Havell, Ernest B.: Benares, the sacred city: Sketches of Hindu life and religion (London, [1912])

CHAPTER V

IN THE CITY

The sacred character which Hindus ascribe to
Benares is not confined to the precincts of the city.
The influence of the patron deity extends to the whole
area, shaped roughly like the crescent moon placed
over Shiva's head, which is contained by the bank
of the Ganges between its little tributaries, Barna on
the north and Asi on the south, and by the Panch-
kosi road. The latter describes a rough semicircle
round the city, the centre being the Manikarnika well,
the first place of pilgrimage, and the radius a distance
of five kos, or about ten miles.

The sacrificial virtue of Shiva's city is no doubt
enhanced by the circumstance that the Ganges at this
point takes a great sweep round, so that its current
while it passes Benares is flowing in a northerly direc-
tion, or towards the Himalayas, where Shiva is said
to dwell. The aspect of the river-front of the city
facing the rising sun was another point which may
have guided the choice of the early Aryan or pre-
Aryan sun-worshippers. In ancient Hindu sculptures,
Surya, the sun-god, is generally associated with the
gods of the later Trimurti — Brahma, Vishnu, and
Shiva.

In the good old days the city was reached either

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