"Great! This lorry had to block the road now!" I exclaimed as the driver slowed down the car. A lorry was backing up in front. It was a narrow alley and the lorry was stuck. It was around 1:15 AM and my mom and I were on our way to the Mangala Aarti at Kashi Vishwanath Temple. I have this great need to be punctual and I had decided we should be in the queue by 1:30 AM and here we were immobile. I had hardly slept and had woken up at 12:30 AM from the unpleasant dream and finished my bath before waking my mom. Once she was done, I had woken up the driver and we had set off. I had agonized over how to reach the Temple at this unearthly hour before. Who would drop us to the temple? Would the hotel help? Do I request them to send a boy with us? It had gone on and now we were halfway there. With practiced ease the driver extricated himself and slowly moved forward. We followed him and reached a circle where the first lorry met another and the two performed an elaborate dance in front of a couple of more vehicles and finally the road was all clear. Phew, let's go! Barricades with sleepy policemen blocked our way soon and we got off.
"Where do we go for the Mangala Aarti?" I asked the police. "There are 5 phatak (gate) here. Which gate do you want?" he questioned. "We are here for the Aarti" I repeated clueless. "That will be gate 1, Dhundi Raj gate. It is right there" his companion pointed ahead. We walked a few steps to another group of Police who waved us through. I looked up; an arch had Dhundi Raj gate written on it in Hindi. The alley was dimly lit and empty. All the shops were closed, and my mom and I walked in hesitantly. A colleague had told me we had to walk through an alley lined with shops and I had for some reason assumed they would all be open with people buzzing. And here we were just the two of us walking all by ourselves in a dimly lit alley. A couple of minutes later to our great relief a shop was open, and the owner invited us to leave our footwear inside. We went in and took off our footwear. Yakka flowers and small pots of milk were stocked inside. Devotees worship Kashi Vishwanath with them. "How much is that garland?" I inquired looking at it. "That is twenty" the shop keeper replied as he rolled the Yakka [Calotropis gigantea] garland in a leaf. He gave it to my mom. A small stainless-steel pot of watery milk caught my eye and I picked it up. "That makes it fifty". I nodded as I pulled out the pouch from the front of my dress. There was gleam in the shopkeeper's eye as I pulled out the money. The pouch was fat and full of cash. He perhaps thought this lady is going to lose it for sure. Somebody is going to pick it. "Be careful with your purse " I had been warned. Wallets, chains and purses were fair game inside the temple. And I was carrying quite some cash. We would be orphaned in Kashi if it was picked. I had spent hours thinking about a plan. I had packed my big purse with documents etc inside the suitcase with number lock. The key of the other suitcase was also stashed inside the purse. All of them safe in the hotel room now. And all my cash was in the passport pouch and I now put it back, inside the front of my dress.
My mom looked puzzled. "You need to buy something from the shop. He doesn't keep the footwear for free. That is how he lures customers" I answered her. She wasn’t convinced. And she wouldn't get this idea at all in this trip. She would react the same way at the Hanuman Garhi shop in Ayodhya. But that was how it worked here. No free footwear stands like other places. I had done my homework. Ten steps ahead we joined a group standing before a couple of police and what looked like another dimly lit alley. A shop was open to our right and I could see lockers and a few benches for sitting. I asked my mom to go sit while I stood in the queue. Hearing us speak in Kannada a gentleman smiled and asked, "from where have you come?" And we conversed for some time. A couple speaking Telugu joined the queue. The lady seemed very tired, she leaned against her husband and was looking for a place to sit. She found the step of a closed shop.
I looked at the policemen. A friend had arranged for one of them to escort us inside the temple. That would happen only when he saw our admission voucher, I looked around. A group of people entered from an alley to our left and the police escorted them inside. When another group was also let in the same way a few men in the front of our group rightly began an argument with the Police. "We are here from 12 PM and right in the front of the group" a senior gentleman raised his voice. "If this is how you let people in, why do you have a website to register?" chimed another. "Yes, we will let in people on our boss's recommendation" a police officer tried to shout down everyone and all hell broke loose. Now everyone in the queue joined the leaders and the arguments got louder. "Show me the list your boss has provided" the first gentleman demanded. "I don't have to show it to you" the policeman brazened it out. "I will file an RTI" our leader threw down the gauntlet. "Go ahead" was the response. I was glad nobody had come to escort us in. I didn't want our friend to be dragged into this.
The Aarti was at 3 AM. It was 2:45 and we were still outside. People got restless. I called out to my mom and she joined me. A man in white shorts suddenly began to blow a whistle and tried to control the queue. He looked like a PT teacher. "I am a government officer" I heard the gentleman replying to the Police. The Policeman was backed by a few more. "There are four gates, do not worry you will get a spot in the front" one of them was trying to console him. But our leader stood his ground. Suddenly the police started letting people in. Distracted by this everyone rushed forward.
