In the 16th century, Varanasi experienced a cultural revival under the Muslim Mughal emperor Akbar who invested in the city, and built two large temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu. The Raja of Poona established the Annapurnamandir and the 200 metres (660 ft) Akbari Bridge was also completed during this period. The earliest tourists began arriving in the city during the 16th century. In 1665, the French traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier described the architectural beauty of Vindu Madhava temple at the side of the Ganges. The road infrastructure was also improved during this period and extended from Kolkata to Peshawar by Emperor Sher Shah Suri; later during the British Raj it came to be known as the famous Grand Trunk Road. In 1656, emperor Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of many temples and the building of mosques in the city and the city temporarily experienced a setback. However, after Aurangazeb’s death, most of India was ruled by a confederacy of pro-Hindu kings. Much of modern Varanasi was built during this time by the Rajput and Maratha kings, especially during the 18th century, and most of the important buildings in the city today date to this period. The kings continued to be important through much of the British rule (1775–1947 AD), including the maharaja of Benares, or Kashi Naresh. The kingdom of Benares was given official status by the Mughals in 1737, and continued as a dynasty governed area up until Indian independence in 1947, during the reign of Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh. In the 18th century, Muhammad Shah ordered the construction of an observatory on the Ganges, attached to Man Mandir Ghat, to discover imperfections in the calendar and to revise existing astronomical tables. Tourism in the city began to flourish in the 18th century. In 1791, under the rule of British Governor-General Warren Hastings, Jonathan Duncan founded a Sanskrit College in Varanasi. In 1867, the establishment of the Varanasi Municipal Board led to significant improvements in the city.
In ancient times, Varanasi was connected by a road starting from Taxila and ending at Pataliputra during the Mauryan Empire. In 1194, the city succumbed to Turkish Muslim rule under Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who ordered the destruction of some one thousand temples in the city. The city went into decline over some three centuries of Muslim occupation, and although new temples were erected in the 13th century, after the Afghan invasion. Feroz Shah ordered further destruction of Hindu temples in the Varanasi area in 1376. The Afghan ruler Sikander Lodi continued the suppression of Hinduism in the city and destroyed most of the remaining older temples in 1496. Despite the Muslim rule, Varanasi remained the centre of activity for intellectuals and theologians during the Middle Ages, which further contributed to its reputation as a cultural centre of religion and education. Several major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi, such as Kabir who was born here in 1389, hailed as “the most outstanding of the saint-poets of Bhakti cult (devotion) and mysticism of 15th Century India”, and Ravidas, a 15th century socio-religious reformer, mystic, poet, traveler, and spiritual figure, who was born and lived in the city, employed in the tannery industry. Similarly, numerous eminent scholars and preachers visited the city from across India and south Asia. Guru Nanak Dev visited Varanasi for Shivratri in 1507, a trip that played a large role in the founding of Sikhism.
The Ramnagar Fort located near the Ganges River on its eastern bank, opposite to the Tulsi Ghat, was built in the eighteenth century by Kashi Naresh Raja Balwant Singh with creamy chunar sandstone. It is in typically Mughal style of architecture with carved balconies, open courtyards, and scenic pavilions. At present the fort is not in a good shape. The fort and its museum are the repository of the history of the kings of Benares. It has been the home of Kashi Naresh since the 18th century. The current king and the resident of the fort is Anant Narayan Singh who is also known as the Maharaja of Varanasi even though this royal title has been abolished since 1971. The museum called “an eccentric museum” has a rare collection of American cars (vintage cars), sedan chairs (bejeweled), an impressive weaponry hall and a rare astrological clock. In addition, manuscripts, especially religious writings are housed in the Saraswati Bhawan. Also included is a precious handwritten manuscript by Goswami Tulsidas. Many books illustrated in the Mughal miniature style, with beautifully designed covers are also part of the collections in the museum. Because of its scenic location on the banks of the Ganges, it is frequently used as an outdoor shooting location for films. The film titled “Banaras” is one of the popular movies shot here. However, only a part of the fort is open for public viewing as the rest of the area is the residence of Kashi Naresh and his family. It is 14 km from Varanasi.
