Ghat (India)
Ghat ( Sanskrit घाट ghāṭa , Hindi , m., घाट ghāṭ ) is the name given in India to an embankment or gradation leading down to a body of water (river, lake, temple pond , stepwell ). It is often lined with Hindu temples and other buildings.
function
In addition to multiple mundane uses as boat docks, bathing or washing places, etc., ghats are originally important places for the ritual ablutions of the Hindus ; the stairs keep free-roaming animals (especially cows) and their excrement away from the water. Ghats are part of the cityscape of many Indian cities that are located on a river or lake - famous examples are the Pushkar Lake in Rajasthan and above all the holy cities of Varanasi , Prayagraj , Mathura and Vrindavan with their ghats on the Ganges and Yamuna .
The cremation ghats of Varanasi and Kathmandu are a specialty . After the cremation, which lasts about one to one and a half hours, the ashes of the dead are immediately given to the respective river. The cremation sites and memorials of the Gandhi family are in the vicinity of the Raj Ghat on the Yamuna River in Delhi.
Especially at the Diwali festival, but also on other occasions, small floating lights are passed from the ghats to the respective waters in the evening or early morning hours.
Mountains in India
In German, the term Ghat is mainly used to designate the steeply sloping mountain ranges of the ' Western Ghats ' and ' Eastern Ghats ' on the Indian subcontinent .
literature
- Bruce M. Sullivan: The A to Z of Hinduism , Scarecrow Press 2001, ISBN 978-0-8108-4070-6 .
