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Feb 14, 2019 · Find roads, hotels, hospitals and other places of interest on this map of Varanasi, the oldest city of India. Learn about the historical, spiritual and cultural significance of Varanasi and its attractions.
Located in the middle-Ganges valley in the southeastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi lies on the left bank of the river. It is 692 kilometres (430 mi) to the southeast of India's capital New Delhi and 320 kilometres (200 mi) to the southeast of the state capital, Lucknow.
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Varanasi, once known as Benares or Banaras and Kashi, is a city at the banks of the Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh, India. Being the most sacred city in Hinduism and Jainism, and important in the history of Buddhism, Varanasi is India's most important pilgrimage destination. Map.
- Overview
- History
- The contemporary city
Varanasi, city, southeastern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is located on the left bank of the Ganges (Ganga) River and is one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism. Pop. (2001) city, 1,091,918; urban agglom., 1,203,961; (2011) city, 1,198,491; urban agglom., 1,432,280.
Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It was one of the first major urban settlements in the middle Ganges valley. By the 2nd millennium bce Varanasi was a seat of Vedic religion and philosophy and was also a commercial and industrial centre famous for its muslin and silk fabrics, perfumes, ivory works, and sculpture. It was the capital of the kingdom of Kashi during the time of the Buddha (6th century bce), who gave his first sermon nearby at Sarnath. Varanasi remained a centre of religious, educational, and artistic activities as attested by the celebrated Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang, who visited it about 635 ce and said that the city extended for about 3 miles (5 km) along the western bank of the Ganges.
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Varanasi subsequently declined during three centuries of Muslim occupation, beginning in 1194. Many of the city’s Hindu temples were destroyed during the period of Muslim rule, and learned scholars fled to other parts of the country. The Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century brought some relief to the city’s religious and cultural activities. There was another setback during the reign of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the late 17th century, but later the Marathas sponsored a new revival. Varanasi became an independent kingdom in the 18th century, and under the subsequent British rule it remained a commercial and religious centre.
Varanasi has the finest river frontage in India, with miles of ghats, or steps, for religious bathing; an array of shrines, temples, and palaces rises tier on tier from the water’s edge. The inner streets of the city are narrow, winding, and impassable for motor traffic; the newer outer suburbs are more spacious and are laid out more systematically. The sacred city is bounded by a road known as Panchakosi; devout Hindus hope to walk that road and visit the city once in a lifetime and, if possible, to die there in old age. The site receives more than a million pilgrims each year. In addition, thousands of domestic and foreign tourists flock to the city annually, and tourism-related activities constitute a significant component of the local economy.
Among the city’s numerous temples, the most-venerated are those of Vishvanatha (Vishwanath), dedicated to Shiva; that of Sankatmochana (Sankat Mochan), dedicated to the monkey-god Hanuman; and that of Durga. The Durga Temple is famous for the swarms of monkeys that inhabit the large trees near it. The Great Mosque of Aurangzeb is another prominent religious building. Two of the more important modern temples are those of Tulasi Manas and the Vishvanatha on the campus of the Banaras Hindu University. The Gyanvapi Mosque, adjacent to the modern Vishvanatha temple, became a source of contention in the late 20th century, as some Hindus pushed to restore the temple that had been destroyed on that site in the 17th century. The city has hundreds of other temples. At Sarnath, a few miles north of Varanasi, there are ruins of ancient Buddhist monasteries and temples as well as temples built by the Maha Bodhi Society and by the Chinese, Burmese, and Tibetan Buddhists.
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Varanasi has been a city of Hindu learning through the ages. There are innumerable schools and countless Brahman pandits (learned scholars), who are responsible for the continuation of traditional learning. There are three universities, including the large and important Banaras Hindu University (1915), and more than a dozen colleges and high schools.
The city is a centre of arts and crafts and of music and dance. Varanasi is famous for its production of silks and brocades with gold and silver thread work. A renowned carpet-weaving centre is at Bhadoi. Wooden toys, bangles made of glass, ivory work, and brassware are also produced in Varanasi.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
May 19, 2020 · Find various maps of Varanasi, a holy city in Uttar Pradesh, India. See tourist attractions, routes, localities, hotels, flights and more on the maps.
Mar 27, 2024 · Find maps of Varanasi city, its old town, river front and ghats. Explore the streets, buildings, temples, monuments and points of interest in Varanasi with OSM maps.
