There is no Hindu who does not dream of completing his earthly journey on the banks of the Ganges in the holy city of Varanasi. In this case, he finds the long-awaited salvation and gets rid of the further 84 thousand rebirths.

When a Hindu dies, they put his head to the south. From there, a Pit appears behind it. The god of death rides a black buffalo accompanied by two ferocious dogs, each with four eyes.

Yama has a secretary named Chitragupta. It keeps records of people's evil and good deeds and reveals their life history. Then the total is summed up. If it is in favor of a person, then he is sent to the heavenly worlds. There, virtuous souls enjoy sweet music and singing, the caresses of beautiful maidens, and an abundance of rice, milk, and all sorts of viands. If the sins are outweighed, the dogs drag the rest of them straight to hell. On the banks of the bloody Vaitarani River, the cruel servants of Yama torture sinners with fire and sharp spears, they are gnawed by animals and eaten by worms. Doomed to suffer, tormented by thirst and hunger, emaciated, covered with mud and blood, the poor cry out loudly in pain.

So narrate the "Mahabharata", "Ramayana" and Puranas-the sacred books of Hinduism

RIVER OF LIFE - RIVER OF DEATH

Dead Hindus are usually cremated. The burning of a dead body takes place near a river, pond, or other body of water. Cremation on the banks of the Ganges, the sacred river of Hindus, is considered the most honorable. They are ready to carry the ashes of their relatives thousands of kilometers away to the river.

The lord of the snowy mountains, Himavata, is called the father of the Ganges, and the heavenly maiden Menaka is called the mother. Once a river flowed through the heavens and washed the shores of paradise. But one day the powerful Ayoda king Bhagiratha asked her to come down from heaven to wash away the sins of her lost ancestors and allow them to ascend to paradise. The river heeded his pleas and sent its waters down to earth. It would certainly have destroyed the earth's firmament, but the god Shiva took all the weight of the waters that fell on his head. The river tangled in his long hair and ran down in seven torrents. The waters were followed by gods, heavenly sages, earthly rulers, and ascetics. Together they reached the ocean. Since then, the sacred river has been flowing through the land. The Ganges River originates in the Great Himalayas at an altitude of 4140 meters above sea level in a small grotto called "Cow Face" at the foot of the Gangotri Glacier. Like a crystal mountain stream, it rumbles through granite rocks, cutting through narrow gorges. Near the town of Hardwara, the Ganges leaves the Himalayas and spreads like a mighty dark gray mass of water over the plain. Then it flows in an easterly direction and empties into the Bay of Bengal. In the flat course of the river receives many tributaries, both large and very small. The most significant left tributaries are the Ramganga, Ghaghra, Gandak and Kosi; the right ones are the Jamna and Son. The total length of the Ganges is 2510 km. It flows through one of the most populated areas of the world and plays a huge role in people's lives. Suffice it to say that it is based on-

page 58

it also feeds about half of India's population, which is half a billion people.

The Ganges is infallible in the eyes of the Hindu. It is a symbol of purity and holiness. Bathing in its waters, looking at them or repeating the name of the river provides purification from sins and filth and thereby elevates a person in the eyes of the gods. It also cleanses the ashes of the dead and allows them to attain eternal bliss. Hindus believe that once a year the Ganges flows into every river, stream and stream in India, and they acquire the sanctity of the Ganges.

A SACRED CITY ON A SACRED RIVER

There are many sacred sites along the great river from the Himalayas to Sagar Island. The main one is the city of Varanasi (the ancient name of Kashi). It is a city of one and a half thousand temples. For a Hindu to visit Varanasi is one of the greatest acts.

According to the Linga Purana, three supreme gods in the Hindu pantheon-Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - once argued on the site of the city. It all started with the fact that Brahma and Vishnu could not decide which of them was born earlier. At the sharpest moment of the altercation between the gods, a huge pillar of fire appeared, with no beginning or end in sight. Then Vishnu turned into a boar to find the end of it, and for a thousand years he dug the ground with his fangs, but he never got to the bottom of the Big Fire. And Brahma became a white swan and flew up for a thousand years, but also did not reach the top of it. When the disputants met again, Shiva explained to them that this pillar of fire cannot be measured, because it is his lingam, i.e. a symbol of life-giving power and divine energy.

