Photograph of Asi Ghat on the River Ganges, Varanasi from the Kitchener of Khartoum Collection: 'Views of Benares. Presented by the Maharaja of Benares' by Madhao Prasad in 1905. Asi Ghat is situated at the confluence of the Asi and Ganges Rivers at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. This is the southernmost ghat in the city where pilgrims bathe prior to worshipping at two huge lingams (a phallus worshipped as a symbol of the Lord Shiva). One of the lingams is under a peepal tree and another known as the asisangameshvara (the 'Lord of the Confluence of the Asi') is in a small marble temple just off the ghat. Varanasi, founded in the sixth century BC is one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus and is known as a tirtha, or 'crossing place' which allows the devotee access to the divine and where gods and goddesses can come down to earth.
