Manikarnikais a place
of polarity. While it may be the place of death par excellence in India, it
is equally a place of life and this-worldly power which is manifest not only
through the Ganges which rushes past, but the large well atop the Ghat.
The name of this Ghat
is derived from a pool which is said to precede even the Ganges in
the city. There is still a spring-fed pond here surrounded by a set of stairs
leading to the water's edge.
Interestingly, there is an annual reenactment
of this the story of Vishnu digging the pond
as each year after the flood recede, devotees have to dig the pond out again.
The pond (Kund) here is recognized
as the first pond and the First Tirtha.
This Tirtha
is so powerful that it is said that all the other Tirthas
come here to expiate the sins of their pilgrims.
All of India's three primary deities
are present here: Shiva, Vishnu, and Devi.
Vishnu
is worshiped primarily through the Kund and a small shrine inside of which
are his footprints (paduka). The footprint are
said to have been put here while he was meditating. All pilgrims on the panchaTirtha
will honor these footprints.
The Shiva
temple here contains the Tarakeshvara linga,
which is the aspect of Shiva that grants the
Taraka mantra. This is the mantra that bestows
liberation upon cremation. Shiva whispers it
into the ears of the deceased so that they may make the journey to the other
shore.
There is another Shiva
temple adjacent to Manikarnika
called Sindhia Ghat which has shifted and is
now half under water. It is said that when engineers were trying to determine
the reason for this collapse, they discovered an ancient yogi. When he awoke
and realized that the kali age had come he jumped in the ganges and disappeared.
Devi is also worshiped
here as a devi of the kund. Some worshipers even claim that she takes on a subtle
form and appears to them as a deity in their meditations.
