KASI YATHRA  FROM EASE TRAVELS

Kasi Yatra

When we hear the word Kasi Yatra , we remember a bridegroom  with his brother in law holding an umbrella for the bride groom and the father in law, requesting to come back and marry his daughter with two coconuts in hand. The explanation given to this ritual is a man cannot perform the rituals to his ancestors, unless his wife accompanies him and that is why symbolically he is asked to get married.

In ancient days, the samsari (the family man) after completing his duties like he getting married, giving birth to children, bringing them up and providing them adequate knowledge and wealth and getting them also married, keeping some wealth to the children for their successful life and thus considered completed his duties in his life, set out by walk to Kasi even from the south bottom of our country. But as per the Hindu Dharma, the man should proceed to Kasi with his wife to perform the remaining duties like Pithre karma at Kasi and obtain his jenma sabhalyam (the meaning – perfection or completeness, adding meaning to his birth) .

Pithre karma:

Hindus believe that Atma is the soul of one person and it not perishable. Even, when the body perishes, the Atma is alive. When we believe that the Atma is alive and  not perished, the Atma of our ancestors are also alive, even though they are physically not available.. The Atma  of our ancestors will be eagerly waiting at Kasi to accept our offerings through Manthras, presenting dresses to poor Brahmins and food of their choice to many  and thus they will feel happy about us and will bless us. There is a question about offerings to Atma is still in existence.

I would like to set an example here as how the offerings reach to the Atma : It is like making a phone call to your dear ones. They will be very far from your place and sometimes, they may be living in a different country also. But, when you dial the appropriate International country code/Area code and dial the number, the moment they pick up the phone you can find them talking to you. Similarly, through your Pithre Atma which are at the area of Kasi waiting for you reach you through Manthras, mentioning about their name, Gothram and about their ancestors living or lived, they will catch the wave length and reach there to bless you. By then, when you offer them clothing, food and other materials like umbrella, a wooden seat to sit, a cheppal to walk comfortably, a hand fan to remove their tired, a little oil for their bath, some utensils to perform the daily duties, they are really,, really happy about your whole hearted welcoming them and they just start showering on you, their blessing without any inhibitions. And that is why it is preferred to perform the Pithre karma at Kasi.

How to proceed to Kasi for performing Pithre Karma:

Kasi Yatra begins with the collection of sand from the sea shore of Rameswaram (to be precise – from Dhanushkodi) and take to Triveni and dissolve there. And bring Triveni sangamam water back to Rameswaram and do abhishekam to Ramanatha swamy in Rameswaram to end the Pithre karma. Samaaradhanai is performed after you reach home.

First Stop- Rameswaram.

This is the place where the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal meet. This is a secred spot as Lord Rama came here after defeating Ravana to perform certain rituals to absolve him of the sins of killing Ravana who was no doubt evil but was a devotee of Lord Shiva and a Brahmin by birth.

You cannot reach the shores of Dhanushkodi in an ordinary vehicle but need a four wheel drive or a jeep to drive through the sandy path. There is no proper road. Many Hindus go to the shores of Dahnushkodi to perform Pithre related specific rituals. However it is a worth drive to see the meeting of the Bay of Bengal and to take a dip in the sea. It is not at all crowded and is a great place for a half day trip. It is also a great place to shoot pictures of the rising and setting sun.

Rameswaram  is a small town with the people depending on the temple and the sea for livelihood. The rituals one should perform here are as follows ( Of course, these are for people who have lost at least one of the parents)

1.   Sankalpam – Sankalpam is performed for commencing the journey by drawing a bow like structure on         the sand with turmeric powder and do pooja praying that the journey and the rituals should be performed
      without any hitches. 
2.   Samudra Snanam- Husband and wife should  take  dips in the sea water and collect  sand .

3.   Hiranya Srardam –After taking bath in the sea hiranya srardham is performed   with 5 brahmin pandits.         But instead of cooked rice “Pindams” are made with wet raw rice.

4.   Madhava Pooja - The sand collected is divided into three portions and named a) Sri. Veni Madhava b)         Shri Bindhu Madhava c) Shri Sethu Madhava. Pooja is done for all the Madhavas . Sethu madhavar is        immersed in the sea . Other 2 Madhavas accompany us on our journey to Prayag and Kashi.

5.  Theertha Snanam –  Ramanatha Swamy Koil prakaram has 33 wells . which are considered auspicious          for bath. There are many people waiting to take out water from the wells and pour it on you. We need to      pay only 15 to 20 Rs  for their services

6.  Sight seeing - Since we have a train to Chennai only in the evening   and if you have time,   an auto can be       hired  to go sight seeing. Kodanda Ramaswamy temple in Dhanushkodi, Rama theertham ,Seetha                 Theertham, Lakshmana Theertham, a temple with stones that are supposed to be used for”  Sethu                 Bhandanma” ( Here the stones are seen floating in  water and there are pictures of the  arial view of the         Sethu or bridge built by Lord Ram taken by NASA )  are places worth seeing.

