Varanasi through the ages

Varanasi is a perfect example of all that Bharat stands for. Historically, it is this holy place of Shri Vishwanath with her magnificent riverfront, wandering sadhus and learned Gurus that has enthralled and captivated travelers. The city is full of historical interest in such a manner that on every passing step the tourist would realize that on that exact spot was once held an Ashwamedha yagna or stood a temple of Bindumadhava or were Kabir sang his sakhis or the 23rd Jaina Tirthankar was born. Perhaps blessed is the traveler to walk the same lanes, once wandered by Shri Ramanuja, Ramakrishna Pramahamsa, Trilinga Saraswati, Gautama Buddha, Adi Shankaracharya etc. For a devout Hindu, this city has transcendental characters and birth and death in this city is a matter of purva janma punya.

The most striking feature of Varanasi, in contrast with other ancient cities of the world like Jerusalem, Mecca, Rome, Athens or Peking are its comprehensive coverage of human life and its unbroken continuity: what it had been known for thousands of years ago are the same reasons it is still famous for. There are many places in India that have adopted the name of Kashi: Uttar-Kashi in the Himalayas, Dakshin-Kashi and Shiva-Kashi in the southern part of the country.

A French traveler J.A Dubois, at the time of his stay in India from 1792 to 1832 gives an example of links of the connection of the southern part of the Hindu civilization with the holy city: The Hindus tremendous reverence and fascination for this holy city is illustrated by the following Hindu marriage custom of South India. As part of the marriage system, the bridegroom supposedly sets out on a pilgrimage to Kashi. Yet, as he passes the outskirts of the village and turns to the north, his future father-in-law awaits and persuades him to turn back with the proposal to give his daughter to him in wedlock. The bridegroom accepts the proposal and returns to the village.

In the pre Vedic age, there was an inclusion of non Vedic deities such as Yakshas, Nagas, Ganas and Matrikas, into the fold of Vedic deities, which perhaps is a positive indication of the inclusive nature of the people of the land.

According to the Puranas, Kasha, the seventh king of the Manu dynasty, was supposedly the first king of Kashi. After a few generations, Dhanvantri, the father of Ayurveda, became the king of the city. This was followed by the brave Divodasa king who defeated the Haihya king of Jabbalpura. The vedas, the upanishads for ex: Shatpatha Brahmana of the Shukla Yajurveda, the Kaushitaki and the Brihadaranyaka upanishads have referred to Kashi as an affluent kingdom apart from being a site of religious and cultural importance and as a land of sacrifice and a center of learning.

The city is also a major holy place for the Jains and Buddhists. Jainism took root, especially in the period of its 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanath. Gautama Buddha came to Ishipattan, present day Sarnath in the outskirts of Kashi in 535 B.C., where he first turned the wheel of Dharma. He started to preach his sermons on the four noble truths and the eightfold paths from this very place. Royal patronage during the time of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka was given to this city, and thus Sarnath flourished widely. During this time of flourishing of Buddhism and Jainism in the city, there was political disorder. Several dynasties laid claim on this city including the Koshalas, Magadhas, Kushanas etc. thus causing a series of wars amongst themselves. Later on Kashi shifted from being under the Mauryas to being under the Guptas.

However, despite the fact the city was ruled by Buddhists for a long period of time, this influence wasn’t enough to overshadow Hinduism. This is observed by several travelers including Hiuen-Tsang. He also notes that: The statue of God (Maheshwara Deva) in Teou-Chi (Brass) is a little less than 100 feet in height. Its aspect is grave and majestic and, at the sight of it one is filled with respectful awe as if it were indeed alive. During this time, according to the Jatakas, Varanasi became not only famous in India but also all over Asia and even among the yavanas (Greeks) and Chinese.

By the rise of Buddhism, several Hindu sadhus and scholars felt the necessity for reformation of HInduism. Excessive animal sacrifices, emphasis on ritualism, dissension and intolerance amongst its followers were amongst the reasons. Thus Adi Shankaracharya, set out on a mission to the northern part of Bharat on this mission to revive and reform Hinduism. Buddhism on one hand had however started declining 500 years ago after the MahaSamadhi of Lord Siddhartha. Now the city also started feeling the impact of Adi Shankaracharya, which led to the infusion of a new spirit into its cultural and religious ethos.

Politically, the city’s last Hindu kings were from the Gahadavala dynasty before the city was ruled by Muslim kings. There was infighting among the Hindu kings which caused them in terms of military, making them weak to oppose the Muslim rulers, thus facilitating the spread of Islam. Then, after a few centuries, the city was taken over by the English regime and was overseen by their governors. The British imported western imperialist ideas to complete their political and cultural conquest of Bharat. During this time, the Chirstian religion came to the city through missionaries.

Swami Medhasananda (research scholar on Kashi) credits Varanasi with initiating public protest during the early British empire rule of India, depicting the city’s resilient nature. This might be a major factor behind Kashi’s ability to revive itself time and again despite political uncertainties and religious persecutions. Many research scholars illuminated the city even till as late as the 1st half of the 20th century.

With prostrations to researchers, scholars and sadhus in Varanasi like Swami Medhasananda, Jadunath Sarkar, Raja Jayanayan Ghoshal, Ralph T.H. Griffith, James Prinsep etc. the above compilation of their works has been presented as an article.

• Author: Jayant Suresh ,ME21B2018: I love understanding Indian scriptures and am fond of Indian philosophy. I am a student of Sanskrit and also play the bansuri flute. I also love to read books about history and culture.