Varanasi (Hindustani pronunciation: [arasi] ( listen)), also known as, Benares,[4]

Banaras (Banras [bnars] ( listen)) or Kashi (K [kai] ( listen)), is an Indian

city on the banks of the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, 320 kilometres (200 mi) south-east of
the state capital, Lucknow. It is the holiest of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) in
Hinduism and Jainism, and played an important role in the development of Buddhism.
Some Hindus believe that death at Varanasi brings salvation.[5] It is one of the oldest
continuously inhabited cities in the world. Varanasi is also known as the favourite city of
the Hindu deity Lord Shiva as it has been mentioned in the Rigveda that this city in older
times was known as Kashi or "Shiv ki Nagri".[6][7][not in citation given]
The Kashi Naresh (Maharaja of Kashi) is the chief cultural patron of Varanasi, and an
essential part of all religious celebrations.[8] The culture of Varanasi is closely associated
with the Ganges. The city has been a cultural centre of North India for several thousand
years, and has a history that is older than most of the major world religions. The Benares
Gharana form of Hindustani classical music was developed in Varanasi, and many
prominent Indian philosophers, poets, writers, and musicians live or have lived in
Varanasi. Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath, located near Varanasi.[9]
Varanasi is the spiritual capital of India. It is often referred to as "the holy city of India",
"the religious capital of India", "the city of Shiva", and "the city of learning". Scholarly
books have been written in the city, including the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas. Today,
there is a temple of his namesake in the city, the Tulsi Manas Mandir. The current
temples and religious institutions in the city are dated to the 18th century.[10] One of the
largest residential universities of Asia, the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), is located
here.

Contents

1 Etymology
2 History
3 Geography and climate
o 3.1 Climate
4 Administration
o 4.1 Politics and law
o 4.2 Healthcare
o 4.3 Public maintenance
5 Demographics
6 Transport
7 Economy
8 Main sights
o 8.1 Jantar Mantar
o 8.2 Ramnagar Fort
o 8.3 Ghats
o 8.4 Temples
o 8.5 Mosques

8.6 Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan

9 Culture
10 Religion
o 10.1 Hinduism
o 10.2 Islam
o 10.3 Others
11 Religious festivals
12 Education
13 Music
14 Sport
15 Partner and Sister cities
16 See also
17 References
18 Bibliography
19 Further reading
20 External links
o

Etymology
The name Varanasi[11] possibly originates from the names of the two rivers from north and
south: Varuna, still flowing in Varanasi, and Asi, a small stream near Assi Ghat. The old
city does lie on the north shores of Ganges River bounded by its two tributaries Varuna
and Asi.[12] Another speculation is that the city derives its name from the river Varuna,
which was called Varanasi in olden times.[13] This is generally disregarded by historians.
Through the ages, Varanasi has been known by many names including K or Kashi
(used by pilgrims dating from Buddha's days), Kik (the shining one), Avimukta
("never forsaken" by Shiva), nandavana (the forest of bliss), and Rudravsa (the place
where Rudra/iva resides).[14]
In the Rigveda, the city is referred to as K or Kashi, the luminous city as an eminent
seat of learning.[15] The name K is also mentioned in the Skanda Purana. In one verse,
Shiva says, "The three worlds form one city of mine, and K is my royal palace
therein."[16] The name Kashi may be translated as "City of Light".[17]

History
The earliest known archaeological evidence suggests that settlement around Varanasi in
the Ganga valley (the seat of Vedic religion and philosophy) began in the 11th or 12th
century BC,[18] placing it among the world's oldest continually inhabited cities.[19][20] These
archaeological remains suggest that the Varanasi area was populated by Vedic people.
However, the Atharvaveda (the oldest known text referencing the city), which dates to
approximately the same period, suggests that the area was populated by indigenous tribes.
It is possible that archaeological evidence of these previous inhabitants has yet to be
discovered.[21] Recent excavations at Aktha and Ramnagar, two sites very near to
Varanasi, show them to be from 1800 BC, suggesting Varanasi started to be inhabited by

