Varanasi

Varanasi, also known as Benares, Banaras, or Kashi, sits on the left bank of the Ganges River in northern India, within the southeastern part of Uttar Pradesh. It lies in the middle-Ganges valley, 692 kilometers southeast of New Delhi and 320 kilometers southeast of Lucknow. About 121 kilometers downstream is Prayagraj, where the Ganges meets the Yamuna—another key Hindu pilgrimage spot. The city is central to Hindu traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning, and its religious tourism is supported by a syncretic tradition of Islamic craftsmanship.

One of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, Varanasi was originally called Kashi, a name linked to a kingdom of the same name in the first millennium BCE. Nearby Sarnath features the Lion capital of Ashoka, thought to mark where the Buddha gave his first sermon in the fifth century BCE. In the 8th century, Adi Shankara established Shiva worship as an official sect here. The mid-second millennium saw the birth of Bhakti movement figures Kabir, Ravidas, and Tulsidas.

Kabir influenced Hinduism, Sikhism, and Sufism, while Tulsidas wrote the Ramcharitmanas, a popular Awadhi-language version of the Sanskrit Ramayana. In the 16th century, Rajput nobles serving Mughal emperor Akbar sponsored Hindu temple construction. The Benares Estate, a zamindari estate, was established nearby in 1740 within the semi-autonomous Mughal province of Awadh. In 1775, the East India Company gained control of Benares city through the Treaty of Faizabad.

It later became part of the Benares Division of British India’s Ceded and Conquered Provinces in 1805, the North-Western Provinces in 1836, the United Provinces in 1902, and finally Uttar Pradesh in 1950.

Local livelihoods rely heavily on silk weaving, carpet making, crafts, and tourism, along with the Banaras Locomotive Works and Bharat Heavy Electricals. The city is famous for its many ghats—steps descending the steep riverbank—where pilgrims perform rituals. Notable ghats include Dashashwamedh, Panchganga, Manikarnika, and Harishchandra, the last two used for Hindu cremations. Hindu genealogy registers are kept here. Key temples include the Kashi Vishwanath Temple (dedicated to Shiva), the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, and the Durga Temple.

Varanasi has long been a center for education and music. In 1791, Jonathan Duncan, a resident of the East India Company, founded the Benares Sanskrit College, India’s oldest Sanskrit college. Modern education was shaped by late-19th-century Indian nationalism. Annie Besant established the Central Hindu College in 1898, and in 1916, she and Madan Mohan Malviya founded Banaras Hindu University, India’s first modern residential university. Kashi Vidyapith was set up in 1921 as a response to Mahatma Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement. The Benares gharana style of tabla playing developed here. In the 20th century, the Hindi-Urdu writer Premchand and shehnai player Bismillah Khan were associated with the city.

The name “Varanasi” is traditionally linked to two Ganges tributaries: the Varuna, still flowing in the north, and the Assi, a small stream in the south near Assi Ghat. The old city lies on the Ganges’ north shore, bounded by these two rivers. In the Mahabharata and ancient India, the city was called Kāśī, from the Sanskrit root kaś- meaning “to shine,” earning it the title “City of Light” and a reputation as a luminous seat of learning. Pilgrims used this name since Buddha’s time, and it remains popular. Hindu texts use many Sanskrit epithets for Varanasi, such as Kāśikā, Avimukta, Ānaṃdakānana, Rudravāsa, and Mahāśmaśāna.

According to Hindu mythology, Shiva founded Varanasi. During a conflict with Brahma, Shiva tore off one of Brahma’s five heads. Following custom, the victor carried the slain adversary’s head, letting it hang in disgrace, with a bridle in its mouth. Shiva kept Brahma’s head with him until he reached Varanasi, where it fell from his hand and vanished into the ground, making the site extremely holy.

The Pandavas, heroes of the Mahabharata, are said to have visited the city seeking Shiva to atone for fratricide and brahmahatya committed during the Kurukshetra War. Varanasi is one of seven holy cities (Sapta Puri) believed to grant moksha: Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Kashi, Kanchipuram, Avanti, and Dvārakā. Princesses Ambika and Ambalika of Kashi married Hastinapur ruler Vichitravirya, later giving birth to Pandu and Dhritarashtra. Bhima, Pandu’s son, married Kashi princess Valandhara, and their son Sarvaga ruled Kashi.

Dhritarashtra’s son Duryodhana also married a Kashi princess, Bhanumati, who bore him Lakshmana Kumara and Lakṣmaṇā. A Buddhist text, the Cakkavatti Sīhanāda Sutta, suggests Varanasi will one day become the fabled kingdom of Ketumati in the time of Maitreya.