Heritage Attractions Of Varanasi
Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple
Dhamek Stupa
Ghats In Varanasi
Bharat Mata Temple
"Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together.
Mark Twain
Prominent Personalities Of Varanasi
"Benaras is older than history, older then tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together.
Mark Twain
History Of Varanasi
With the first rays of the morning sun on the banks of the Ganges River, an elderly person stretches out his hands towards the slowly rising ball of fire and says "namaste" (admiration and glorification of the Almighty). Such scenes have been repeated every day for over three thousand years in Varanasi, the holy city of India. Observing what is happening on the banks of the Ganges River, one gets the impression of a city frozen in time. Varanasi is an important religious site in the world of Hinduism, a center of pilgrimage for Hindus from all over the world, as ancient as Babylon or Thebes. Here, more than anywhere else, the contradictions of human existence are manifested: life and death, hope and suffering, youth and old age, joy and despair, brilliance and poverty. This is a city in which there is so much death and life at the same time. This city, in which eternity and being coexist. This is the best place to understand what India is, its religion and culture.
In the religious geography of Hinduism, Varanasi is the center of the universe. One of the most sacred cities for Hindus serves as a kind of line between physical reality and eternity of life. Here the gods descend to earth, and a mere mortal attains bliss. It is a holy place to live and a blessed place to die. This is the best place to achieve bliss.
Varanasi's prominence in Hindu mythology is unmatched. According to legend, the city was founded by the Hindu God Shiva several thousand years ago, making it one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the country. It is one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus. In many ways, he embodies the best and worst sides of India, sometimes terrifying foreign tourists. Nevertheless, the scenes of pilgrims saying a prayer in the rays of the rising sun by the Ganges River, against the backdrop of Hindu temples, is one of the most impressive sights in the world. When traveling in northern India, try not to bypass this ancient city.
Founded a thousand years before the birth of Christ, Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world. It was named with many epithets - "the city of temples", "the sacred city of India", "the religious capital of India", "the city of fires", "the city of enlightenment" - and only recently its official name was restored, which was first mentioned in the Jataki - an ancient story Hindu literature. But many still continue to use the English name Benares, and the pilgrims call it nothing but Kashi - this is how the city was named for three thousand years.