देवभूमि काशी : ब्रह्माण्ड में एक दिव्य स्थान

Varanasi is definitely very old and takes pleasure in a History that dates back to 3000 years. The History of Varanasi city starts with the inhabiting of some Aryan peoples out here.

Some Aryan people came from the north of country and made this land their residence. According to accepted religious myths Lord Shiva made Varanasi his habitat after marrying Parvati. Varanasi is also mentioned in the Indian epics Mahabharata, Ramayana and also in the Buddhist Jataka tales. They all are great indicator to Varanasi’s archaeological find. In History of Varanasi it is also mentioned that Lord Buddha visited here a way back in 500 B.C. Actually it was on the outer edge of Varanasi where the Lord Buddha moralized his first sermon after becoming “The Enlightened One”.

Although reading the History of Varanasi, one is sure to experience that it is a liquefying point of many different cultures. Apart from its close association with Buddhism and Hinduism, it has links with one more religion – Jainism. The Jains admire this city very greatly because their three तीर्थंकर were born here.

During continuous attacks starting with the gang of Mahmud Ghazni in 1033 CE followed by Mohammed Gori in 1193 CE. Muslims rob and destroyed Hindu temples many times in Varanasi, and used the temple stuffs to construct mosques. At the begin of the 17th century, Mughal Emperor Akber brought some relief in the demolition of Hindu temples, but at the end of 17th century, another Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb again start temple destruction. Even he renamed the Varanasi city as Mohammadabad. These years Muslim, who escaped from other parts of India, learned scholars in Varanasi. Than finally Marathas came to the salvage of the city. Varanasi lost its pride when it was under the control of Mughals but Marathas brought back the old city.

Varanasi has also been a hub of education for ages. Varanasi is linked with encouragement of spiritualism, religious studies, yoga, Hindi language, Sanskrit, and privileged with writers such as the legendary novelist Prem Chand and famous saint and poet तुलसीदास, who wrote राम चरित मानस.

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विश्व प्रसिद्द धार्मिक स्थल :

* काशी विश्वनाथ मंदिर

* संकट मोचन मंदिर

* काल भैरव मंदिर

* तुलसी मानस मंदिर

* भारत माता मंदिर

* दुर्गा जी मंदिर

विश्व प्रसिद्द ज्ञानार्जन के स्थल :

* काशी हिन्दू विश्वविद्यालय

* महात्मा गाँधी काशी विद्यापीठ

* संपूर्णानंद संस्कृत विश्वविद्यालय

* राजर्षि उदय प्रताप कॉलेज

* हरिश्चंद्र महाविद्यालय



वाराणसी के घाट :


There are number of temples on the bank of the Ganga river in Varanasi. It is believed that people are cleansed physically, mentally and spiritually at Ganga Ghats. It is at the Ganga Ghats where we see life and death together. For thousands of years people have been thronging these Ghats to offer their morning prayers to the rising sun. There are more than 100 ghats along side Ganga in Varanasi. Some of the prominent and popular Ghats at Varanasi are the दशास्वमेध घाट , मणिकर्णिका घाट , हरिश्चंद्र घाट , कबीर घाट , पंचगंगा घाट ( जहां पांच नदियों का संगम होता है ) और अस्सी घाट .

वाराणसी के पर्व :

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By virtue of its religious and cultural importance, Varanasi is abuzz with fairs and festivals all round the year. Almost every month, some important festival is celebrated in Varanasi. Besides festivals and holidays, many "Melas" or fairs are also held at Varanasi. At Varanasi, fairs and festivals are celebrated with traditional gaiety and fervor and are symbolic of celebration of life at its best. The festive atmosphere never seems to end in Varanasi. It's not important to make itinerary according to the dates and months as one can come and enjoy the festive season of Varanasi anytime of the year!





1) महाशिवरात्रि 2) भरत मिलाप 3) रंगभरी एकादशी4) बुद्ध पूर्णिमा 5) देव दीपावली 6) हनुमान जयंती 7) नाग नथैया 8) नक्क्तैया 9) राम लीला - वाराणसी

वाराणसी की विश्व प्रसिद्द कला :

* बनारसी साड़ी

* बनारसी कालीन

* बनारस के हाथ से बने वास्तुशिल्प

दर्शनीय स्थल :

* Sarnath Museum * Ashoka Lion Capital * Buddhist Temples * Chaukhandi Stupa * Dhamekh Stupa * Dharmrajika Stupa * Bharat Kala Bhavan * Banaras Hindu University * Jantar Mantar * Ramnagar Fort * Chandraprabha Sanctuary * Chunar Fort * Jaunpur * Kaushambi * Vindhyachal

Lot more to come about Varanasi in my next Blog ;