that time too.[22] Varanasi was also home to Parshva, the 23rd Jain Tirthankara and the
earliest Tirthankara accepted as a historical figure in the 8th century BC.[23][24]
Varanasi grew as an important industrial centre, famous for its muslin and silk fabrics,
perfumes, ivory works, and sculpture.[20] During the time of Gautama Buddha (born circa
567 BC), Varanasi was the capital of the Kingdom of Kashi.[20] Buddha is believed to
have founded Buddhism here around 528 BC when he gave his first sermon, "Turning the
Wheel of Law", at nearby Sarnath.[25][26] The celebrated Chinese traveller Xuanzang, who
visited the city around 635 AD, attested that the city was a centre of religious and artistic
activities, and that it extended for about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) along the western bank of
the Ganges.[20][27] When Xuanzang, also known as Hiuen Tsiang, visited Varanasi in the
7th century, he named it "Polonisse" and wrote that the city had some 30 temples with
about 30 monks.[28] The city's religious importance continued to grow in the 8th century,
when Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi.[29]

Sant Kabir.
In ancient times, Varanasi was connected by a road starting from Taxila and ending at
Pataliputra during the Mauryan Empire. In 1194, the city succumbed to Turkish Muslim
rule under Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who ordered the destruction of some one thousand temples
in the city.[30][31] The city went into decline over some three centuries of Muslim
occupation,[27] although new temples were erected in the 13th century after the Afghan
invasion.[29] Feroz Shah ordered further destruction of Hindu temples in the Varanasi area
in 1376. The Afghan ruler Sikander Lodi continued the suppression of Hinduism in the
city and destroyed most of the remaining older temples in 1496.[30] Despite the Muslim
rule, Varanasi remained the centre of activity for intellectuals and theologians during the
Middle Ages, which further contributed to its reputation as a cultural centre of religion
and education. Several major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi,
including Kabir who was born here in 1389 and hailed as "the most outstanding of the
saint-poets of Bhakti cult (devotion) and mysticism of 15th-Century India";[32] and
Ravidas, a 15th-century socio-religious reformer, mystic, poet, traveller, and spiritual
figure, who was born and lived in the city and employed in the tannery industry.[33]
Similarly, numerous eminent scholars and preachers visited the city from across India and

south Asia. Guru Nanak Dev visited Varanasi for Shivratri in 1507, a trip that played a
large role in the founding of Sikhism.[34]
A Brahmin placing a garland on the holiest spot in the sacred city. A lithograph by James
Prinsep, 1832.

Varanasi, 1883.

Bathing Ghat of Banaras, 1890

In the 16th century, Varanasi experienced a cultural revival under the Muslim Mughal
emperor Akbar who invested in the city, and built two large temples dedicated to Shiva
and Vishnu.[27][30] The Raja of Poona established the Annapurnamandir and the 200 metres
(660 ft) Akbari Bridge was also completed during this period.[35] The earliest tourists
began arriving in the city during the 16th century.[36] In 1665, the French traveller Jean
Baptiste Tavernier described the architectural beauty of the Vindu Madhava temple on the
side of the Ganges. The road infrastructure was also improved during this period and
extended from Kolkata to Peshawar by Emperor Sher Shah Suri; later during the British
Raj it came to be known as the famous Grand Trunk Road. In 1656, emperor Aurangzeb
ordered the destruction of many temples and the building of mosques, causing the city to
experience a temporary setback.[27] However, after Aurangazeb's death, most of India was
ruled by a confederacy of pro-Hindu kings. Much of modern Varanasi was built during
this time by the Bhumihar and Maratha kings, especially during the 18th century, and
most of the important buildings in the city today date to this period.[37] The kings
continued to be important through much of the British rule (17751947 AD), including
the Maharaja of Benares, or Kashi Naresh. The kingdom of Benares was given official
status by the Mughals in 1737, and continued as a dynasty-governed area until Indian
independence in 1947, during the reign of Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh. In the 18th century,
Muhammad Shah ordered the construction of an observatory on the Ganges, attached to
Man Mandir Ghat, designed to discover imperfections in the calendar in order to revise

existing astronomical tables. Tourism in the city began to flourish in the 18th century.[36]
In 1791, under the rule of the British Governor-General Warren Hastings, Jonathan
Duncan founded a Sanskrit College in Varanasi. In 1867, the establishment of the
Varanasi Municipal Board led to significant improvements in the city.