Silence slowly descended and all acrimony was forgotten as people jostled and positioned themselves in front of the doors. "You have brought us safely till here, take us home safely" I surrendered to Kashi Vishwanath as I brought my palms together in a namaskara in front of my bowed head. I let go off all the tensions, the scares and frights that I was carrying within me from the time I had decided on this trip. We were standing less than ten feet away from the famous "Jyotirlinga" right beside Shiva’s Nandi. I placed the milk pot on a small stone stand behind Nandi's back. The Jyotirlinga was completely bare and was surrounded by a silver square outside which the head priest sat. He was cleaning the inside of the square. This priest was perhaps 40 but an older senior priest sat on the other side and was reciting the mantras.
Mythology says "Jyotirlinga" is an infinite pillar of light. Shiva appears in this form to settle a debate between Brahma and Vishnu. The argument is over the supremacy of creation. Brahma goes up to find the end of the Jyotirlinga, Vishnu goes down. Brahma returns and lies that he had found the end while Vishnu concedes defeat. Shiva curses Brahma for his lie saying though he is the creator of the universe he would never be worshiped. There are 12 Jyotirlingas and they are the temples where Shiva appeared as a fiery pillar of light.
The Kashi Vishwanath temple has been demolished many times and rebuilt an equal number of times. Aurangazeb demolished the temple and constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque in its place. The current structure is built by Ahalya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780 and is adjacent to the Mosque. This is a conflicted zone. Recalling all this I looked around curiously. The walls were ornately carved but didn't reach the ceiling. Perhaps this is the older structure inside a new building. And the roof belongs to the new structure. I tried to etch it in my mind. I pointed it to my mom who was engrossed in the pooja. She barely nodded. From where had that Sadhu materialized? I looked at the old man standing to the right of the silver door. And that lady with the sari over her head, who was she? Was she a descendant of Ahalya Bai Holkar? Just like the Sadhu she was standing outside the Sanctum, to the left and giving flowers to the Sadhu. In trying to memorize the designs on the walls of the temple I had not seen them walking up to the door. Hmm.
The abhisheka[libation] began in earnest as the priests poured pots of water then milk on the Jyotirlinga. The water was from the river Ganga on whose banks the temple is built. Milk was followed by curds. The curd was first gently placed on the Jyotirlinga and then slowly covered with it. The senior priest then passed honey. The honey was slowly poured on it and smeared over it. The crowd watched in rapt silence. The abhisheka is usually performed with Panchamrita which comprises of milk, curd, honey, sugar and ghee in a particular order. The head priest performed quick gestures with his hands, bowed in submission and touched his forehead to the silver square after every libation. He prayed to God to accept the offerings made. The senior priest joined him in reciting the mantras and waited with the next item in hand. We watched reverentially sometimes bowing our heads in supplication and sometimes raising our hands in a namaskara beseeching Vishwanath for His benevolence.
I turned back from the walls again and this time noticed the silver Torandecorating the door of the Sanctum. "Amma, that style of Toran is found in Gujarat" I again nudged my mom. She nodded. The Panchamrita abhisheka was followed by a libation of water. The head priest picked up folded turkey towels and wiped the Jyotirlinga and the surrounding square. That towel looks new I thought. Suddenly I noticed the colourful flowers in the Sanctum. Marigold, Jasmines, Roses were all around waiting to adorn Vishwanath. The man carrying out the empty pots must have delivered them. Sandal paste was applied to the Jyotirlinga and the senior priest capped it with Bilva leaves followed by a garland of Yakka flowers and we all prayed with them. A legend says Bilva/ Bael/ known as Aegle marmelosbotanically is an incarnation of Parvati. Parvati is Siva's consort and perhaps that is why those leaves are offered to Siva?
The Jyotirlinga was decorated with garlands until it was completely covered. Garlands of Yakka and Bilva leaves were used too. Then a circular bed of marigolds was made on its head on which was placed a crown of flowers. With yellow and red flowers in alternate tiers the conical crown sat snugly on it. Jasmine strings were hung from the hook some two feet above the Jyotirlinga and attached to the corners of the square. The excess flowers had disappeared, and all kinds of lamps had appeared, and it was time for the Aarti. As the head priest stood up the crowd in front went berserk and rushed to the door and blocked the view for all others behind them. And come to think of it none of us raised an objection. A conch pierced the quiet and handheld bells rang out. The gongs struck up and we just waited soaking it all in. The mantras were being recited loudly and by many priests. The murmurs too had stopped as people sent up their prayers. We stood patiently staring in the direction of the Sanctum unperturbed the view was the backs of people blocking it. I am sure the different kinds of oil lamps were being offered in obeisance to Jyotirlinga. Ten minutes later the Aarti made its way out and we took it. We were blessed.
Now I keep looking at the videos on YouTube to compensate for having missed the live Aarti. Sad.
Slowly the queue entered the temple and milled around it. The Jyotirlinga was completely bare. The flowers had been cleared and the oil lamps stowed away. The hoi polloi could now worship the Jyotirlinga with their flowers, Bilva leaves and milk. Very democratic. The cry "Jai Bholenath" and "Har Har Mahadev" rent the air as devotees jostled to touch the Jyotirlinga and pray to Vishwanath. My mom offered the garland and I performed abhisheka with the milk. We touched the Jyotirlinga and pressed the palm to our eyes reverentially and as a blessing. In the midst of my prayers I looked around trying to memorize the Silver Sanctum Sanctorum.
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