Page 19 - varanasi

Harish Chandra Ghat is one of the oldest Ghats of Varanasi. Harish
Chandra Ghat is named after a mythological King Harish Chandra,
who once worked at the cremation ground here for the persever-
ance of truth and charity. It is believed that the Gods rewarded him
for his resolve, charity and truthfulness and restored his lost throne
and his dead son to him. Harish Chandra Ghat is one of the two
cremation Ghats (the other being Manikarnika Ghat) . Hindus from
distant places bring the dead bodies of their near and dear ones
to the Harish Chandra Ghat for cremation. In Hindu mythology it is
believed that if a person is cremated at the Harish Chandra Ghat,
that person gets salvation or “moksha”. The Harish Chandra Ghat
was somewhat modernized in late 1980’s, when an electric crema-
torium was opened here.

Darbhanga Ghat is one of the most visually appealing, and archi-
tecturally impressive, ghats. It features an imposing palace built in
the early 1900s by the royal family of Bihar. Adjoining it is Munshi
Ghat, constructed in 1912 by Sridhara Narayana Munshi, finance
minister of the State of Darbhanga.