Satyam Shivam Sundaram
Oh when will that time come,
When in a beautiful full-moon night, Sitting on the banks of some river, And in a calm, yet high notes repeating
“Shiva! Shiva! Shiva!” All my feelings will come out through the eyes In the form of tears?
When, wearing only the Kaupina, Lying on the sands of the holy Ganges in Benares,(Varanasi) When shall I weep aloud, “O Lord of ghouls”, Saying this, and whole days shall pass like moments?(Swami Vivekananda -The Complete Works)
Dawn of human civilization:- The unique relationship between Shiva, Ganga and Varanasi.
In Hinduism, there has been an ancient concept of city God and village God. According to this concept, there is a belief in Hinduism that every city, village was built by a different deity for people to live. Perhaps our expression of economic, social freedom of the villages also developed from similar sentiments. For more information about this subject please visit :- https://nithinks.com/2020/12/03/hindu-philosophy-and-the-importance-of-peace-9-11-1893-9-112001/
Glimpses of world history: ———– “Some old inscriptions from south India tell us how the members of the panchayats were elected, their qualifications and disqualifications. If any member did not render accounts of public funds he was disqualified. Another very interesting rule seems to have been that near relative of members were disqualified from office. How excellent if this could be enforced now in all our councils and assemblies and municipalities.” (Jawaharlal Nehru)
This question will probably be one of the most difficult questions in human history, who first came into existence in Shiva, Varanasi and Ganga? It is impossible for a very ordinary person like me to answer this question, and I have no such attempt. My effort is just an attempt to shed light on the sacred relationship of Varanasi, Ganga and Shiva and its historicity. Mark Twain is probably the best on this subject.
As we mentioned the city deity – Shiva is honored with the city deity of Varanasi (Banaras, Kashi) is one of the oldest cities in the world. For more information about this subject please visit :- https://nithinks.com/2019/12/31/oldest-living-city-happy-new-year/ The Ganges river goes a long way until it reaches the sea from the Himalayas.(About fifteen hundred miles) Many ancient and religious cities of North India developed on the banks of river Ganges.(HARIDWAR,PRAYAGRAJ-Allahabad, KANPUR,VARANASI,MIRZAPUR,FARRUKHABAD,KANNAUJ,BHAGALPUR,PATNA,HAJIPUR,MUNGER,KOLKATA etc.) But the way the river Ganges behaves in Varanasi is not seen anywhere else. For more information about this subject please visit :-
Almost all the great historians are of the opinion that ancient Varanasi city was near Rajghat. Near Rajghat, the Varuna River meets with the Ganges River, due to this river, the city got its name Varanasi. And in ancient times this river got its name due to the Varan (a species of trees) The river Varanavati is mentioned in the Atharva Veda.( period:-1000-900BCE)
Standing on a bridge built on the river Ganges near Rajghat, the crescent structure of Varanasi city is clearly visible. Always has a tradition of showing the Ganges River and the crescent moon on the forehead of Shiva. Beyond the imagination, amazing thousands of years old Shiva’s image, the unique SANGAM (GANGES MEETS VARANASI) of Ganges and Varanasi can be seen even today. Our ancestors, who had imagined such beautiful, accurate images of Shiva’s human form thousands of years ago, would undoubtedly have good knowledge of geography, mathematics and literature. It is a miracle that the seals of many Shiva temples have been found in the excavation of Rajghat, which has confirmed the Shiva-temples mentioned in the Puranas.(DATE:c 250 CE )
I love the area where the holy river Ganges flows in Varanasi. (SHIV Matsya Purana)
Many historians, archaeologists have estimated from the material obtained from the excavation of Rajghat that the ancient Varanasi city existed in 11th or 12 century BC.
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same—-Walt Whitman
Markandeya Mahadev: – On the border of Varanasi-Ghazipur, another holy river, Gomti, meets with the Ganges. The place of this confluence is located in a village called Kathy. The importance of this place, and the antiquity can be inferred from the fact that the description of this temple is also mentioned in Mahabharata. —-
‘मार्कण्डेयस्य राजेन्द्रतीर्थमासाद्य दुर्लभम् ।
गोमतीगङ्गयोश्चैव सङ्गमे लोकविश्रुते॥
(MAHABHARAT -PAGE 241)
The temple building has been changing over time, some historians believe that the Sangam place was also at some distance in ancient times. I personally feel very attached to this temple, because my mother’s village is near this temple, she used to come here since childhood, her habit continued in the later days as well. It seems to me that my mother used to feel connected to her ancestors in this temple more than religious significance.
