Home(http://www.hinduwebsite.

com/)
Hinduism(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduindex.asp)
Buddhism(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/buddhaindex.asp)
Yoga(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/yogaindex.asp)
Spirituality(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/divinelife/divineindex.asp)
Jainism(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/jainism/jainindex.asp)
Zoroastrianism(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/zoroastrianism/zoraindex.asp)
SelfHelp(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/selfdevt/sdvtindex.asp)
Reference(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/general/g
Sikhism(http://www.hinduwebsite.com
Scriptures(http://www.hin

HinduismFAQ(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/hinduismfaq.asp)
HinduismAtoZ(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/hinduismatoz.asp)
Bhagavadgita(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/gitaindex.asp)
Upanishads(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/upaindex.asp)
Symbolism(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/symbolism.asp)
Saivism(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/siva/sivaindex.asp)
History(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/history/history.asp)
Essays(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/essays/essayinde
Concepts(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/co
Vedas(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/ved
Pantheon(http://www.hinduweb

TheHistoryandAntiquityofKasior
Varanasi

TranslatethePage
SelectLanguage

SearchHinduwebsite
Search

+2 Recommend this

FollowUs

(http://www.facebook.com/hinduwebsite)
(//twitter.com/hinduwebsite)

(https://plus.google.com/+JayaramVauthor)

(http://www.youtube.com/user/hinduwebsite?
sub_confirmation=1)

by Jayaram V

FeaturedArticle

Kasi or Varanasi is one of

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/featured.asp

the most ancient, famous

|1

andholiestoftheholyHindu
pilgrim centers. It is situated

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/featured.asp

|2

COMPOSE

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/featured02.a

between two small streams

|3

that flow into the river

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/featured03.a

Ganges, Varana on its

Gmail for Work

|4

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/featured04.a

northern border and Asi (or

Assi) on its southern border, from whom it derives its name

Editorial

Varanasi. The name Kasi is derived from either its original

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/editorial/ind

founderoradynastythatruleditorthekingdomwithwhichit

Audio

was associated. According to another theory the place might

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/audio/index.

havegotitsnamefromagrassnamedKusathatgrewwildlyin

Books

theregionwherethecitywasbuilt.

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/books/index
Horoscope

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/shopping/ex

Varanasi has been a sacred place since ancient times. It is

mentioned in the Vedas, Puranas, the epics Ramayana and
Mahabharata and also many Jain and Buddhist texts. It also
goesbyitsmorepopularnameKasiandthelesserknownbur
spiritually more significant name Avimukta. During the British
rule, like many place names in India, it was anglicized into
Benares,theholycityof"Hindoos".

HinduismNews

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/hi
PrayersandMantras

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/prayers/inde
OnlineStore
(http://www.purelifevision.com/)
Quotations

(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/qts/index.as

Duringthecourseofits3000ormoreyearsofhistory,thecity
ofVaranasiwitnessedmanyimportanteventsandmovements
of Hindu religion and Indian civilization. The city passed
through several tumultuous phases starting from the
ascendance of the vedic culture around 1000 BC. It bore
witness to the transformation and integration of the Vedic
traditionintheGangeticvalley,theteachingsoftheBuddhaon
thebanksoftheGangestothenewconverts,thewanderings
ofthe muchrevered Jinas andAjivakasbegging for alms,the
construction, expansion and consecration of its many temples
by generous patrons, the religious animosity that led to the
desecrationanddestructionofitsgodsandtemplesfromtime
to time, and its reemergence in modern times into a famous
Hindupilgrimagecenter.
The ancient city ofVaranasiwas locatedon the northern side
ofpresentdayVaranasi,intheareaknownasRajghat,where
remnants of city wall, pottery and artifacts dating back to 800
BC were unearthed, suggesting to the evidence of ancient
settlementsinthearea.KasiisreferencedintheancientIndian

Brahman
(http://www.purelifevision.com/products/brahman
byjayaramv.html)

literature as the capital of the kingdom of Kasi, which had

TheAwakenedLife
(http://www.purelifevision.com/products/the
awakenedlifeacollectionofwritingson
spirituallife.html)

rivalry with the neighboring kingdom of Kosala. Later king of

Kosala annexed Kasi and made Varanasi the capital of the
combined kingdom. Subsequently both Kosala and Kasi were
occupied by the Magadhan rulers and remained part of the
Magadhanempireforaverylongtime.

IntroductiontoHinduism
(http://www.purelifevision.com/products/introduction
tohinduism.html)
EssaysontheBhagavadgita
(http://www.purelifevision.com/products/essays
onthebhagavadgita.html)
SelectedUpanishads
(http://www.purelifevision.com/products/selected
upanishads.html)

InancientIndia,Kasiwasagreatcenterofeducationnotonly
for the Hindus but for other religions such as Buddhism and

SpecialLinks

Jainism.StudentsweretaughttheVedas,theUpanishadsand

WisdomoftheBhagavadgita
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/gita/wisdom/index.as

other schools of philosophy and religious thought in the

WisdomoftheUpanishads
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/upanishads/wisdom/

ashrams or study centers that existed in the nearby forests.

