This is the view of the north side of the city from Bhonsale Ghat.
A mala in the Ganga. Flower garlands are given to most of the gods in their temples; the river Herself is the temple to Ganga, and the garland adorns her “body.” Also, some people might throw their leftover mala from other deities into Ganga, as the remover of impurity.
Possibly a Vaisnavite sadhu (a holy man dedicated to a spiritual order devoted to Vishnu) contemplating Ganga.
Devotees in the early morning, bathing and performing their observances to the Sun and Ganga.
Kedar Ghat. A woman climbs the steep stairs of the ghat to Kedarnath Mandir, the ghatside Shiva temple.
A woman makes an offering to Shiva. All devoted beings are permitted to make offerings to Shiva directly, without necessity of a priestly intermediary.
For most festivals and holy days, the exact ritual details performed will vary from family to family. Here, resinous incense and coconut are offered to God within a chalk-inscribed Yantra, a mystical diagram with ritual significance.
The lamps are lit at night during the two-week period of PitraPaksha (the fortnight of the ancestors), when the spirits of the deceased occasionally wander about.
Family offerings and personal devotion stand shoulder to shoulder on the ghats.
Priests at the Dasaswamedh aarathi hold their diyas aloft.
Near Tripura Bhairavi Ghat. Their ritual complete, devotees appreciate the divinity made manifest.
Panchaganga Ghat.
Harischandra Ghat cremation. While dying in Varanasi guarantees liberation from rebirth, most Hindus believe that cremation here offers likewise.
Manikarnika Ghat.
Ganga, sunrise.
A sweeper girl at the side of a kund, or pond.
Tripura Bhairavi Ghat. Most devotees require themselves to be purified by Ganga snan before beginning to prepare the sunrise ritual.
Morning prayers to the Sun. Ganga water is a fit offering; it is gathered in a copper pot and given to the Sun every morning.