My father was a civil engineer, (He was a graduate of India’s most prestigious civil engineering college and Asia’s oldest civil engineering college, Roorkee.)He also had reverence for the temple. Father’s scientific thinking about rivers, soils, and excellent knowledge of history used to make the journey to any historical, religion place interesting.
MARKANDEY MAHADEV (KAITHI -VARANASI) 
MAHADEV (Lord Shiva) protecting Markandeya from Yama (Raja Ravi Varma)
Visiting this temple in Shiva-Ratri is of great importance. Many stories related to Hinduism, are prevalent about this temple. Many stories related to here are also mentioned in Hindu, Buddhism, Jainism religious texts. There is a deep reverence for the temple in the surrounding area.
This freedom came from the feeling that all human lives were interrelated, a certainty that they flowed into each other—a happy feeling that all events took place not only on the earth, in which the dead are buried, but also in some other region which some called the Kingdom of God, others history, and still others by some other name.(Boris Pasternak)
Veereshwar Mahadev: – The mention of this temple of Varanasi is also found in the Kashi Khanda. This temple was of great importance in ancient times. This temple is situated on the banks of the Ganges near Scindia Ghat. The event of the birth of Swami Vivekananda, the world-renowned philosopher of modern times, is also associated with this temple. For more information about this subject please visit :- https://nithinks.com/2020/07/05/the-unknown-life-of-swami-vivekananda/
Birth of Vivekananda, Shiva temple and Varanasi.
Bhubaneswari was worshiping lord shiva in one of the houses in that locality. At the close of the her worship , she prayed to Shiva everyday while offering pranam, “o Shiva , give me a son on my lap.” she had a few daughters already . but how could she live without a son? so, she offered daily worship to Shiva for a son . she had even asked one of her old relatives at Benares (Varanasi)to offer daily worship to Vireswar Shiva there on her behalf . god heeds to whatever is asked of him with devotion in a simple heart . Bhubaneswari’s prayer was also granted. In the early morning of January 12,1863, she gave birth to a son .the child was named Vireswar after Vireswar Shiva as his mother believed that she was granted her son as a boon from the lord . but the name was too difficult to be used as a nickname.so everybody in the house used to call him as a Biley. he was named NarendraNath Dutta at the annaprasshana ceremony but still he remained the same Biley for all .(Vivekananda for children -publisher : Sri Ramkrishna Math Chennai)
Panch Ganga Ghat: – a is among the five major and oldest ghats of Varanasi. This place is described in the Matsya Purana as an area of influence of Vishnu .Its ancient name was Bindumadhav Ghat. This Ghat got its name from the ancient temple of Bindumadhav (Lord Vishnu). In the seventeenth century, this ancient temple was demolished by the Islamic ruler Aurangzeb, and a mosque was built from the rubble of that ancient temple. Since then the name of this place became Panch Ganga in place of Bindumadhav. For more information about this subject please visit :—
Indus Valley Civilization :- (2350-2000 BCE)
The remains of the Indus Valley Civilization, Shiva are also there. Shiva also has a name Pashupati. Pashupati means God of animals. Under the Indus Valley Civilization, a stone seal was found at a place called Mohenjodaro, in which Shiva is in a yoga pose (AADI YOGI) and is surrounded by a variety of animals. Shiva’s crown is like a trident, this seal is kept in the museum of Delhi.
One thing is clear that according to our convenience, we call Shiva by religion, civilization culture, deity and nature by any name Shiva is prevalent among all. Man himself is a creation of prehistoric times. The imagination of man’s prehistoric period, the sequence of development, Shiva is included in himself.
According to Hindu religion philosophy, God is omnipresent. Shiva is the history of human development journey from the beginning of nature till date. Shiva is the symbol of power – the combined power. Shiva is the symbol of any endeavor for the welfare of human life.
Shiva is the symbol of the communication of spiritual power. Shiva is the basis of nature and human relations, , and these cooperation.