Varanasi or Kashi is a Mukti Dham. The seventh of the jyotirlingas Shri Vishwanatha is located in the city of Varanasi or Kashi. Hindus believe that death at Varanasi brings salvation.

 

Varanasi or Kashi is a Mukti Dham. The seventh of the jyotirlingas Shri Vishwanatha is located in the city of Varanasi or Kashi. Hindus believe that death at Varanasi brings salvation. Varanasi is also known as the favourite city of the Lord Shiva as it has been mentioned in the Rigveda that this city in older times was known as "Shiv ki Nagri". It is said that Shiva resides in Kashi. This city is supposed to stand on the Trident of Shiva.

The city on the banks of River Ganga comes with hundreds of Ghats to it. There is religion seeped into the very air of this place. It is believed that the city will remain intact even after Pralaya Kal or the end of the world. River Ganga emerges from Gaumukh and flows down towards the plains to finally immerse itself in the waters of Bay of Bengal. Goddess Ganga is worshipped in the temples around the Ghats of Varanasi. She becomes extremely divine in Haridwar.

Lord Shiva allowed Ganga to come down to earth from the heavens by taking its waters in his Jatas. He saved Ganga from going down to Patal Loka, the land of Rakshasas. Varanasi is a city of temples and every lane and by-lane has a temple of its own. One can spend a lot of time on the steps of its innumerable ghats.

In Padma PURANA, on being asked about the grandeur of holy places like Kashipuri, Narada ji says - Just as Lord Mahadev is supreme among all the deities, in the same manner Kashipuri holds a significant status among all the places of pilgrimage. Hence an individual should make it a point to visit Kashi once in his life time. ‪Performance of various rituals at Kashi liberates a man from all his sins-all his flaws are eliminated automatically just by residing in Kashi.

Har Har Mahadev Shambhu Kashi Vishwanath Gange!!