Pilgrims flock to Varanasi from all over India. In the early morning, a stream of people rushes to the river. In the huge crowd, you can meet both well-dressed people and ascetics in rags. There are also women in colorful saris. Terrified children huddle close to their parents. Every pilgrim must carry something with them. This is a wicker basket with flowers, a tray with objects for worship, a change of underwear, etc. All faces are equally focused. During these hours, their eyes and thoughts turn to the gods and the river.

If you hire a boat and sail along the city's embankment, then for several kilometers you can see countless rows of stone steps. These are the famous ghats. On them, pilgrims descend to the water. Immediately, they indulge in meditation, do physical exercises, or just relax under huge umbrellas that resemble large mushrooms. There are more than 100 ghats here.

Not far from each ghat is a temple. Most of the temples are dedicated to Shiva. Money for the construction of Kedar Ghat was donated by Maharaja Vijayana Gara, Manmandir ghata-the ruler of Ajmer, Lalita ghata-the king of Nepal, Chauki ghata-some rich baker. Pilgrims visit the ghats in a certain order, starting with the Da-shashwamedha Ghat and the most famous temple in the city - the Vishwanath Shiva Temple, built in 1776 by the ruler of the Indore principality. The golden spire of the temple glitters brightly in the sun and is visible from afar.

One by one, people enter the river. The water in the Ganges is cool, so no one stays in it for a long time. Ablution is performed directly in the clothes. At the same time, people behave differently. Some whisper mantras (prayers), scoop up water and spray it in the direction of the rising sun. Others carefully collect water in their palms and pour it out between their thumb and forefinger, symbolizing an appeal to the gods. Still others water their heads. Others hold their noses and plunge resolutely into the cool river. The fifth take water prigor-

page 59

they sew, rinse their mouths, and then drink it. Each person is immersed in himself and does not notice anyone around. Men and women also do laundry here.

There are many sick people in the human whirlpool - the lame, the one-armed, the blind, the lepers, etc. They come here not only to be cleansed of their sins, but also to find healing from all diseases and ailments.

And only in Shamshan ghat, no one performs ablutions and puja, because Hindus burn dead relatives in it. Transcending the boundaries of time and space, they merge with the eternal truth and are freed from the chain of birth and death in the sacred city on the sacred river.

IN THE GHAT OF DEATH

The stone steps of the ghat, polished over the years by tens of thousands of feet, and black with a layer of soot and charcoal, cascade down into the leaden water. Here, a sewage pipe discharges urban waste into the river. The stench of rotting garbage mingles with the smell of spices and incense sticks from neighboring courtyards and waves of hot air rising from funeral pyres stacked on the platforms between the steps. Bonfires burn in several places at once.

Grim-faced porters lowered a bamboo stretcher containing another corpse onto the steps. It is wrapped in a thick white cloth and tied with ropes. The body was brought from the city in a special bus for transporting the dead. On top of the shroud are several garlands of saffron velvets.

Relatives of the deceased pass under the canopy, equipped on one of the sites. While they were negotiating with the House Rajah about the price of wood and the sacred fire that would light the funeral pyre, a shaggy ram appeared from under the awning. It is very large and looks like a yak. The animal shakes its head, which is crowned with heavy horns, and the people silently part. The ram stopped by the corpse and began to slowly chew the flowers. After destroying the garlands one by one, he left with dignity.

Finally, the people settled all the issues. The corpse is sprinkled with river water and ghee, and one of the servants of the Rajah's House sets fire to the wood with a bundle of straw. Coconuts fly into the fire. The flames flare up brighter, and relatives leave the cremation ground. As soon as the last of them disappeared around the bend, a gang of tomboys flies up to the fire. Deftly wielding sticks, the children remove the burnt nuts from the fire, break them on the steps and begin to eat the baked core with gusto.

Local old-timers descend from above to what was once a bonfire. Indifferent to all that is happening, they take off their wet clothes and lay them on the rocks. About an hour later, the servants of the House of Rajah, armed with long poles, scatter the remains of the sad structure. Embers and burnt human bones are thrown into the water, and they sink to the bottom with a hiss. The next morning, people will come back to the memorial site and carefully inspect the steps. If you're lucky, someone will find a piece of gold or silver. And only women's earrings will not be lifted from the stones, no matter how great the temptation to get rich.