The Buddha was well aware of its religious significance and
visited it frequently. Geographically it was close to Saranath,

ConceptsofHinduism
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/concepts.as
Saivism.net(http://www.saivism.net/)

where he delivered his first sermon immediately after his

enlightenmentandreligiouslysignificantasitwasinhabitedby
people belonging to different religious schools. According to

SelfhelpVision.com
(http://www.selfhelpvision.com/)
AllSaivism.com
(http://www.allsaivism.com/)

traditiononseveraloccasionshestationedhimselfinVaranasi

JayaramV.com
(http://www.jayaramv.com/)

during rainy season, when heavy rains and floods prevented

Bhagavadgitam.com
(http://www.bhagavadgitam.com)

him from going to other places. The Jain tradition also

recognizes the sanctity of the place because two of its
ThirthankaraswerebornandraisedinVaranasi.

(http://news.hinduismlive.com)

Apart from the Buddha and the Thirthankaras, the city of

Varanasiisalsoassociatedwithfamousreligiouspersonalities
suchasPanini,theauthorofAshtadhyayi,Sankaracharyathe
religious reformer of Hindu school of monism (Advaita
Vedanta), Ramanujacharya the great teacher of Vaishnavism,
Madhavacharya

the

famous

Vaishnava

teacher

who

propagated Dvaita (dualism), Basavanna the social and

religious reformer from Karnataka who founded Vira Saivism
and the legendary Gorakshnatha of the Adinatha tradition of
Saivism. According to Buddhist legends Isa or Jesus visited
Varanasi during his wanderings and lived there for sometime
beforehebecameunpopularwiththelocalpriestsandescaped
toTibet.

Traditionally Kasi has been a center of Saivism and it must

have been so even before the advent of the Vedic religion in
theGangeticvalley.SaivismwaspracticedinancientIndiaby
the Ajivikas, the Pasupathas and many other ancient sects of
Dravidianorigin.FromtheHimalayasdowntotheplainsofthe
GangeticvalleyandbeyondtheNarmada,allalongthebanks
of the river Ganges, Narmada and Mahanadi, Siva was
worshippedinmanyformsandwithmanynames.Sodeepwas
theconnectionofSivawiththemountainsandtheriverGanges
that he became associated with such descriptions as the
dwellerofthemountainsandtheconsortofGanga(gangapathi
or gangadhari). No wonder during the Gupta period, Kasi
became the holiest of the holy places for the followers of
SaivismandwithitsgradualintegrationintoVedism,theholiest
oftheholyplacesforalltheHindus.

However, despite the predominance of Saivism and Siva

temples, other religions and religious sects continued to
flourish in Varanasi. Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese traveler who
visited India in the seventh century, saw a huge congregation
of the Buddhist monks in Varanasi of the Hinayana sect. He
alsosawhundredsofHindutemples,thousandsofpriestsand
ascetics,somewiththeirhairinknotsandsomewiththeirhair
cut off, with ashes smeared over their bodies, practicing
austeritiesandpenancestoescapefromthecycleofbirthsand
deaths. Among other things, Hiuen Tsang also described a
statueofSivathatwas30metershigh.

PersonalLoan
Calculator
InstantOnlineApprovalin
minutes.CalculateEMI/Lakh.
CheckNow!

Benares became the capital

of

the

kingdom

of

Gahadavalas in 1094 AD.

The city prospered under
their

rule.

King

Govindachandra

of

dynasty

generous

made

this

donations to the Hindu

templesin the cityand encouraged vedic learning. One of his
ministers, Lakshmidhara, composed Krtyakalpataru, an
encyclopedic work on medieval Hinduism in 14 volumes
besides, preserving information about 150 temples of the city
fortheposterity.
ThefortunesofVaranasisufferedareversalduringtheMuslim
invasion.Startingfromthe12thcentury,forthenext500years
thefortunesofVaranasiebbedandfloweddependinguponthe
moodandgenerosityoftheMuslimrulerswhoruledeitherfrom
Delhi or Agra. Being a religious city of great antiquity, where
idol worship was the regular tradition and where Buddhism
(../../buddhism/buddhaindex.asp)

and

Jainism

(../../jainism/jainindex.asp) also thrived alongside Hinduism

(../hinduismatoz.asp),thecityrepresentedeverythingthatthe
MuslimruleswantedtodestroyasthetorchbearersofIslam.
The troubles of Varanasi began in 1194 with the sacking and
looting of the city by Kutubuddin Aibak, the first ruler of the
Slave Dynasty and the founder of the Delhi Sultanate. He
destroyed nearly a thousand temples and erected several
mosquesontopofthem.Heplunderedthetemplesandcarried