Second Stop- Prayag or Allahabad

There is a saying “ Prayagai mundanam, Kasi Dhandanam, Gaya Pindanam”.So those who go to Prayg are to cut atleast a strand of their hair. In Prayag  our appointed Shashtrigal  make all the arrangements for the rituals to be performed. The rituals to be performed here as follows:

1. Sangalpam – First of all you have to perform a sangalpam . Then the ladies have to seek  permission  from their husbands and the Sumangalis to cut their hair. Then a pooja  has to be performed for the sand brought from Rameswaram. ( A request from the Shashtrigal “ Don’t address this as sand, you have named it Veni Madhav and brought him all the way from Rameswaram. Refer to him as Veni Madhav. )He also requests not to bring  Veni Madhav in plastic bags as plastic is banned in Ganges. Another suggestion. If you are not going to Prayag  immediately after Rameswaram open   the bag and dry the sand , sorry, Veni Madhav in sun . Otherwise it will start emitting a bad smell.

 2. Veni Dhanam – We have to carry a blouse piece, comb, mirror ,kumkum pack in a  muram and go to Thiriveni sangamam by boat. Shashtrigal /Pandas  come to the boat and recite some Mantras and the husband has to comb and plait his wife’s hair and cut a   small bit from the end. After arriving at thiriveni sangamam wife puts the hair along with turmeric powder and kumkum in the river. It is surprising that haldi kumkum floats, whereas the hair sinks . Then the husband and wife bathe in the sangam and immerses Veni Madhav in the water. Pure water from Ganga should be collected in a can before it merges with Yamuna.

3. Tharpanam

–After coming back to shore  tharpanam must be performed.  Cook in the kitchen keeps the cooked rice ready and 17 pindams or riceballs are to be made out of this rice. Before that  the water brought from the Ganges can be given to a shop opposite Shiv Mutt so that they pack the water in small copper sombus .One thing to remember. The water  for Abishekam to Ramanathga swamy should be atleast half a liter. Shashtrigal/Panda arranges for your lunch also.

Third Stop – Gaya

Even in the beginning of this narrative  the importance of Pindams in Gaya was mentioned. Even if we think that we ought to go to Kasi and Gaya  they say that our ancestors come and wait for our arrival.

Depart from Kasi by 3AM to reach Gaya by about 7.30 AM .First go to the Phalguni river. We cannot say it is a river because we don’t see even a drop of water in the surface, only heaps of sand. There is a tale behind this. Lord Ram came  with Sita to Gaya to perform “Pindadhanam “ for his father. He went into the forest for collecting  all the stuff needed for this. Meanwhile Dhasharatha appeared in front of Sita and told her that he is very hungry and need food immediately. Sita was sitting by the river side and immediately she made pindams out of the sand in the river bed and fed her Father-in-Law. Satisfied Dhasharatha blesses her and leaves. Lord Rama  after returning from the forest prepares for the ritual and invokes his father. Dhasharatha appears in front of him and says Sita has already fed him and he is not hungry. Lord Ram is puzzled and asks Sita to produce some witnesses for having given pindams to his father. Sita first calls the river as a witness  but Phalguni  thinking that her statement may cause a rift between Ram and Sita says she has not seen anything. Next Sita calls a cow, a Thulasi plant ,and a brahmin as witnesses. But all of them reply in the negative. Finally Sita calls the “Aala maram “ and the tree vouches for Sita giving Pindam for her  father-in-law. Sita curses Phalguni that  water will never flow in her , Thulasi plant that it may grow  even in dirt, cows that they may lose their tongue and finally the gaya Brahmin that he will never be satisfied with the food he gets . She was very happy that tha Aalamaram spoke the truth and gives a boon that it will continue to flourish  eternally . So it is called” Akshaya vatam” here.

You are asked to fetch water from the pit dug in the river and with that water asked to cook two bowls of rice. The pandit recites tha mantras for Tharpanam . Out of the two bowls of cooked rice  17 and 64 rice  ballas are made respectively(One who has his mother alive need to make only 48 pindams)and out of the  17 pindams  we keep 12 on bed of “Dharbai” for our direct ancestors for 3 generations both on father’s and mother’s side, one for “ karunika Pithrus” and four for those who have died without children, water and food. Then we proceed to  “Vishnu Padam temple .There out of the remaining 64 pindams, 16 are exclusively for one’s mother remembering what all hardships she underwent for the child’s birth and the rest are for all those who have died  among relatives, in-laws, friends etc. Even the servants and pet animals we had are remembered and given “ pindams” All the pindams are submitted in “ The Vishnu Padam” . Vishnu Padams made of copper are available for sale in  shops near this temple. We can buy them and those who have the practice of “ Vishnu Ilai”  while performing Srardham can keep these “Padams” in front of the Banana leaf.