Benares riverfront, 1895

In 1897, Mark Twain, the renowned Indophile, said of Varanasi, "Benares is older than
history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them
put together."[38] In 1910, the British made Varanasi a new Indian state, with Ramanagar
as its headquarters but with no jurisdiction over the city of Varanasi itself. Kashi Naresh
still resides in the Ramnagar Fort which is situated to the east of Varanasi, across the
Ganges.[39] Ramnagar Fort and its museum are the repository of the history of the kings of
Varanasi. Since the 18th century, the fort has been the home of Kashi Naresh, deeply
revered by the local people. He is the religious head and some devout inhabitants
consider him to be the incarnation of Shiva. He is also the chief cultural patron and an
essential part of all religious celebrations.[8]
A massacre by British troops, of the Indian troops stationed here and of the population of
the city, took place during the early stages of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[40] Annie
Besant worked in Varanasi to promote theosophy and founded the Central Hindu College
which later became a foundation for the creation of Banaras Hindu University as a
secular university in 1916. Her purpose in founding the Central Hindu College in
Varanasi was that she "wanted to bring men of all religions together under the ideal of
brotherhood in order to promote Indian cultural values and to remove ill-will among
different sections of the Indian population."[41]
Varanasi was ceded to the Union of India on 15 October 1948. After the death of Dr.
Vibhuti Narayan Singh in 2000, his son Anant Narayan Singh became the figurehead
king, responsible for upholding the traditional duties of a Kashi Naresh.
According to legend, Varanasi was founded by the God Shiva.[42] The Pandavas, the
heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata are also stated to have visited the city in search of
Shiva to atone for their sins of fratricide and Brhmanahatya that they had committed
during the climactic Kurukshetra war.[43] It is regarded as one of seven holy cities which
can provide Moksha.

Ayodhy, Mathur, Gay, Ka, Kachi, Avantik, Dwrvat -- these seven cities should be known as
the givers of liberation.
Garua Pura XVI 114[44]

See also: v:The Varanasi Heritage Dossier/History and Development

Geography and climate

The Ganges at sunrise at Varanasi

The Ganges at dawn (2008)

Location in India
Varanasi is located in the middle Ganges valley of North India, in the Eastern part of the
state of Uttar Pradesh, along the left crescent-shaped bank of the Ganges, averaging
between 15 metres (50 ft) and 21 metres (70 ft) above the river.[45] It has the headquarters
of Varanasi district. By road, Varanasi is located 797 kilometres (495 mi) south-east of
New Delhi, 320 kilometres (200 mi) south-east of Lucknow, 121 kilometres (75 mi) east
of Allahabad, and 63 kilometres (39 mi) south of Jaunpur.[46] The "Varanasi Urban

Agglomeration" an agglomeration of seven urban sub-units covers an area of

112.26 km 2 (approximately 43 mi).[47] The urban agglomeration is stretched between 82
56E 83 03E and 25 14N 25 23.5N.[47] Neighbourhoods of the city include
Adampura, Kotwali, Jaitpura, Dhupchandi, Chaukaghat, Kail Garh, Guru Nanak Nagar,
Chaitganj, Naipokhari, Sigra, Maulvibagh, Siddhagiribagh, Bulanala, Chowk, Bangali
Tola, Luxa, Khanna, Gopal Vihar, Giri Nagar, Mahmoorganj, Maheshpur, Bhelpura,
Shivala, Anandbagh, Nagwar, Dumraon, Gandhinagar,Bachchhaon, and Gautam Nagar,
Lanka Manduadih.[46]
Being located in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of North India, the land is very fertile because
low level floods in the Ganges continually replenish the soil.[48] Varanasi is often said to
be located between two confluences: one of the Ganges and Varuna, and other of the
Ganges and Assi, although the latter has always been a rivulet rather than a river. The
distance between the two confluences is around 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), and religious
Hindus regard a round trip between these two places a Pancha-kroshi Yatra (a 8kilometre (5 mi) journey) ending with a visit to a Sakshi Vinayak Temple as a holy
ritual.