Located on the outskirts of the Ganges, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple – dedicated to Varanasi’s presiding deity Shiva (Vishwanath – “Lord of the world”) – is an important Hindu temple and one of the 12 Jyotirlinga Shiva temples. It is believed that a single view of Vishwanath Jyotirlinga is worth more than that of other jyotirlingas. The temple has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times. The Gyanvapi Mosque, which is adjacent to the temple, is the original site of the temple. The temple, as it exists now, also called Golden Temple, was built in 1780 by Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore. The two pinnacles of temple are covered by gold, donated in 1839 by Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the Punjab and the remaining dome is also proposed to be gold plated by the Ministry of cultures & Religious affairs of U.P. Govt. On 28 January 1983, the temple was taken over by the government of Uttar Pradesh and its management was transferred to a trust with then Kashi Naresh, Vibhuti Narayan Singh, as president and an executive committee with a Divisional Commissioner as chairman. Numerous rituals, prayers and aratis are held throughout the day, starting from 2:30 am till 11:00 pm.
Schools in Varanasi are affiliated with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), or the U. P. Board. The overall “state of education in Varanasi is … not good”. Schools in Varanasi vary widely in quality, with private schools outperforming government schools. In government schools, many teachers fail to come to class or fail to teach children. Some government schools lack basic equipment, such as blackboards and sufficient desks and chairs for all students. Private schools vary in quality, with the most expensive conducting lessons in English (seen as a key to children’s success) and even having computers in classrooms. Pupils attending the more expensive private schools (with tuition around 300 Rs./month in 2001–2002), tended to come from upper-class families. Lower-cost private schools (with tuition around 50 Rs./month in 2001–2002) also attracted children from lower-income families, or at least those lower-income families with higher educational aspirations. Government schools tend to serve lower-class children with lower educational aspirations.
Ghats are embankments made in steps of stone slabs along the river bank where pilgrims perform ritual ablutions. Ghats in Varanasi are an integral complimentary to the concept of divinity represented in physical, metaphysical and supernatural elements. All the ghats are locations on “the divine cosmic road,” indicative of “its manifest transcendental dimension.” Varanasi has at least 84 ghats. Steps in the ghats lead to the banks of River Ganges, including the Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat and the Harishchandra Ghat (where Hindus cremate their dead). Many ghats are associated with legends and several are now privately owned. Many of the ghats were built when the city was under Maratha control. Marathas, Shindes (Scindias), Holkars, Bhonsles, and Peshwas stand out as patrons of present-day Varanasi. Most of the ghats are bathing ghats, while others are used as cremation sites. Morning boat ride on the Ganges across the ghats is a popular visitors attraction. The miles and miles of ghats makes for the lovely river front with multitude of shrines, temples and palaces built “tier on tier above the water’s edge”.
The Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple is one of the sacred temples of the Hindu god Hanuman situated by the Assi River, on the way to the Durga and New Vishwanath temples within the Banaras Hindu University campus. The present temple structure was built in early 1900s by the educationist and freedom fighter, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, the founder of Banaras Hindu University. It is believed that temple has been built at the very spot where the medieval Hindu saint Tulsidas had a vision of Hanuman. Thousands flock to the temple on Tuesdays and Saturdays, weekdays associated with Hanuman. On 7 March 2006, in a terrorist attack one of the three explosions hit the temple while the Aarti was in progress when numerous devotees and people attending a wedding were present and many were injured. However, normal worship was resumed the next day with devotees visiting the temple and reciting hymns of Hanuman Chalisa (authored by Tulidas) and Sundarkand (a booklet of these hymns are provided free of charge in the temple). After the terrorist incident, a permanent police post was set up inside the temple.
Varanasi is located in the middle Ganges valley of North India, in the Eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, along the left crescent-shaped bank of the Ganges, averaging between 50 feet (15 m) and 70 feet (21 m) above the river. It has the headquarters of Varanasi district. By road, Varanasi is located 797 kilometres (495 mi) southeast of New Delhi, 320 kilometres (200 mi) southeast of Lucknow, 121 kilometres (75 mi) east of Allahabad, and 63 kilometres (39 mi) south of Jaunpur. The “Varanasi Urban Agglomeration” – an agglomeration of seven urban sub-units – covers an area of 112.26 km 2 (approximately 43 mi²). The urban agglomeration is stretched between 82° 56’E – 83° 03’E and 25° 14’N – 25° 23.5’N. Neighbourhoods of the city include Adampura, Kotwali, Jaitpura, Dhupchandi, Chaukaghat, Kail Garh, Guru Nanak Nagar, Chaitganj, Naipokhari, Sigra, Maulvibagh, Siddhagiribagh, Bulanala, Chowk, Bangali Tola, Luxa, Khanna, Gopal Vihar, Giri Nagar, Mahmoorganj, Maheshpur, Bhelpura, Shivala, Anandbagh, Nagwar, Dumraon, Gandhinagar, and Gautam Nagar, Lanka Manduadih.
