[500.18]. Singh, Rana P.B. 1993/ 2018. The Gaṅgā Ghāṭs, Varanasi (Kashi): The Riverfront Landscapes; in, Singh, Rana P.B. (ed.) Banāras (Vārāṇasī): Cosmic Order, Sacred City, Hindu Traditions. Tara Book Agency, Varanasi on behalf of Varanasi-Studies Foundation: pp. 65-102. Rev. pp. 1-77. (original) (raw)

Abstract. The cult of living water is described in the Vedic literature and is continued vividly in the Puranic literature. These texts also eulogize the Gaṅgā as Gaṅgeya, which means the “giver of all sorts of prosperity and peace”– the liquid spirit of sustainability (Rig Veda, 7.45.31). The “wash away sins” quality of water is endowed with the power of sanctity and has many cosmological connotations in various mythologies. The Gaṅgā is called the ‘Primordial Divine Energy’, and symbolized as the river of the water of life, immortality, and healing from the very presence of God. The Gaṅgā, the patron deity Shiva, and the sacred territory of Kashi together form the Cosmic Trinity of this great city, Varanasi. The people of Banaras as well as Hindus all over India have a sense of rootedness and connectedness to the Gaṅgā. There are 84 ghats (stairways) to the river where developed 96 water-front sacredscapes (tīrthas). Among them five ghats are considered as more auspicious; from south to north, they are: Asi, Dashasvamedha, Manikarnika, Panchagaṅgā, and Adi Keshava; these are called the Panchatirthis (the five most sacred water spots). These sites are also the spots for religious festivities that make the environment constantly alive. Keywords: cosmogony, festivities, ghats, heritagescapes, mythologies, sacredscapes, Shiva, sustainability, threat, tourism, Vishnu.