After this perform fully fledged “Srardham” The menu for the Brahmins are Puri, vegetables sambar, rasam  buttermilk, payasam and vadai. .After performing the “Srardham” again you have to prepare 17 and 64 /48 pindams and take them to “Akshaya vatam” or the aalamaram which got the boon of eternity from “Sita”There after “Pinda pradanam “ you have to sacrifice a vegetable, a fruit and a leaf( By default this leaf is always “Aalilai) Vegetable and fruit are as per one’s wish. Finally a gaya barahmin is called and asked whether he is satisfied by the rituals we have done. When he replies in the affirmative all the pindams are put on the base of the tree. It is better to keep sufficient  coins  and currency as the beggars keep chasing us. It will be  around 8 PM when you return to Kasi.

Fourth Stop: Kasi or Varanasi

The city is called  “ Varanasi”  because here the two rivers namely Varuna and Assi converge. The  Shashtrigals/Pandits  in Kasi make all the arrangements for the whole yatra . He performs the rituals for people  of  all the Vedas. Another thing, all the items to be given as Dhanam can be procured by us or Ghanapatikal  can be entrusted with this task. When we perform this ritual about 40 pandits were arranged to receive Dhanam of articles like gold coin, silver tumbler, Rudraksham, book, veshti, brass cups etc. After giving away the Dhanams you  are to perform a Sradham. According to your convenience it can be Hiranya Srardham or full fledged srardham . But  menu is not as per  our house hold customs. Cocoanut, chilies and tomatoes are included. Only 3 Bakshanams are made namely Vadai, Appam and Ellurundai. One surprising thing is there are no crows in Varanasi. Pindams are fed to the cows.

                               After finishing the day’s rituals an auto can be hired to go around the temples in Varanasi. One word of advice. Cameras, cell phones and big handbags are not allowed   inside the Viswanathar temple. So better leave them in the place where you stay. Visvanathar temple, Visalakshi temple and Annapoorani temple are all in small by lanes. Other than these 3 main temples Kalabairava temple( here Black threads  called Kasi kayiru are placed in the deity’s feet and given to us) Dhandapani Bhairav temple( here the pandit strokes our back 3 times with a stick implying that the deity is pardoning all our sins after giving a punishment) Sozhi matha temple(This godess is considered to be the sister of Lord Visvanath and seems to have come from South India. Her main meal is Sozhis . We can buy them and give  them as an offering)Sankat mochan Hanumar temple  , the place whereThulasidas  first read out  his creation “ Ramcharita manas” are places worth seeing. Saranath, the place where Lord Buddha gave out his first sermon is also a place not to be missed.

Fifth  stop – Again Kasi (Optional)

Morning ,get up and go to the river to take bath. Then you get into the boat in which a furnace is kept ready.  The lady is to cook a small amount of rice to be made into 17 pindams . After making them she has to cook the rice for the next ghat . The husband performs  tharpanam and submits the pindams to his ancestors and  puts them in the river. By this time the boat arrives in the next ghat. Here both husband and wife takes bath , get into the boat and repeat the rituals. In this way all the 5 ghats ( Assi Ghat, Dasaswametha Ghat, ManiKarnika Ghat,  panch Ganaga Ghat, Thrilochana Ghat are covered and it takes about 3 hours. Then you return with a brass pot of Ganga water. After return you perform “ Dampathi Pooja” wherein an elderly couple are worshipped as Lord Visvanath and visalakshi. Dhoti set, 9 yards saree, blouse piece, mirror, comb,  manjal kungumam and a mangalyam are given to them. After performing the pooja , you have to seek their blessings. Next comes Ganga Samaradhanai. The water brought from the river is worshiped and with feeding 4 pundits in “ Kala Bhairva Samaradhanai” the rituals in Kashi come to an end. you spend an amount of Rs 20,000- Rs. 35,000 towards all the rituals performed in Prayag, Kasi, Gaya including the materials for Dhanams and Dampathi Pooja..

Performing Abishekam for Ramanathswamy in Rameswaram with Ganga jalam is the next step. After returning home performing a Ganga Samaradhanai is a must. With that the yatra comes to an end. 

Subham

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