The cluster of temples at the Rajghat sangam - British Library, Add.Or.4718

The cluster of temples at the Rajghat sangam
Temples at Rajghat, Benares
Watercolour of Rajghat in Varanasi (Benares) on the Ganges river from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Patna to Benares Vol. II' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram between 1814-15. Marquess of Hastings, the Governor-General of Bengal and the Commander-in-Chief (r. 1813-23), was accompanied by artist Sita Ram (flourished c.1810-22) to illustrate his journey from Calcutta to Delhi between 1814-15.

Rajghat is located on the eastern end of the Ganges river near the Dufferin Bridge crossing. Beyond the ghat there is a plateau which is believed to be the original location of the city centre. Hindus regard the Ganges as amrita, the elixir of life, which brings purity to the living and salvation to the dead. View of a cluster of idealised temples at the Rajghat 'sangam' with the minarets of Aurangzeb's mosque in Benares visible in the far distance. Inscribed below: 'View of the same to the West.'