away about 1400 camel loads of gold, silver and precious

stones.Thesackingbroketheeconomicstatusofthecityand
ruined its temple traditions, but did not dampen its religious
spirit. Many temples were rebuilt and the city got back to its
routine.
In 1351 Firuz Shah, about whom Indian historians are
unanimous in their admiration, ascended the throne of Delhi
sultanate. A notorious religious bigot, who styled himself as a
deputy to the Khalifa of Egypt and kept 20000 slaves under
him, Firuz Shah proved his commitment to Islam by
persecuting Hindus and destroying many Hindu temples. In
1376,heorderedthedestructionofHindutemplesinVaranasi
andbuildingofmosquesoverthem.
SikanderLodiwasanotherrulerofDelhiSultanatewhosethis
eyes upon Varanasi. In 1496 he ordered his generals to
destroy all the temples in Varanasi and build mosques over
them. His orders were promptly carried out and the city was
renamedasMohammadabad.
The early Mughal rulers indulged in religious persecution and
destruction of Hindu temples. Akbar set a new example by
initiating a policy of religious tolerance. He allowed Hindus to
practice their religion and build temples without fear of
punishment. During his reign, Varanasi witnessed the
construction of the Visvesvara temple and Bindu Madhava
temple.AuranazebreversedtheearlierpolicyofAkbarwithan
aim to establish Islam in the subcontinent. The empire was
thrown into political and religious turmoil because of his
extreme measures. In 1659, under his direct orders, the
Krittivasevara temple was destroyed and in its place a large
mosquewaserected.Healsoundidthegoodwillearnedduring
the reign of Akbar by giving orders to destroy the Visvesvar
andBinduMadhavatemplesandbuildmosquesintheirplace.
The Muslim rulers did manage to destroy several Hindu
temples in Varanasi, but they could not destroy the spirit and
thereligiousfervorofthecity.Varanasicontinuedtothriveasa
city of Hindu learning and center of Hindu pilgrimage even
during the testing times. In the midst of all the turmoil,
Tulasidas, a great devotee of Lord Rama and a resident of
Varanasi, composed Ramacharitamanas, a monumental

rendering

of

the

epic

Ramayana

(../../sacredscripts/hinduism/ramayana/ramaindex.asp)

into

Hindi.IthassincebecameahouseholdnamethroughoutIndia.
Narayan Bhatt who migrated from Maharashtra to Varanasi
organized the reconstruction of Kasi Visveswara temple. He
alsocomposedaworkontheimportanceofKasi,Prayagand
GayaentitledTristhali(thethreeplaces).
After Aurangazeb, Varanasi came under the rule of Maharaja
Balwant Singh. As the Mughal power waned, there was a
resurgence of Hindu rulers in various parts of the country.
Varanasiwitnessedarevivalofreligiousactivity,supportedby
the Rajput and Maratha nobles. Many new temples were built
in the place of the old and Hinduism received a new impetus
from the followers of Saivism (../../siva/sivaindex.asp),
VaishanavismandShaktism.
TheBritishwhooccupiedlargepartsofIndiabytheendof18th
century wished to see India becoming a Christian nation, but
maintained a secular outlook outwardly. They encouraged the
missionaryactivityinthepocketsofHinduinfluence,butdidnot
associate themselves openly with the missionaries. Their
primaryinterestwaspromotingtheirbusinessinterestsinIndia
and keep the local rulers under control. They used religion to
the extent it served their interests but did not go beyond. The
lessons learned during the 1857 mutiny prevented them from
dabblinginthereligiouslivesofnativeIndians.
Intheearly19thcentury,Christianmissionariesdidgoodwork
in and around Varanasi, building Churches, schools and
hospitals, with a hope to gain new converts to Christianity.
TherewaslotofhopeandexpectationintheBritishcirclesthat
they would eventually succeed in converting the people of
Varanasi to Christian faith. Despite such efforts, Varanasi
remainedastrongcenterofHinduismandHindulearning.The
name of Varanasi was anglicized into Benares, but for all
religiouspurposesBenaresremainedVaranasithroughoutthe
British rule and was eventually renamed as Varanasi in 1947.
The Benares Sanskrit college, which was founded in 1791,
helped in the revival of Sanskrit education in the country and
laterledtotheformationofBenaresHinduUniversityin1906.

