century, native scholars of Varanasi extensively referred to the spatial texts of Purāṇa-s to locate the ancient temples which were in decay or lost and strived to restore these sacred sites. Few other native scholars studied the Purāṇa-s to produce pictorial maps. The erudite exercise of producing these schematic maps reveals the profound understanding of the geographical settings of the city and the spatial texts of Purāṇa-s.
Our premise is that the sthāna māhātmya of Purāṇa-s and other literary texts still serve as the main source of the pilgrimage traditions, and they are deeply rooted in sacred geography. All eighteen Purāṇa-s have a reference to Varanasi, stories narrating its origin and the celestial aspects. Purāṇa-s discuss the etymology of Varanasi based on geographical features. The spatial texts of Kāśī Khaṇḍa elucidate various names of the city, describe the etymology of the place names, and define the well-articulated territories. The spatial texts construct a schematic map for a reader to navigate and do circumambulations around the temples, streams, and temple tanks. In this context, the landscape itself emerges as a sacred palimpsest, preserving prehistoric events, rituals and traditions, and historical continuities that have endured for millennia.
The uninterrupted sacred traditions and scholarship of Hindu philosophy have provided Varanasi with a profound foundation(4) and that is why, for the devotees and seekers, the city is a living geography. This living city, its prominent Kāśī Viśvanātha temple and temple tanks were reimagined and reproduced throughout the Indian subcontinent. Simultaneously, the sacred geography of India and other sacred sites has been reimagined and replicated in Varanasi.
Figure 2: The rituals before the Ganga Aarati, near Dashashwamedha ghata, Varanasi. Photo by Mahesh Gogate. February 2017.
The present research is based on our field study of Varanasi. We make an attempt to reveal the intricate connection between the sacred geography and the spatial text of Purāṇa-s that enables the devotees and pilgrims to connect and interact with the environment. During the pilgrimage, pilgrims read the texts, refer to and converse the tales, purchase the pictorial maps that are on display at the shops and re-enact the traditions that have endured for centuries. The devotees are not concerned with the discrepancies on the themes of “divine hierophany”(5) of Purāṇa-s and other pilgrimage literature.
References
- Aiyangar, Rangaswami K. V. (eds.). Kṛtyakalpataru of Bhaṭṭa Lakṣmīdhara. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1942.
- Gogate, Mahesh. Sacred Waters ‘of’ Varanasi: The Colonial Draining and Heritage Ecology. Routledge. 2023.
- Kane, Pandurang Vaman. History of Dharmasastra. (Vol. IV). Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 1953.
- Sitapati, P., and Purushottam, V. (eds.). Enugula Veersswamy’s Journal (Kasiyatra Charitra). Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Government Oriental Manuscripts Library & Research Institute. 1973.
Footnotes
- Sitapati, P., and Purushottam, V. 1973. Enugula Veersswamy’s Journal (Kasiyatra Charitra). (p. 102)
- Aiyangar. 1942. Kṛtyakalpataru of Bhaṭṭa Lakṣmīdhara. (p. lxxiv)
- Gogate. 2023. Sacred Waters ‘of’ Varanasi: The Colonial Draining and Heritage Ecology. (p. 42)
- Kane. 1953. History of Dharmasastra. (Vol. IV). (p. 618)
- Eck. 2015 (First Edition in 1983). Banaras: City of Light. (p. 35)