Climate
Varanasi experiences a humid subtropical climate (Kppen climate classification: Cwa)
with large variations between summer and winter temperatures.[49][50] The dry summer
starts in April and lasts until June, followed by the monsoon season from July to October.
The temperature ranges between 22 and 46 C (72 and 115 F) in the summers. Winters
in Varanasi see very large diurnal variations, with warm days and downright cold nights.
Cold waves from the Himalayan region cause temperatures to dip across the city in the
winter from December to February and temperatures below 5 C (41 F) are not
uncommon. The average annual rainfall is 1,110 mm (44 in). Fog is common in the
winters, while hot dry winds, called loo, blow in the summers.[51] In recent years, the
water level of the Ganges has decreased significantly; upstream dams, unregulated water
extraction, and dwindling glacial sources due to global warming may be to blame.[52][53]
[hide]Climate data for Varanasi
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep

Month
Average
19
24
high C (F) (67) (76)
Average low 8
12
C (F)
(47) (54)
Precipitatio
13.5
19.3
n mm
(0.531
(0.76)
(inches)
)

Oct

Nov Dec Year

31
(87)

37
(98)

38
36
(100) (97)

32
(90)

31
(88)

31
(88)

31
(87)

27
(81)

22
29.9
(71) (85.8)

17
(62)

22
(72)

25
(77)

26
(78)

26
(78)

24
(76)

21
(70)

15
(59)

11
(51)

27
(80)

19.5
(67)

10.4
5.4
9.0
320.6 260.4
38.3 12.9
100
231.6
4 1,025.4
(0.409 (0.213 (0.354
(12.622 (10.252
(1.508 (0.508
(3.94)
(9.118)
(0.16) (40.37)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Source: [54][55]

Administration

Politics and law

Varanasi is governed by a number of bodies, the most important being the Varanasi Nagar
Nigam (Municipal Corporation) and the Varanasi Development Authority, which is
responsible for the master planning of the city. Varanasi is represented in the Parliament
of India by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

Healthcare
Sushruta, the great surgeon and author of the Sushruta Samhita, the Sanskrit text of
surgery lived in Varanasi. The city grew as a place for Authentic Ayurveda and
Panchkarma treatment. Many Ayurvedic centres are here.[56] It has several hospitals,
Varanasi Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Heritage Hospital, Varanasi, Shiv Prasad
Gupta Hospital, Sir Sundar Lal Hospital, Rajkiya Hospital, Mata Anand Mai Hospital,
Ram Krishna Mission Hospital, Marwari Hospital, and a Cancer Institute.[57] The largest
is Varanasi Hospital, established in 1964 by Dr. Baijnath Prasad.[58] The hospital, which in
2012 had 66 beds, serves Varanasi and surrounding districts and states, many of which
rely on it for surgery.[58] Although the hospital suffers from a lack of funding, it has
facilities such as X-ray, Ultrasonography, Echocardiography and a Pathology Lab.[58]
The urban portion of Varanasi District had an infant mortality rate of 70 per 1,000 live
births in 20102011.[59]

Public maintenance
Due to the high population density and increasing number of tourists, the state
government and international NGOs and institutions have expressed grave concern for
the pollution and pressures on infrastructure in the city, mainly the sewage, sanitation and
drainage components.[60] Between 1985 and 1990, the Ganga Action Plan saw a Rs. 430.5
million renovation of five sewage pumping stations along the ghats and the installation of
sewage treatment plants.[60] The sewage problem is exacerbated by the role of the Ganges
in bathing and in river traffic, which is very difficult to control.[60] Varanasi's water supply
and sewage system is maintained by Jal Nigam, a subsidiary of Nagar Nigam. Power
supply is by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited. The city produces about 350
million litres per day[61] of sewerage and 425 tonnes per day of solid waste.[62] The solid
wastes are disposed in one landfill site.[63]

Demographics
See also: List of cities in Uttar Pradesh
Religions in Varanasi
Religion

Hindus
Muslims
Christians

Percent

80%
18%
0.2%

Jains
Others

1.4%
0.4%

Distribution of religions
Includes Sikhs (0.2%), Buddhists (<0.2%).
According to provisional data from the 2011 census, the Varanasi urban agglomeration
had a population of 1,435,113, with 761,060 men and 674,053 women.[64]
The population of the Varanasi urban agglomeration in 2001 was 1,371,749m with a ratio
of 879 females every 1,000 males.[65] However, the area under Varanasi Nagar Nigam has
a population of 1,100,748[66] with a ratio of 883 females for every 1,000 males.[66] The
literacy rate in the urban agglomeration is 77% while that in the municipal corporation
area is 78%.[66] Approximately 138,000 people in the municipal area live in slums.[67]