Kashi is an ancient name of this mystical city given by ancient Hindu’s nobody knows how old this archaic city is .. another name of Kashi is “Varanasi” which is linked with two Ganges tributaries forming the city’s borders : Varuna and assi . Varuna still flowing in northern Varanasi ,and assi today a small stream in southern part of the city near famous Assi Ghat.

another famous name of Kashi is “Banaras” which is modified version of Varanasi by the locals ,some says it is named after a king named “Bannar” , Banaras is newest yet most famous name of Kashi among locals “Banaras” means The one full of”Rasa” or juice of life ,which refers Kashi as city full of”NAV”rasa’s , navrasas are the nine emotions which makes human life full of experiences . According to Ayurveda ‘Navrasa’ are 9 states which emotionally empower us as human beings.

Apart from these three popular names Kashi is also called “anandvan” in Hindu scriptures (anandvan means a forest full of bliss ) ,Avimukta (means land which liberates ) ,rudravasa (A place where “Rudra” lord Shiva resides.)

Kashi is also famous for its silk weaving industry and gives employment to significant number of locals. In 8th century Adi shankaracharya established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. Though major figures of bhakti movement mainly Krishna or Rama devotees like Saint Tulsidas who wrote his Awadhi language Epic ,the Ramcharitmanas ,a bhakti movement reworking of the Sanskrit Ramayana , in Varanasi . Also sant Kabir and Ravidas who became nation wide sensation of Bhakti movement were born and flourished in this historical city Varanasi.

kashi also known as varanasi or banaras is a ancient city which is not only spiritual hub of India (Bharat) but also city full of art , culture, music, ancient heritage sites and mysticism which can not be expressed by mear word’s,one has to expirence it by getting lost into its mesmerizing presence..
According to Hindu scriptures, Kashi was founded by lord Shiva himself and he considered Kashi as his favourite abode . In skanda purana ,Mahadev says , “the three world’s from one city of mine , and Kashi is my royal palace therein.”

Kashi is the only place where life and death both dances together. On one hand Kashi so full of colours and one can see so much life all around whether it is colourful ghat’s and so many things happening on the ghats or Enchanting lanes narrow streets of Varanasi where one can see all the colours of Bharat and it’s diversity. On other hand Kashi is also famous for death where “maha smashan” manikarnika celebrats death in its full glory , mahasmashan where you see hundreds of dead bodies creamating everyday which humbles you by bringing you face to face with death.

Kashi is also famous for Kashi Vishwanath which is one , among the 12 jyotirlinga’s in the country, where lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Linga ,Kashi Vishwanath temple holds great significance in the spiritual and also cultural history of India . This glorious temple was demolished by Muslim inveders couple of times & rebuilted by various kings and queens from different parts of India. Current temple structure is 15.5 metre -high gold spire and gold onion dome . There are three domes each made up of pure gold , donated by maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1835. The temple was reconstructed by maharani ahilyabai Holkar (Maratha queen & ardent Shiva devotee of her time) after Muslim invaders called Mughals demolished the temple and constructed mosque over ancient Kashi Vishwanath temple building named “gyanvapi “mosque , the mosque was named gyanvapi due to small well which was present there at Kashi Vishwanath temple known as “Gyan vapi kuva“

Kashi , Varanasi or Banaras was also hub of culture,art , music and spirituality. Many great saints such as sant Kabir das (famous poet Saint)sant Ravi das (a shoemaker who performed many miracles and wrote thousands of poem’s in devotion of lord Rama ), aghori kinnaram baba (man who re-established aghora path),Lahari mahasaya (disiple of great imortal yogi “mahaavtar babaji” , saint tulsidas who wrote “Shree Ram charit manas (one of the most popular religious book on lord Rama’s eventful life ) ,trailang swami (known as walking Shiva of Varanasi who lived extra ordinary life span of 330 years & showed his yogic powers infront of thousands of people) ,list of great saints & Yogi’s of Varanasi can be so long & not possible to mention them all here .Kashi has also produced great musicians like ,Sitara Devi (Padma Shri awardee) , Girija Devi (singer and Padma Vibhushan awardee , Bismillah Khan, the great shehnai player who was honoured with Bharat Ratna ,Padma Vibhushan by Indian government. ,Birju Maharaj (the great kathak guru & also padma vibhusan . , Aashutosh bhattacharya ( the great tabla player) , Kishan Maharaj (tabla player & also Padma Vibhushan awardee) pandit ravi shankar ( Bharat Ratna awardee which is highest honour in India) ,etc the list is so long .

Varanasi has also produced great poets and writers such as famous Hindi writer of all time Premchand ,jaishankar Prasad ,Baldev Upadhyay (Padma Vibhushan awardee) ,shiv Prasad misra again list is ever lasting.

Kashi is also famous for its mesmerizing Ganga Aarti which is site to see. A group of young priests dressed up with silky saffron & white robes conduct this mesmerizing ceremony every evening at different ghat’s.

The holiest of all Rivers the Ganges known as Ganga ji flows here in her full glory and beautiful vibrations of Ganga ji can only be expirenced can’t be expressed in words . Boating in the mystical environment of Kashi in the lap of ma Ganga is an spectacular experience by itself. Watching famous Ganga Aarti in the evening while Boating in Ganga ji or witnessing ancient & mesmerizing ghat’s from the boat is an unforgettable experience for the visitors.

– one of the most unique feature of Kashi is “maha smashan” known as “manikarnika” which is the oldest creamation ground in the world and it was established by God of death lord shiva himself. Where thousands of dead bodies are cremated every year. For Hindus , dying in varanasi is considered a great blessing, as it is believed that those who die here are freed from the cycle of birth and death and attain moksha or liberation from the cycle of suffering.