Lahartara Pond is a historical pond associated with the appearance of Saint

Kabir Kabir ( 15th century) was a well-known Indian devotional mystic poet and sant. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Gar ...

Saaheb. According to a legend, Saint Kabir Saaheb was found floating on a lotus flower in the pond. It is located in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In the past, it was a large freshwater

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

that spanned . In the present day, it no longer has its historical grandeur because about of the pond is under the directorate of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, Uttar Pradesh, while another are under Satguru Kabir Prakat Dham.

History and legends

The history of the Lahartara Pond is connected with the famous poet and mystic Saint Kabir. It is situated in the

Varanasi District Varanasi district is a district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, with the holy city of Varanasi as the district headquarters. It is also the headquarters of the Varanasi division which contains 4 districts (including Varanasi). It is s ...

, in Uttar Pradesh, and is a short distance away from Kabir Math. At first, the pond occupied , but nowadays it's been fractionated and placed under the jurisdiction of different institutions. Legend says that infant Kabir was found floating on a

lotus flower ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as the pink lotus, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant taxon, extant species of aquatic plant in the Family (biology), family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a ...

Religious and cultural significance

The pond has a great significance among the Kabir Panthis for its connection with the appearance of Kabir Sahib Ji. Kabir Sahib Ji was found lying on a lotus flower in this pond in an infant Form, from where Neeru-Neema, the foster parents of Kabir, took Kabir home.

Pollution and environmental concerns

The fabled pond of Lahartara is situated near the GT Road on the

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

route. Once a sight for sore eyes, today it lies in a more destitute state. About from the Varanasi Cantonment railway station, spread over , is nothing but a dumping ground for filth and a swamp of wastewater. The government continues to turn a blind eye towards the heritage site. Once a big pond of fresh water, it has sadly lost all its grandeur. Only about of the pond is protected by the directorate of archaeology, Uttar Pradesh, and about 8 acres is under the possession of Sadguru Kabir Prakatya Dham. The remaining part has been surrounded by rampant encroachment on all sides. Sadguru Kabir Prakatya Dham continues to better manage its portion of the pond. They have come up with a plan to construct a grand memorial and a fixed pond within the pond. Chief of Panth Hazoor Ardhnan Saheb, while sharing remarks about the deteriorating condition of the

Heritage Site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

, spoke about the continuing progress being made at the memorial of Saint Kabir and said that the historically significant pond should immediately be restored and a plan should be put into place that ensures that such sites don't get neglected in the future. In August 2003, the High

Court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

ordered that improvements should be made to the pond, but as of 2020 it was still in bad condition.

References

{{coord missing, Uttar Pradesh Tourist attractions in Varanasi Lakes of Uttar Pradesh