VARANASI CITY GUIDE

VARANASI CITY GUIDE

The most sacred place of pilgrimage on the banks of the holy River Ganga is where Banaras as is known by the Indians is located. Varanasi is often referred to as Athens of India and is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh and is 320 Kilometres away from Lucknow which is the state capital of Uttar Pradesh. Among all the seven places of Hindu pilgrimage Varanasi lays a vital and most important of all the holy places of pilgrimage in the Hindu religion. Varanasi has played a major role in the development and establishment of Buddhism in India . To many Indians it is believed that Varanasi is the place where the soul gets its salvation after death and it is the oldest city in India that has seen an increase in its population due to this belief. It is supposedly the most religious of all the places in India since it has a notion amongst the Hindus that is the place of Lord Shiva and it has a special mention the Vedas as well as the place of Lord Shiva. Even in the book of Amish the famous writer of the Shiva Trilogy has spoken about the city of Banaras and that the affinity and love toward the city by Lord Shiva. The King of the city is the most important benefactor of the city and also a customary head for all the religious carousing that takes place in the city of Varanasi. The city’s past has a glorious history with the presence of the holy river Ganges.

Varanasi is referred as the mystical capital of the country and is the holiest city of India and also known for its cultural involvement into art and classical music. Scholars like the Tulsidas wrote the Ramcharitramanas and there is also a temple is built in order to honour such a great saint of the country which dates back to the 18^th century and Varanasi houses the most premier institution of Asia known as the Banaras Hindu University.

The name Varanasi derives its name from the two rivers that flows through the city Varna and Asi river both being the tributaries of the river Ganges. The city has been famous by being called as Kashi by people in the olden times since it was a place of pilgrimage from the days of Buddha and it is also known as Kashi meaning the place for being enlightened and hence known as City of Light

The archaeologists decipher that the city is as old as the Vedas and was occupied by various tribes which suggests the city is said to be from the 1800 BC. It became famous for the rich muslin and fabrics made of silk. Varanasi was the capital of the Kashi Empire during the time of Gautam Buddha and is believed that Buddhism grew and the first sermon was preached in this vey city. The city of Varanasi was networked by a road which started from Taxila and it had its end point at Patliputra in the era of the Mauryan Kingdom. The city’s temples were demolished by Qutub-ud-din-Aibak and then it was further demolished by Firoz Shah furthermore the Afghan Kings the Lodhis went on supressing Hinduism and almost destroyed what all temples were left.

The religious uproar that took place during the 14^th Century known as the Bhakti Movement saw the rising of a Muslim Fakir known as Kabir and gave way to stop the destruction of temples and humiliating religious sentiments of the Hindus. The city saw a revival when the Mughals took over the country and hence Varanasi falling under its rule as well. Emperor Akbar invested into the construction of temples and during the 16^th century Varanasi became a place of tourist attraction. Sher Shah Shuri constructed the Great Trunk Road from Varanasi to Kolkata and is popularly known as GT Road during the British era. In the year 1656 Aurangzeb again destroyed a lot of temples and ordered building of mosques on the remains of the Hindu temples which was a shock to the Hindu religious sentiment.

Annie Besant a British by origin worked in Banaras to promote the wisdom of the Greek and founded the Theosophical Society of India and the idea behind such a work was to bring people from all religious background under one roof and to promote brotherhood into the values amongst the Indian fellow beings. It is one of the seven cities wherein it is believed to attain salvation, moksha and can untie oneself from the circles of life and death.

The city has a varied type of climate and during the summers the temperatures rises up to a maximum of 40 degrees and during the winters it comes down to 5 degrees Celsius. Fog is the commonest phenomenon during the winters being on the bank of a river and the winters are dry and loo blows during the summers. The annual average rainfall is around 1110 millimetres. The population according to the 2011 census was 1,435,113 with both men and women accounting to the total population and it have a 77% of literacy rate and around 138000 people under the municipal territory live in the shanties and are slum dwellers.

The city is served by the International Airport known as the Lal Bahadur Shastri International AirPort which is 26 kilometre away from the city and was opened in the year 2012 and it was granted an International status. Varanasi has a Cantonment railway station and it is the largest railway station and is known as the Varanasi Junction. It is well connected by the National Highways connecting almost all the cities of the country.

The main attraction of the city are its Ghats on which the city banks and is situated. Along with it Jantar Mantar, The Ramnagar Fort, the various temples like the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, Kashi Vishwanath temple, The Tulsi Manas Temple, Bharat Mata Mandir, there are mosques as well the Gyanvapi Masjid, Alamgiri Masjid and the Chaukhamba Masjid are the various mosques one must pay a visit during their stay at Varanasi. Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan is a unique place of pilgrimage at Varanasi and it has its devotees all across the country mostly from the Northern part of India.

Hinduism is primarily followed religion in Varanasi followed by Islam due to the presence of the Muslim influence from the very early stage of the establishment of the city.