5/5 Aayush Jivrajka (. 10 months ago on Google
Varanasi
is
one
of
the world's
oldest
continually
inhabited
cities.[21] Kashi,
its
ancient
name,
was
associated
with
a
kingdom
of
the
same
name
of
2,500
years
ago.
The Lion
capital
of
Ashoka at
nearby Sarnath has
been
interpreted
to
be
a
commemoration
of
the
Buddha's
first sermon there
in
the
fifth
century
BCE.[22][23] In
the
8th
century, Adi
Shankara established
the worship
of
Shiva as
an
official
sect
of
Varanasi.
Since
ancient
times,
the
city
has
been
an
important
centre
of
Hindu
devotion,
pilgrimage, mysticism and
poetry
contributing
to
its
cultural
importance.[24] Tulsidas wrote
his Awadhi
language epic,
the Ramcharitmanas,
a Bhakti
movement reworking
of
the
Sanskrit Ramayana,
in
Varanasi.
Several
other
major
figures
of
the
Bhakti
movement
were
born
in
Varanasi,
including Kabir and Ravidas.[25] In
the
16th
century,
Rajput
nobles
in
the
service
of
the
courts
and
armies
of
the Mughal
emperor Akbar,
sponsored
the
building
or
further
enhancement
of
the
major
Shiva
temple
in
the
city;
they
also
built
other
temples,
all
displaying
an
empire-wide
architectural
style.[26][27] Under
the
Treaty
of
Faizabad,
the East
India
Company acquired
Benares
in
1775,[28][29] the
city
later
successively
becoming
a
part
of
the
Benares
Division
in
the Ceded
and
Conquered
Provinces,
the North-Western
Provinces,
and
the United
Provinces,
and
after
India's
independence
of
Uttar
Pradesh.[30]
Silk
weaving,
carpets
and
crafts
and
tourism
employ
a
significant
number
of
the
local
population,
as
do
the Banaras
Locomotive
Works and Bharat
Heavy
Electricals.
The
city
is
known
worldwide
for
its
many ghats,
steps
leading
down
the
steep
river
bank
to
the
water,
where
pilgrims
perform
rituals.
Of
particular
note
are
the Dashashwamedh
Ghat,
the
Panchganga
Ghat,
the Manikarnika
Ghat,
and
the
Harishchandra
Ghat,
the
last
two
being
where
Hindus
cremate
their
dead.
The Hindu
genealogy
registers
at
Varanasi are
kept
here.
Among
the
notable
temples
in
Varanasi
are Kashi
Vishwanath
Temple of Shiva,
the Sankat
Mochan
Hanuman
Temple,
and
the Durga
Temple.
Varanasi
is
one
of
the world's
oldest
continually
inhabited
cities.[21] Kashi,
its
ancient
name,
was
associated
with
a
kingdom
of
the
same
name
of
2,500
years
ago.
The Lion
capital
of
Ashoka at
nearby Sarnath has
been
interpreted
to
be
a
commemoration
of
the
Buddha's
first sermon there
in
the
fifth
century
BCE.[22][23] In
the
8th
century, Adi
Shankara established
the worship
of
Shiva as
an
official
sect
of
Varanasi.
Since
ancient
times,
the
city
has
been
an
important
centre
of
Hindu
devotion,
pilgrimage, mysticism and
poetry
contributing
to
its
cultural
importance.[24] Tulsidas wrote
his Awadhi
language epic,
the Ramcharitmanas,
a Bhakti
movement reworking
of
the
Sanskrit Ramayana,
in
Varanasi.
Several
other
major
figures
of
the
Bhakti
movement
were
born
in
Varanasi,
including Kabir and Ravidas.[25] In
the
16th
century,
Rajput
nobles
in
the
service
of
the
courts
and
armies
of
the Mughal
emperor Akbar,
sponsored
the
building
or
further
enhancement
of
the
major
Shiva
temple
in
the
city;
they
also
built
other
temples,
all
displaying
an
empire-wide
architectural
style.[26][27] Under
the
Treaty
of
Faizabad,
the East
India
Company acquired
Benares
in
1775,[2
The
city
has
long
been
an
educational
and
musical
centre:
many
prominent
Indian
philosophers,
poets,
writers,
and
musicians
live
or
have
lived
in
the
city,
and
it
was
the
place
where
the Benares
gharana form
of Hindustani
classical
music was
developed.
In
the
20th-century
the Hindi-Urdu writer Premchand and
the shehnai player Bismillah
Khan were
associated
with
the
city.
India's
oldest Sanskrit college,
the Benares
Sanskrit
College,
was
founded
during East
India
Company
rule in
1791.
Later
education
in
Benares
was
greatly
influenced
by
the
rise
of Indian
nationalism in
the
late
19th-century. Annie
Besant founded
the Central
Hindu
College in
1898.
In
1916,
she
and Madan
Mohan
Malviya founded
the Banaras
Hindu
University,
India's
first
modern
residential
university. Kashi
Vidyapith was
established
in
1921,
a
response
to Mahatma
Gandhi's Non-cooperation
movement.