City-information for Varanasi

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Population: 1,000,000.
Varanasi is said to be the oldest inhabited city in the world. There are supposed to be 2,000 temples in Varanasi. It is on the bank of the Ganges between Delhi (710 km) and Calcutta (680 km). It is 125 km east of Allahabad. Millions of pilgrims a year come to Varanasi. The name Varanasi most likely stems from the two rivers, Varana and Assi, which join the Ganges on the north and south borders of the city. Varanasi is a very fast-. moving place and at times can seem unbelievable crowded. In the old part of the city there are numerous mazes of thin very crowded streets, which makes the place very interesting.

The city was originally called Kashi, or the city of lights. It is said that the first jyotirlinga, the fiery pillar of light, came through the earth here and flared into the sky. Therefore Varanasi is also called Kashi, City of Light. Kashi is mentioned in the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Srimad Bhagavatam, and the Puranas, which date back 5000 years, as the foremost city of Siva. The Muslims gave it the name Benares. At independence, the old name. Varanasi, was given to the city again.

Many older people come to Varanasi to die and be burned at the burning ghats along the river. It is believed that anyone who dies in Varanasi attains moksha (liberation). It is said that being burned at Varanasi adds to the pious credits of someone, therefore many bodies are brought here to be cremated. Many widows come here to die.

Many saints and sages have come to Varanasi including Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Buddlia, Sankaracharya, and Sri Ramanuja. Lord Caitanya met Sanatana Gosvami here and convened the Mayavadi Prakasananda Sarasvati and his followers here. He bathed at Pancha ganga (Panchanada) Ghat.

For many it is one of the highlights of a trip to India to get on a boat and see the city on the waters of theGanges at sunrise. Six o'clock in the morning is the best time to visit the waterfront. It is a good idea to rent your own boat and not go with many other people.

Varanasi was looted numerous times by Muslims invaders beginning from the 11th century. Aurangzeb destroyed most of the temple during his reign. This is why most of the temple are not more than 300 years old. In 1669 the Bindu Madhava Vishnu Temple and the Siva Visvanath Temple were destroyed. Mosques were built in their place.

The Ganges, which normally flows southeast, reverses its course and flows north for a while at Varanasi, which is considered very auspicious. There is a five-mile parikrama path that goes around this sacred city. There are 81 bathing ghats and other holy kunds, or sacred tanks. It is sqaid that it is important to bathe at Manikarnika, by the cremation ghat.

The three most important ghats are Manikarnika, Dasaswamedha, and Pancha-ganga. To bath at these three ghats is called tri-tirthi yatra. Also important are Asi Sangam and Varana Sangam. To bath in these five places is call pancha-tirtha yatra.You are supposed to bathe in these five ghats in a certain order. First you bathe in Asi Ghat,then Dasaswamedha Ghat, then the ghat by the Adi Kesava Temple near the Varana River, then Pancha-ganga, and then Manikarnika. After taking bath at these five places, most pilgrims then go for darshan of Vinayaka (the witnessing Ganesh). It is said that if you bathe in these five places, all in the same day and in this order, you will not get another material body. You can do pancha-tirtha yatra by boat, but it is better to do it by foot.

The Panchakroshi road goes around the city of Varanasi. Many pilgrims walk the 58 km around Varanasi starting at Manikarnika Ghat. They then walk to Asi Ghat and then proceed around the city. You are supposed to visit 108 shrines along the way. Following this procedure is said to be the same as circling the entire world.


The Adi Keshava Vishnu Temple is located where the Ganges meets the Varana River, in the north of town. Tulsi Das translated the Ramayana from Sanskrit into Hindi in Varanasi, and there is a temple in his honor.

Sarnath is 10 km away and is famous for where Buddha first preached about enlightenment. You can see all the principal places in Varanasi and Sarnath in two days, but it is not unusual for people to spend a week or two in Varanasi.