That's the way it is here, and it was a hundred and two hundred years ago. And if you look at the ghat for a long time and intently, it begins to slowly disappear into the air marava... There are no more kings, brahmans, and sudras, just as there are no more rich and poor, old and young, good and evil. And the boundaries that separate the world of the living from the world of the dead are gradually blurring and losing their clear contours in the possession of the House of Rajah.

page 60

"MY JOB IS MY PRISON"

The owner of Shamshan Ghat is about forty years old. His name is Ranjit Chowdhary. He spends most of his time in the ghat and sleeps, by his own admission, three hours a day. He is assisted by 45 servants. They cremate 200 to 220 corpses a day.

Dom Raj is a rich man. He lives in a mansion with a marble staircase and plaster tigers. The mansion is located on the river bank. In addition to the cost of firewood, he should not ask for money for anything, because cremation of corpses is his dharma, i.e. a religious duty, an obligation. But people still offer him a financial reward. At the funeral pyre, they willingly part not only with large sums, but also with their shares, as well as land plots. For example, not so long ago, someone gave the Raja House a new Jeep. And a wealthy merchant gave the keeper of the ghat a handful of large diamonds. The income tax of the Raja's House is rumored to be well over one million rupees.

There is a legend that the doms* once belonged to the caste of the highest brahmins, but they incurred the wrath of the gods. The fact is that after the death of Sati, the wife of Shiva, Vishnu cut her body into 108 parts, which he dropped to the ground. Sati's earring fell on the place where Shamshan Ghat is now located. It was picked up by one of the houses and hidden from prying eyes. Shiva found out about this action. He decided to punish them and declared them untouchables, whose duty is to cremate the dead. Then the fearsome celestial calmed down somewhat and gave the ghats and the sacred fire to the houses, which gives people liberation from further rebirths. This fire is cherished by the doms as the apple of their eye and has been maintained for several thousand years. However, in the eyes of caste Hindus, they still remain pariahs and are discriminated against. They are not allowed to enter the temples and homes of high-caste Hindus, sit in their presence, or take water from a public spring. Ranjit remembers very well the time when his father Kailash Choudhary used to walk the streets of the city with a golden bell and warn passers-by about his movements.

More than anything, Ranjit wants to be relieved of his duties, at least for a while. He has 18 new costumes. But in the city, he has nowhere to go, since no one communicates with him except at home. "My job is my prison! This is my destiny! What can I do? - he thinks. "Suppose I want to open a store?" Who will come to my store and buy from home?" Ranjit says he is not afraid of death himself. He's used to it and thinks about corpses even in his sleep.

THE RIVER NEEDS HELP

The rapid development of industrial production and the rapid growth of Indian cities have a negative impact on the environment. Today, the Great River is very polluted. Its waters are overflowing with industrial waste, household waste and pesticides from the surrounding fields. The self-cleaning mechanism of the river is not able to cope with such a load, and the level of its pollution continues to grow. In addition, the Ganges is becoming shallow due to the disappearance of dense forests from its banks.

Cremation of corpses requires a lot of wood. Over the past decade, India's population has increased by 181 million people, while the area covered by forests has decreased by 10 thousand square kilometers. Therefore, people living below the poverty line often resort to so-called symbolic funeral pyres and dump corpses into the river. They swim in backwaters, fall on shallows and create a real threat of outbreaks of the most dangerous epidemics. But even more surprising is the behavior of individual police officers who dump unidentified corpses into the Ganges. An environmental patrol stationed near Cawnpore fished 117 such corpses out of the river and burned them in a huge bonfire.

As one of the ways to solve the problem of wood in Gujarat, they suggest using special mini-crematoriums. Such a crematorium is a simple structure consisting of two brick walls equipped with holes for air circulation. Each wall is two meters high and about a meter wide. The corpse is placed on a metal grate between the walls at a height of 30 cm from the ground. The cost of such a furnace is 10 thousand rupees. It is quite cost-effective and allows you to halve the amount of wood consumed. More than 3 thousand such mini-crematoriums are already operating in Gujarat. They are especially widespread in rural areas. In Rajasthan, where there has always been a shortage of wood, dried cow dung is used for cremation.

These measures are designed to improve the ecological situation in the river basin. But they are still ineffective and do not allow us to make significant progress in solving this problem.

* Doms - members of a caste who cremate corpses.

Permanent link to this publication: