Trilochan ghat

There's a spot on the Ganga where three rivers meet invisibly — not just two, but three — and the water between the two towers that emerge from the river here is believed to hold healing powers. That's Trilochan Ghat, one of the oldest ghats in Varanasi, mentioned in 11th-century Gahadavala inscriptions and the Kashi Khand of the Skanda Purana. The name comes from Trilochaneshvara — the three-eyed Shiva — whose ancient temple once stood here. But like so much of Varanasi, Aurangzeb's armies demolished the temple in 1669. For decades, the ghat lay deserted, a wound in the city's spiritual geography. Then in 1740, Narayana Dikshit, a powerful priest of the Peshwas, built some stairs. And in 1795, Nathu Bala Peshwa reconstructed the temple and built stairs across the entire ghat. The government added more stairs in 1988, but the ghat never regained its ancient prominence. Today, Trilochan Ghat is quiet, almost forgotten — a place where only a few pilgrims and locals take their morning dip. But that very obscurity is its gift. You can sit on the steps, watch the river flow, and feel the invisible confluence of Ganga, Narmada, and Pilpippala that local priests still speak of. The Arunaditya (Sun) Temple and Kotishvara Temple nearby add to the ancient atmosphere. And the Varanasi Devi — an old image at Trilochaneshwar — watches over the ghat like a guardian who remembers everything.