The city of Varanasi continues to fascinate the world with its

diversityandrichculturalheritage.AboutVaranasi,P.V.Kane1
hastosaythis,
"There is hardly any city in the world, that can claim
greaterantiquity,greatercontinuityandgreaterpopular
venerationthanBanaras.Banarashasbeenaholycity
foratleastthirtycenturies.NocityinIndiaarousesthe
religiousemotionsofHindusasmuchasKasidoes."
ThewordsofKaneareveryapt,briefanddirect.Thehistoryof
noothercity,exceptperhapsMathura,ismorefascinatingthan
the 4000 year history of Varanasi, which is but the history of
Hinduismanditsinherentresilienceinadoptingitselftoanever
changing urban environment, independent of other religions
andthewhimsandfanciesofwhoeverruledthecountry.
Adsby Google

VaranasiHinduNames History HinduismIn

SuggestionsforFurtherReading
The History, Religious Significance
and Temples of Mathura and
Vrindavan (mathura.asp)

Hinduism - Sex and

Gurus

The Historical Origin of Lord Krishna,

the Incarnation of Vishnu
(../../history/krishna.asp)
History of Hinduism, medieval period

Hinduism and
Adultery

(../../history/hinduhistory2.asp)
The Concept of Atman or Eternal
Soul in Hinduism (../../atman.asp)
The Problem of Maya Or Illusion and
How To Deal With It
(../../beliefinmaya.asp)

The Best Way To Get

Rid Of Fear And
Anxiety

Belief In Atman, The Eternal Soul Or

The Inner Self
(../../beliefinsoul.asp)
Brahman, The Highest God Of
Hinduism (../../brahmanmain.asp)
The Bhagavad Gita Original
Translations (../../chapters.asp)
The Bhagavadgita, Philosophy and
Concepts (../../concepts.asp)
Bhakti yoga or the Yoga of Devotion
(../../devotion.asp)
Hinduism And The Evolution of Life
And Consciousness
(../../evolution.asp)
Why to Study the Bhagavadgita Parts
1 to 4 (../../gitaessays.asp)

Mahanirvana Tantra
the Tantra of the
Great ...

Origin, Definition and Introduction to

Hinduism (../../hinduintrod.asp)
Symbolic Significance of Numbers in
Hinduism (../../numbers.asp)
The Belief of Reincarnation of Soul
in Hinduism (../../reincarnation.asp)
The True Meaning Of Renunciation
According To Hinduism
(../../sanyasmeans.asp)
The Symbolic Significance of Puja Or
Worship In Hinduism
(../../symbolisminpuja.asp)
Introduction to the Upanishads of
Hinduism (../../upanishads.asp)
Origin, Principles, Practice and
Types of Yoga (../../yoga.asp)

FootNotes
1.P.V.Kane,HistoryofDharmasastra,VolIV

SpiritualEssays(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/divinelife/essayindex.asp)

BuddhistPhilosophy
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/buddhist_philosophy.asp)

Healt
(http:

PracticalBuddhism
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/practicalbuddhism.asp)

Succe
(http:

EssaysonBuddhism
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/essays/essay_index.asp)

Video

LinkResources(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/links.asp)
SelfHelpArticles(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/selfdevt/completelist.asp)
EssaysonBrahman(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/brahmanmain.asp)
HinduLawBooks
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/dharma/dharma_index.asp)

SchoolsofBuddhism
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/schools_ofbuddhism.asp)

Gurus&Masters(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/masters.asp)
OriginofSanskrit(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/general/sanskrit.asp)
UpanishadTranslations(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/upanishadindex.asp)

India
(http:

USNe
ConceptsofBuddhism
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/buddhaconcepts.asp)

Today
(http:

HistoryofBuddhism
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/history_of_buddhism.asp)

ETex

BuddhismScriptures
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/buddhism_scripts.asp)

Book
(http:

JainPhilosophy
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/jainism/jain_philosophy.asp)

Gene
(http:

JainLiterature
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/jainism/jaincanon.asp)

Web
(http:

EssaysonUpanishads(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/upaessays.asp)
AtheisminAncientIndia(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/history/athiesm.asp)

JainHistory
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/jainism/jain_history.asp)

About: Hinduwebsite.com provides original and scholarly information about Hinduism and related religions, society and culture. We
promote tolerance and the highest ideals reflected in these cultures. We have been serving the world community since 1999. More...
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/aimsplans.asp)
20002015 Hinduwebsite.com. All Rights are reserved. No part of this website can be copied or reproduced in any manner.
Hinduwebsite.com presents original articles on various subjects. They are for your personal and spiritual growth not for copying and
posting on your website. We do not accept donations. We rely solely upon our content to serve you. If you want to promote our website
please write an introduction and post a link to it on your blog or website. However, please do not copy information from the website and
then tell us that you were trying to give us publicity. We like publicity, but not in this manner. Please protect Dharma by following its
values,whichincludenonstealing.YouruseofthewebsiteissubjecttotheseTermsofUse.