Manikarnika Ghat

What the texts say

1. Lineage text

   Sadhguru calls Kashi the Mahasmashana, the great cremation ground, and places Manikarnika at its centre. He says the setting was made so that death could become a way of going beyond the body, both for those who died there and for those cremated there.

   “The core of Kashi is Manikarnika”

   Shiva: Ultimate Outlaw, Sadhguru, "Kashi – Eternal City"

2. Lineage text

   In the section on dying in Kashi, Sadhguru explains that cremation grounds are usually kept away from where people live, but Kashi was built around one. He passes on the tradition that the cremation fire there has never gone out, and that one family has kept it for generations.

   Death: An Inside Story, Sadhguru, chapter 6

3. Lineage text

   Sadhguru notes that yogis traditionally began their practice in cremation grounds, and mentions Manikarnika Ghat as a place where several bodies are burning at any hour.

   Death: An Inside Story, Sadhguru, chapter 1

4. Lineage text

   Sadhguru retells a story of how the ghat got its name: Parvati's earring fell here, Vishnu dug for it with his discus until the pit filled with his sweat, and Shiva gave him this one spot in a city that was otherwise Shiva's own. He introduces it as one of the stories told about the place.

   Kashi – A Tower of Light and Shiva’s Luminous City, Sadhguru (website), "Manikarnika Ghat Story"

5. Lineage text

   Asked whether cremation at Manikarnika brings enlightenment, Sadhguru separates the saying from what it points to. In his reading, being cremated here meant spending the last part of one's life in Kashi, turned towards inner wellbeing, with capable people nearby to help one leave gracefully.

   Kashi – A Tower of Light and Shiva’s Luminous City, Sadhguru (website), "Manikarnika Ghat Cremation"

6. Lineage text

   After darshan at the Kashi Vishwanath temple, the young Sri M walks down to Manikarnika, sits on the steps facing the Ganga as the cremations go on, and thinks of his teacher. At sunset Babaji appears a few steps away and takes him to meet an Aghori living at the burning ghat.

   Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A Yogi's Autobiography, Sri M, chapter 39

What tradition holds

Kept apart from the texts on purpose. These are held with respect, and they are not the same as a written source.

• Pilgrim tradition

  That dying in Kashi, or being cremated there, brings liberation. Sadhguru reports this as the traditional belief (Death: An Inside Story, chapter 6), and on his website reads it as an orientation for the last part of life rather than a guarantee.

  Held by: Pilgrims and families who bring their dead to Kashi

• Pilgrim tradition

  That the cremation fire at the ghat has been kept burning without a break. Sadhguru passes this on with "they say". Record here what the keepers of the fire say on a visit.

  Held by: The families who tend the cremations. UP Tourism names the attendants as the Dom.

What you will find today

A practice for this place

Sit somewhere you are out of the way of families and workers, never between a pyre and the river. For ten minutes, watch one fire without looking away, and notice your breath as you watch. Then close your eyes and ask yourself, without hurry, what in you will not burn. Do not photograph cremations: this is someone's last rite.

Read more about this place

• Manikarnika Ghat: why the masters send seekers to the burning ground