Varanasi has three names and a reputation older than history. A short introduction to the city we call home.
The oldest of the city's names, Kashi, is usually traced to a root meaning "to shine". Kashi is the luminous one — the city of light. Varanasi, its official name, describes its place on the map: the land between two small rivers, the Varuna to the north and the Assi to the south. Banaras is the name most of its people use every day.
“Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.”
Shiva's city
For Hindus, Kashi is the city of Shiva, who is said never to leave it. At its heart is the Kashi Vishwanath temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas — the shrines where Shiva is worshipped as a column of light. Many believe that to die in Kashi is to be released from the cycle of rebirth, which is why the cremation fires at Manikarnika Ghat are never allowed to go out.
A city that faces the river
Along the western bank, stone steps called ghats descend into the Ganga — some 84 of them, built over centuries by kings, merchants and holy men. People come to them to bathe, to pray, to wash, to do yoga, to play cricket and to say goodbye. Few places hold so much of life in so little space.
Behind the ghats lie the galis, lanes too narrow for cars, where temples are tucked between houses and the city's weavers, sweet-makers and musicians keep traditions that are centuries old. To understand Kashi, you walk.
About this story
Written for the WanderMate Journal by our team in Varanasi, where we plan and run journeys along the Ganga. We check facts against official and published sources, listed below, and revise guides when timings, prices or dates change.
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