World's Oldest City
Kashi (BANARAS OR VARANASI) is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.
Great American Author “Mark Twain”
“Benares is older than history,
older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of
them put together.”
GREAT PERSONALITIES
Buddha is
believed to have founded Buddhism here around 528 BCE when he gave his first
sermon, "The Setting in Motion of
the Wheel of Dharma", at nearby Sarnath. Tulsidas wrote his epic poem on Rama's life called Ram Charit Manas in
Varanasi. Several other major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi,
including Kabir and Ravidas. Guru Nanak visited Varanasi for Maha Shivaratri.
POLITICAL VIEW
Parliament
of India by the current Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, who won
the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019 by a huge margin.
NOMENCLATURE
OF THE KASHI
The city is known worldwide for its
many ghats, embankments made in steps of stone slabs along the river bank
where pilgrims perform ritual ablutions. Among the estimated 23,000 temples in Varanasi are Kashi
Vishwanath Temple of Shiva. One of Asia's largest
residential universities is Banaras Hindu University. Varanasi" to the names of
two Ganges tributaries forming the city's borders: Varuna, still flowing in northern
Varanasi, and Assi, today a small stream in the southern part of the city, near
Assi Ghat. The old city is located on the north shores of the Ganges, bounded
by Varuna and Assi
Hindu
mythology
According to Hindu
mythology, Varanasi was founded by Shiva. one of three principal
deities along with Brahma and Vishnu. During a fight
between Brahma and Shiva, one of Brahma's five heads was torn off by Shiva. As
was the custom, the victor carried the slain adversary's head in his hand and
let it hang down from his hand as an act of ignominy, and a sign of his own
bravery. A bridle was also put into the mouth. Shiva thus dishonored Brahma's
head, and kept it with him at all times. When he came to the city of Varanasi
in this state, the hanging head of Brahma dropped from Shiva's hand and
disappeared in the ground. Varanasi is therefore considered an extremely holy
site.
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