Our tour representative will meet you at “Kashi Vishwanath temple help desk counter” we will head to the starting point of our Panchkoshi yatra which is at Mani Kund situated at “Manikarnika Ghat” where the pilgrims make a statement of intention called “Sankalpa” (Explicit profession of intent to worship that accompanies every important ritual act) later we will return back to performing Puja ceremony at “Kashi Vishwanath temple”

Process of Sankalpa (or taking a Vow) making is done by “Pandas” (Pilgrim priests) which is done by cupping the right hand over the left and holding some grains of rice, betel nuts, some Ganges water/Gangajal & a few coins pilgrims listen to the words as they are recited: I, of this family and this village am here in Kashi in this year in this month on this day in this place, making the pilgrimage to Panchkosh which is associated with “5 Tirthas”.

We will have a boat/E rickshaw ride to reach Assi ghat from where we will start our Pilgrimage journey or the Panchkosh yatra.

Our tour escort will take you to the first Hault/Padav of this yatra which is at “Karmadeshwar Mahadev temple” located in Khandawa which is a typical hindu village, The temple dates back to 10th -11th CE, the legend of Kardameshwar Temple says Shivalingas at the temple were established by Kardam Rishi. The tank next to the temple is known as Bindu Sarovar as it is supposed to have been formed by the tear of Shiva himself, The structures around the temple, there was Rudrashtakam and Shiva Tandav Stotram written in black on a white marble plaque. The place is popularly referred to as Kandwa. It is not too far from Banaras Hindu University.

Now we will be heading for the second stop of our journey which is at Bhimchandi located at a distance of 15.9 Kms from Kandhava. The Shiva temple at Bhimchandi Padav is known as Chandikeshwar Mahadev temple. The temple is quite similar to Kardameshwar temple. Chandikeshwar Mahadev temple is also a narrow tall temple with stone carved Shikhara. The temple is as small as it can get but it stands next to a huge tank. The tank here is called Gandharva Sagar Kund or simple Gandheshwara. Shivalinga at Chandikeshwar temple has also the small idols of 5 Pandavas. The Padav though gets its name from the nearby Devi temple called Bhim Chandi. The complex has many big and small temples. The temple is numbered 60 on the Panch Kroshi Yatra path.

Third Padav/Hault of our Panchkosh yatra will be at Rameshwar temple situated at a distance 23 kms from Bhimchandi, The Rameshwar temple is located on the banks of river Varna – one of the two rivers that give the city of Varanasi its name, other being Assi. The temple is so called because the Shivalings here was established by Lord Rama himself when he came for the Panch Kroshi Yatra. Next to the Rameshwara temple, there are temples called Lakshameshwar, Bharateshwar, and Shatrughaneshwar. One rarely sees the temples associated with younger brothers of Ramayana. Tulja Bhavani Temple at Rameshwar –This temple is also of prime significance located nearby Rameshwar temple Tulja Bhavani is a form of Devi that is worshiped in western India. The idols of Tulja Bhavani are huge and lovely. If you focus on them you will be in awe of them, Legends tell Rameshwar temple could never be approached by the army of Aurangzeb because Tulja Bhavani protects this temple. According to the priest, whenever the army tried to head towards the temple – scorpions, snakes & honeybees would attack them and stop them, she is the Kula Devi of Shivaji Maharaj and her temple can be seen in many places associated with him.

After completing our rituals at Rameshwar temple, we will head towards our 4th Hault at Panchon Pandava in Shivpur we will be covering a distance of 15.9kms to reach there, the temple at Shivpur is the simplest. There are 5 Shivalingas in 5 sizes in descending order ascribed to each of the Pandavas. The ancient well near the temple is called Draupadi Kund. This temple pretty much comes within the city limits, and you would see the city go around it.

Kapildhara will be our final hault its located at a distance of 10.6 kms from Shivpur, This temple is located towards the northern edge of Varanasi. A lovely temple overlooks the large tank. We took the stairs to reach the temple, said our prayers before talking to the priest. He took us to a smaller temple next to the main temple where there is an idol of Kapil Muni. It is believed that this Shivalinga was established by Kapil Muni. Jaun Ganesh Temple: The final stop before we take a boat back on Ganga is Jaun Ganesh temple. A small Ganesh temple with a lovely Ganesh Image overlooks the Ganga, almost at the confluence of Varna & Ganga. This temple is located very close to Adi Keshav Ghat, that is one of the northernmost ghats of Varanasi. People take Jaun or Oat saplings from this temple and plant them in Ganga. It is said that planting in oat saplings in Ganga is akin to accomplishing a big task.

We will reach Manikarnika ghat by boat from where we started the journey here the Panda “Pilgrims Priest” will perform the rituals on your behalf and will leave the Sankalp which we took earlier before starting the journey, thus ending our “Panchkosh Parikrama”.