Historically, Varanasi has been an educational center within India, drawing students and scholars from across the country. Varanasi has an overall literacy rate of 80 percent (male literacy: 85%, female literacy: 75%). It is home of a number of colleges and universities. Most notably, it is the site of Banaras Hindu University, which – with over 20,000 students – is one of the largest residential universities in Asia The Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi is an Institute of National Importance in Varanasi and is one of the 16 IITs all over India. Other colleges and universities in Varanasi include Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Imania Arabic College, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (at Sarnath), Institute of Integrated Management and Technology (IIMT), Udai Pratap Autonomous College, Nav Sadhana Kala Kendra, Harischandra P.G. collage, Agrasen Knya P.G. collage and numerous others.
Varanasi experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa) with large variations between summer and winter temperatures. Summers are long, from early April to October, with intervening monsoon seasons and are also extremely hot, even by South Asian standards. The temperature ranges between 22 and 46 °C (72 and 115 °F) in the summers. Winters in Varanasi see very large diurnal variations, with warm days and downright cold nights. Cold waves from the Himalayan region cause temperatures to dip across the city in the winter from December to February and temperatures below 5 °C (41 °F) are not uncommon. The average annual rainfall is 1,110 mm (44 in). Fog is common in the winters, while hot dry winds, called loo, blow in the summers. In recent years, the water level of the Ganges has decreased significantly; upstream dams, unregulated water extraction, and dwindling glacial sources due to global warming may be to blame.
Varanasi grew as an important industry centre, famous for its muslin and silk fabrics, perfumes, ivory works, and sculpture. During the time of Gautama Buddha (born circa 567 BC), Varanasi was the capital of the Kingdom of Kashi. Buddha is believed to have founded Buddhism here around 528 BC when he gave his first sermon, “Turning the Wheel of Law”, at nearby Sarnath. The celebrated Chinese traveller Xuanzang, who visited the city around AD 635, attested that the city was a centre of religious and artistic activities, and that it extended for about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) along the western bank of the Ganges. Hiuen Tsiang also visited Varanasi in the 7th century; he named it “Polonisse” and wrote that the city had some 30 temples with about 30 monks. The city’s religious importance continued to grow in the 8th century, when Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi.
Sushruta, the great surgeon and author of the Sushruta Samhita, the Sanskrit text of surgery lived in Varanasi. The city grew as a place for Authentic Ayurveda and Panchkarma treatment. Many Ayurvedic center are here, Punarnava Health Ayurvedic center(one of the best Ayurvedic center) It has several hospitals, Varanasi Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Heritage Hospital, Varanasi, Shiv Prasad Gupta Hospital, Sir Sundar Lal Hospital, Rajkiya Hospital, Mata Anand Mai Hospital, Ram Krishna Mission Hospital, Marwari Hospital, and a Cancer Institute. The largest is Varanasi Hospital, established in 1964 by Dr. Baijnath Prasad. The hospital, which currently has 66 beds as of 2012, serves Varanasi and surrounding districts and states, many of whom rely on it for surgery. Although the hospital suffers from a lack of funding, it has facilities such as X-ray, Ultrasonography, Echocardiography and a Pathology Lab.
Due to the high population density and increasing number of tourists, the state government and international NGOs and institutions have expressed grave concern for the pollution and pressures on infrastructure in the city, the sewage, sanitation and drainage components mainly. Between 1985 and 1990, the Ganga Action Plan saw a Rs. 430.5 million renovation of five sewage pumping stations along the ghats and the installation of sewage treatment plants. The sewage problem is exacerbated by the role of the Ganges in bathing and in river traffic, which is very difficult to control. Varanasi’s water supply and sewage system is maintained by Jal Nigam, a subsidiary of Nagar Nigam. Power supply is by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited. The city produces about 350 million litres per day of sewer and 425 tonnes per day of solid waste. The solid wastes are disposed in one landfill site.
Varanasi is well connected by air, rail and road. One of the major factors in Varanasi’s sustained existence as an inhabited city is its role as an established transportation hub between different cities. Varanasi is served by Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, which is located approximately 26 km from the city centre in Babatpur. The airport inaugurated a new terminal in 2010, and it was granted international airport status on October 4, 2012. Air India, Buddha Air, Jet Airways, Jet Konnect, and SpiceJet operate flights from Varanasi to Delhi, Gaya, Kathmandu, Khajuraho, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Kolkata. Over 330,000 passengers pass through the airport each year. Varanasi Junction, commonly known as Varanasi Cantt Railway Station, is Varanasi’s largest train station.; more than 80,000 passengers and 100 trains pass through the station each day.
