Varanasi summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Varanasi.

Varanasi , or Benares, City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 1,100,748), Uttar Pradesh, India. Located on the Ganges River in southeastern Uttar Pradesh, it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and was the site of an Aryan settlement before the 2nd millennium bc. It is one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism and has numerous shrines, temples, and palaces and miles of steps for ritual bathing. More than a million Hindus visit the city each year. Just north of Varanasi is Sarnath, where the Buddha delivered his first sermon.

pilgrimage Summary

Pilgrimage, a journey undertaken for a religious motive. Although some pilgrims have wandered continuously with no fixed destination, pilgrims more commonly seek a specific place that has been sanctified by association with a divinity or other holy personage. The institution of pilgrimage is

drainage network of the Brahmaputra and Ganges river

Ganges River Summary

Ganges River, great river of the plains of the northern Indian subcontinent. Although officially as well as popularly called the Ganga in Hindi and in other Indian languages, internationally it is known by its conventional name, the Ganges. From time immemorial it has been the holy river of

Uttar Pradesh Summary

Uttar Pradesh, the most populous and fourth largest state of India. It lies in the north-central part of the country. Uttar Pradesh is bordered by the state of Uttarakhand and the country of Nepal to the north, the state of Bihar to the east, the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to the

India Summary

India, country that occupies the greater part of South Asia. It is made up of 28 states and eight union territories, and its national capital is New Delhi, built in the 20th century just south of the historic hub of Old Delhi to serve as India’s administrative center. Its government is a