Tripur Bhairavi Ghat Varanasi

Vital Information for Visitors

Address:

Tripur Bhairavi Ghat, near Mir Ghat, Lahori Tola, Varanasi, UP.

Open & Close:

Open on all days – 24x7

Entry Fee:

Free

Duration:

Approx 30 minutes

Celebrations:

Dev Deepawali

Significance:

Place of Tripureshwar Shivalingam; Visited mostly by south Indian pilgrims.

Varanasi is one of Saptapuris (Seven Holy Cities - सप्तपुरी) of the Hindu civilization. The city, also known as Banaras, holds a very special place for being a host city of various temples, the sacred river Ganga and the sacred ‘ghats’. Varanasi is popularly called Kashi, the ‘city of light’. Since ‘light’ is synonymous with knowledge, hence, Varanasi is termed as the ‘city of learning’. Varanasi, the oldest living city on earth, is also referred as the ‘cultural capital of India’, the ‘holy city of India’ and the ‘city of temples’. The ghats of Varanasi are platforms for various religious rituals, cultural practices and day-to-day activities. Tripur Bhairavi Ghat is a religiously significant site and holds a reverence in the hearts of the devotees. The southern part of Tripur Bhairavi Ghat is known as Varahi Ghat for being home to Adi Varahi Temple. Adi Varahi is one of the Nine Mother Goddesses.

Tripur Bhairavi Ghat draws its name from the shrine of Goddess Tripur Bhairavi. This temple also houses Tripureshwar Shiv Lingam. Tripur Bhairavi is the female partner of Tripureshwar. As per the religious Hindu scripture, Tripura Bhairavi is the fifth greatest power of the gods of Hindu Pantheon. The Tripur Bhairavi Ghat finds mention in famous seventeenth century treatise Giravana Padamanjari (गिर्वाणपादमंजरी) as Vriddhaditya Ghat. The name Vriddhaditya was derived from an old disc of Sun god found here. After construction of a temple dedicated to Tripur Bhairavi Devi in eighteenth century, the ghat was rechristened as Tripur Bhairavi Ghat. The ghat has been built, modified and constructed several times over the centuries. The Tripur Bhairavi Ghat was first made ‘pucca’ by Dayanand Giri in twentieth century. He also built a monastery (‘matth’ - मठ) at the top of the ghat. In 1958, Uttar Pradesh Government carried out the repairing and restructuring work this ghat. One can also notice fragments of ancient idols of Surya (Sun God), Lord Ganesh, Lord Vishnu and Shivalingams under the ‘Pipal’ tree, located in the upper part of the ghat.

As per the legend, long back in the history, all the goddesses had to fight against ferocious demon Durgasur. While fighting against him, goddesses became furious and released numerous varieties of ‘shakti’ (शक्ति - power). The ‘shakti’ was released in the form of fire balls targeting Duragsur. The battle was won by the goddesses. Tripura Bhairavi is one of the forms of the ‘shakti’ released from the body of Goddess Durga. The devotees worship this deity to attain mental strength and success. Approximately ninety forms of ‘shakti’ were released by the Goddess Durga at that time. These forms of ‘shakti’ are worshipped by the Hindus as deities. Unfortunately, owing to continuous barbaric plunder and destruction by the Muslim invaders, the temples of most of the deities, the forms of ‘shakti’ have gone extinct and only a few of them are left.

The Tripur Bhairavi Ghat, adjacent to the Mir Ghat, is located near to the Dashashwamedh Ghat. Kashi Vishwanath Temple is at walking distance from here. The pilgrims from south India, especially Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, visit the Tripur Bhairavi Ghat in large numbers. There is a house / ‘dharmashala’ (धर्मशाला - hospice) at the top of the Trpur Bhairavi Ghat. This house, called as the Ram Bhavan, is meant for short stay of the south Indian pilgrims. The stay in this mansion is free for the devotees.