In 1897, Mark Twain, the renowned Indophile, said of Varanasi, “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” In 1910, the British made Varanasi a new Indian state, with Ramanagar as its headquarters but with no jurisdiction over the city of Varanasi itself. Kashi Naresh still resides in the fort of Ramanagar. The Ramnagar Fort of the Kashi Naresh is situated to the east of Varanasi, across the Ganges. Ramnagar Fort and its museum are the repository of the history of the kings of Benares and since the 18th century has been the home of Kashi Naresh, deeply revered by the people of Vanarasi. He is the religious head and some religious people of Varanasi consider him the incarnation of Shiva. He is also the chief cultural patron and an essential part of all religious celebrations.
Art lovers and historians like Rai Krishnadasa, his son Anand Krishna, musicians like Gopal Mishra (considered one of the best sarangi player of all times) Omkarnath Thakur, Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan, Girija Devi, Siddheshwari Devi, Lalmani Misra and his son Gopal Shankar Misra, N. Rajam, Rajbhan Singh, Anokhelal Mishra Samta Prasad, Kanthe Maharaj, M. V. Kalvint, Sitara Devi, Gopi Krishna, Kishan Maharaj, Vikash Maharaj Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Mahadev Mishra, Chhannulal Mishra and numerous others have kept the city alive to the spiritual aspect of fine arts apart from their ability to entertain. Numerous festivals are celebrated that preserve traditional styles of classical and folk culture. All night, open music concerts like ones organised at Sankat Mochan Temple, Hori, Kajari and Chaiti Mela, Budwa Mangal, are annual features that draw connoisseurs from all over.
Cricket and Field hockey is popular in Varanasi. The main stadium in the city is the Sigra Stadium, also known as Dr Sampurnanda Stadium, where first-class cricket matches are held. Local cricket matches are also played at the Banaras Hindu University grounds. The Physical Education Faculty of Arts of Banaras Hindu University offers Diploma courses in Sports Management, Sports Physiotherapy, Sports Psychology and Sports Journalism. Gymnastics is also popular in Varanasi, and many Indian girls practice outdoors at the ghats in the mornings which hosts akhadas, where “morning exercise, a dip in the Ganga and a visit to Lord Hanuman” forms a daily ritual. The Varanasi District Chess Sports Association (VDCSA) is based in Varanasi, affiliated to the regional UP Chess Sports Association (UPCSA) .
The earliest known archaeological evidence suggests that settlement around Varanasi in the Middle Ages in the Ganga valley (the seat of Aryan religion and philosophy), began in the 11th or 12th century BC, placing it among the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities. These remains suggest that the Varanasi area was populated by Vedic people. However, the Atharvaveda (the oldest known text referencing the city), which dates to approximately the same period, suggests that the area was populated by indigenous tribes. It is possible that archaeological evidence of these previous inhabitants has yet to be discovered. Varanasi was also home to Parshva, the 23rd Jain Tirthankara and the earliest Tirthankara that is accepted as a historical figure, in the 8th century BC.
Varanasi has its own culture of fine art and literature. Great Indian writers have lived in this city from Kabir, Ravidas, Tulsidas who wrote much of his Ram Charit Manas here, Kulluka Bhatt who wrote the best known commentary of Manusm?ti here in 15th century and Bharatendu Harishchandra, later writers have been Jaishankar Prasad, Acharya Shukla, Munshi Premchand, Jagannath Prasad Ratnakar, Devaki Nandan Khatri, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Tegh Ali, Kshetresa Chandra Chattopadhyaya, Vagish Shastri, Baldev Upadhyaya, Sudama Pandey (Dhoomil) and Vidya Niwas Mishra. Several newspapers and journals are or were published in Varanasi such as Varanasi Chandroday and its successor Kashivartaprakashika, initially a fortnightly, which later became a weekly journal, first published on 1 June 1851.
The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna still flowing in Varanasi and Assi (not visible, though a small stream of Nalla near Assi Ghat is considered as Assi River), for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganges bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Assi, with the Ganges being to its south. Another speculation is that the city derives its name from the river Varuna, which was called Varanasi in olden times. This is generally disregarded by historians, though there may be some earlier texts suggesting it to be so. Through the ages, Varanasi was variously known as Avimuktaka, Anandakanana, Mahasmasana, Surandhana, Brahma Vardha, Sudarsana, Ramya, and Kasi.