The Kingdom of Kashi was an independent Bhumihar Brahmin state until 1194, became a British territory in 1775, and became a state in 1911. It is the site of Ramnagar Fort

Ramnagar Fort

Ramnagar Fort is a fort in Ramnagar, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh state, India. The fort and its museum are the repository of the history of the kings of Benares and since the 18th century has been the home of Kashi Naresh.-History:...

 and its museum, which are the repository of the history of the kings of Benares and since the 18th century has been the home of Kashi Naresh. Even today the Kashi Naresh is deeply revered by the people of Benares. He is the religious head and the people of Benares consider him the incarnation of Lord Shiva. He is also the chief cultural patron and an essential part of all religious celebrations.

History

The Kingdom of Kashi was founded by Khsetravridha, the son of Ayus, of the Somavansa dynasty of Pratishthana. It lost independence in 1194 and was eventually ceded by the Nawab of Oudh to the British in 1775 who recognized Benares as a family dominion. Benares acceded to the status of State in 1911. The ruling family claims descent from the God Shiva and benefited greatly from pilgrimage to Benares.

The governor of Benares gave most of the area currently known as Varanasi to Mansa Ram, a Gautam Bhumihar Brahmin zamindar

Zamindar

A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...

 of Utaria

Gangapur

Gangapur is a city and a municipal council in Aurangabad district in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Geography:Gangapur is located on west side of Aurangabad-Ahmednagar Highway, 38 km from Aurangabad. Gangapur is Taluka place in Historical District Aurangabad...

. In 1737 A.D. Balwant Singh, ruler of Utaria, later received territories of Jaunpur

Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh

Jaunpur is a city and a municipal board in Jaunpur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.Jaunpur district is located to the northwest of the district of Varanasi in the eastern part of the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. According to the 2001 census, Jaunpur district had a population...

, Varanasi and Chunar

Chunar

Chunar छुनर شُنَر, located in Mirzapur District of Uttar Pradesh state, India, is an ancient town. The railway tracks passing through Chunar leads to major destinations of India, including Howrah, Delhi, Tatanagar and Varanasi. National Highway number 7 also passes through Chunar...

 in 1740 A.D. from Mughal Emperor of Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

. Thus started the Kingdom of Benaras under the Mughal dynasty. Other places under the kingship of Kashi Naresh were Chandauli

Chandauli

Chandauli , also known as Chandoli, is a town and a nagar panchayat in Chandauli district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Chandauli District.-Geography:...

, Gyanpur

Gyanpur

Gyanpur is a town and a nagar panchayat in Sant Ravidas Nagar district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.-Geography:Gyanpur is located at . It has an average elevation of 81 metres .-Demographics:...

, Chakia

Chakia

Chakia may mean:*Chakia, Bihar a place in Bihar, India*Chakia, Uttar Pradesh a place in Uttar Pradesh, India...

, Latifshah, Mirzapur

Mirzapur

Mirzapur is a city in the heart of North India, nearly 650 km between Delhi and Kolkata and also equidistant from Allahabad and Varanasi. Located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Mirzapur has a population of a little over 205,264 and is renowned for its famous carpet and brassware industry...

, Nandeshwar

Nandeshwar

Nandeshwar is a village in Belgaum district in the southwestern state of Karnataka, India....

, Mint House and Vindhyachal

Vindhyachal

Vindhyachal is a town in Mirzapur District of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The city is a Hindu pilgrimage site having the temple of Vindhyavasini, where according to mythology a part of Sati Born in Nand Yadav Family as sister of Lord Krishna. The river Ganges flows through this city...

.

With the decline of Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

, in the area of south of Avadh and in the fertile rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

 growing areas of Benares, Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...

, Deoria

Deoria

Deoria is a town in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is one of 5 tehsils of Deoria district. The name of the Railway Station is Deoria Sadar.-Ancient:...

, Ghazipur

Ghazipur

Ghazipur , or Ghazipur City, previously spelt Ghazeepore, is a city/town and a municipal corporation and headquarter of Ghazipur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghazipur Division and Sub-division...

, Ballia

Ballia

Ballia is a city with a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The eastern boundary of the city lies at the junction of the Ganges and the Ghaghara...

 and Bihar

Bihar

Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

 and on the fringes of Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

, the military or Bhumihar Brahmin strengthened their sway. What brought success to the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 petty princes was the strong clan organisation on which they rested. There were perhaps as many as 100,000 Bhumihar Brahmin clansmen backing the power of the Benares rajas in what later became the districts of Benares, Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...

 and Azamgarh

Azamgarh

Azamgarh is a town in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is headquarters of Azamgarh district and Azamgarh Division.-History:Azamgarh, one of the easternmost districts of the State, once formed a part of the ancient Kosala kingdom, except the north-eastern part of it which was included in the...

