Mira Ghat located in Varanasi is a famous pilgrimage centre. The Ghat was named after a noble person named Mira Rustam Ali. In 1735 he had built the steps and platform. Devotes from different places come here to bathe in the holy waters of this Ghat. Mira Ghat was the original site of Jarasandheshvara and Vrdhaditya temples. The pilgrims visiting this Ghat offer flowers and raw rice into Ganges in memory of these temples.
Many temples and shrines have been built in the vicinity of the temple. One of them is adjoining to the ghat is the Vishalakshi Mandir. It is one of the 52 Shakti Peethas in India. Another significant pilgrim site located in the vicinity is the Dharma Kupa. It consists of a sacred well surrounded by five temples and also Divodasesvara lingam. Among these five temples the most important is the Dharmesha Temple that is dedicated to Lord Yama. The temple is associated with the myth that Yama, the Lord of Death has the power over the fate of the dead in all places of the earth, except in Varanasi. The New Vishwanatha Temple, built in 1956, is located at the top of the ghat. It is said that this new temple was built it was thought to have become impure due to entrance of low castes. Swami Karapatriji, a very conservative Brahmin and a cult chief had got this New Vishwanatha Temple erected. There is a peepul tree on the steps of the temple. Here the water pouring ritual is performed in honour of ancestors.
It is strongly believed that by bathing in the holy waters of the Mira Ghat one can get rid of all the sins and be free from the cycle of birth and death.
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