Beyond Assi Ghat, Varanasi
Assi Ghat is the southern most ghat in Varanasi where the Rivers Assi and Ganges join in confluence. It is a quiet ghat, popular with students from the close by Benares Hindu University, Hindu worshippers who bath before paying homage to Lord Shiva in the form of huge lingam situated under a peepal tree, and tourists who desire a quieter experience than that in central Varanasi.
Its origin is again bound up in Hindu folklore. The first legend states that after slaying Shumbh-Nishumbh, goddess Durga threw her sword away, and where it landed resulted in the emergence of a big stream ( the river Assi). Secondly, legends say that Lord Rudra was furious with Asuras. This fury has led him to slay eighty Asuras in a day. Eighty in Hindi would translate to Assi. So the place where these Assi (eighty) Asuras were slain, has been named as Assi Ghat.