Varanasi is one of the seven most important Hinduistic cities. River Ganges that runs through the city, is considered sacred and spritually pure. The river is seen as the river of salvation, embodied by the Goddess Ganga. To a Hindu a bath in the river is belived to be positive, as it erases bad karma. Along the banks of the Ganges there are a series of Ghats,which are stairs leading to the river. From a boat at sunrise, we were witnessing the many rituals performed along the river bank. People taking a bath or creamations performed in public.
The photos are all taken on the west side og the city. When the sun rises on the eastern side, the soft morninglight will hit this side. Those who are taking their morningbath will then see the sun rise in front of them. The Hindus believe that whatever they perform at the bank of the river, it will have a positive impact and wash off impurity.
The river runs almost 2500 kilimoters from where it originates in the Himalayas and provides water for more millions of people. Even it's considered pure, it is also one of the most polluted rivers in the world. We were told that there hasn't been fish in the river for years.
Varanasi is the city of Lord Shiva and an important destination for Hindus and Buddhist pilgrims. The town of Sarnath is located only ten kilomertes from Varanasi. It was in Sarnath that Buddha gave his first speech.
Varanasi is a popular place for pilgrimages. Every year pilgrims will come to take a holy baths in the Ganges. The city is also known for being a funeral distination. Because it's belived that a bath in the river is positive and will lead to a better reincarntion it is also common to spread the ashes of the dead in the river. There is so much that can be said about the rituals, Hinduism and history of this city. Even though there were many boats on the river, with tourists, it was still nice to sit there for a couple of hours and watch the sun rise over the riverbank.
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[//]:# (!pinmapple 25.322493 lat 82.974286 long Sunrise photography by River Ganges in Varanasi (India) d3scr)
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