Tulsi Ghat is one of the

ghats in Varanasi Ghats in Varanasi are riverfront steps leading to the banks of the Ganges river. The city has 84 ghats. Most of the ghats are bathing and puja ceremonial ghats, while two ghats, Manikarnika and Harishchandra, are used exclusively as crema ...

. It is named after poet

Tulsidas Rambola Dubey (; 11 August 1511 – 30 July 1623pp. 23–34.), popularly known as Goswami Tulsidas (), was a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava (Ramanandi Sampradaya, Ramanandi) Hinduism, Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. H ...

who lived there while he wrote the

Ramcharitmanas ''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, रामचरितमानस, rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1511–1623). It has many inspirations, the primary being t ...

and

Hanuman Chalisa The ''Hanuman Chalisa'' (Hindi: हनुमान चालीसा) (Sanskrit: हनुमान् चालीसा) (; '' Forty chaupais on Hanuman'') is a Hindu devotional hymn ('' stotra'') in praise of Hanuman, and popularly recited ...

. Earlier, Tulsi Ghat was known as Lolark Ghat. It was in the year 1941 that Tulsi Ghat was made pucca (cemented) by industrialist, Baldeo Das Birla. Tulsi Ghat is accessible by boat and hiring a private boat tour on the banks of river Ganga in Varanasi costs approximately Rs. 1500 per boat trip for the entire family where one can stop and visit all important ghats and watch the sunrise.

Cultural activities at Tulsi Ghat

Krishna Standing on Kadamba tree at Nag Nathaiya festival

Tulsi Ghat is associated with a number of rituals such as Lolark Sasthi at Lolark kunda (performed for the birth and welfare of sons) and a sacred bath to rid oneself of leprosy and skin diseases. The festival of Lolark Sasthi falls on the 6th day of the bright half of Bhadrapad. During the Hindu lunar month of Kartika (Oct/Nov), the ''Krishna Lila'', a play about the lila of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

( Nag Nathaiya), is staged here.

Burglary

In December 2011 the copy of the Ramcharitmanas written by Tulsidas was stolen from the

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

temple on Tulsi Ghat. The

Awadhi Awadhi may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Awadh or Oudh region in Uttar Pradesh, northern India ** Awadhi people, ethnic group of India *** Awadhi language Awadhi, also known as Audhi, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging ...

language manuscript had been in the temple since 1701 after having been discovered in 1623.

References

{{Varanasi Ghats of India Ghats in Varanasi