. This proved a decisive advantage when the dynasty

Dynasty

A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

 faced its rival and a nominal suzerain, the Nawab of Awadh

Nawab of Awadh

The Nawab of Awadh is the title of rulers who governed the state of Awadh in India in the 18th and 19th century. The Nawabs of Awadh originated form Persia-Establishment:...

, in the 1750s and the 1760s. It was the capacity of the Benares ruler to mount an exhausting guerrilla war against the Avadh camp using his Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 clan levies which forced the Nawab

Nawab

A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....

 to withdraw his main force.

The kingdom was ceded by the Nawab of Oudh to the British raj

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

 in 1775, who recognized Benares as a family dominion. In 1911, it acceded to the status of State. It was given the privilege of 13-gun salute.

According to Orthodox Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 traditions, nobody has seen Kashi Naresh have his food, and none of the kings have travelled abroad in keeping with strict Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 rules. Kashi Naresh has played host to a list of dignitaries which includes Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala

Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala

Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1959 to 1960. He led the Nepali Congress, a social democratic political party.Koirala was the first democratically elected Prime Minister in Nepal's history...

, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

, Rajendra Prasad

Rajendra Prasad

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was an Indian politician and educator. He was one of the architects of the Indian Republic, having drafted its first constitution and serving as the first president of independent India...

, Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...

, Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

, Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

, Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...

, President Kocheril Raman Narayanan and his Burmese wife.

Kashi Naresh

The Kashi Naresh is believed to be a descendent of Lord Shiva. During the religious occasion of Shivratri, the Kashi Naresh is the chief officiating priest and no other priest is allowed entry into the garbhagriha

Garbhagriha

Garbhagriha or Garbha griha is the small unlit shrine of a Hindu temple.Garbhagriha or ' is a Sanskrit word meaning the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple where resides the murti of the primary deity of the temple...

 or sanctum sanctorum

Sanctum sanctorum

The Latin phrase sanctum sanctorum is a Latin translation of the biblical term: "Holy of Holies" which generally refers in Latin texts to the Holiest place of the Tabernacle of Ancient Israel and later the Temples in Jerusalem, but also has some derivative use in application to imitations of the...

. It is only after he performs his religious offerings that anyone else is allowed to enter.

The residential place of Naresh is Ramnagar Fort

Ramnagar Fort

Ramnagar Fort is a fort in Ramnagar, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh state, India. The fort and its museum are the repository of the history of the kings of Benares and since the 18th century has been the home of Kashi Naresh.-History:...

 at Ramnagar

Ramnagar, Varanasi

Ramnagar is a city and a municipal board in Varanasi district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ramnagar has a fort known as Ramnagar Fort which is still the residence of King of Varanasi . He was known as Kashi Naresh meaning king of Kashi and is still regarded by old residents of the city of...

 near Varanasi, which is next to river Ganges

Ganges River

The Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...

. Kashi Naresh holds the title of Chancellor

Chancellor (education)

A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....

 of Banaras Hindu University

Banaras Hindu University

Banaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...

. This title has as such no executive powers, and all decisions are taken by Vice-Chancellor instead.

On January 28, 1983 the Kashi Vishwanath Temple was taken over by the government of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

 and its management was transferred to a trust with Late Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh

Vibhuti Narayan Singh

Pandit Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh डॉ विभूति नारायण सिंह् was the popular King of Benares, a holy city located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He was the last king of the Kingdom of Kashi.-Childhood:...

, then Kashi Naresh, as President and an executive committee with Divisional Commissioner as Chairman.

Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh was the last Naresh to see kingship after Benares was ceded to the Union of India on 15th of Oct 1948. After his death in 2000, his son Anant Narayan Singh is the Kashi Naresh responsible for upholding the traditional duties of a Kashi Naresh.

History of Ramnagar

The Ramnagar Fort

Ramnagar Fort

Ramnagar Fort is a fort in Ramnagar, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh state, India. The fort and its museum are the repository of the history of the kings of Benares and since the 18th century has been the home of Kashi Naresh.-History:...

 was built by Kashi Naresh Raja Balwant Singh with creamy chunar sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 in the eighteenth century. It is a typically Mughal

Mughal architecture

Mughal architecture, an amalgam of Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indian architecture, is the distinctive style developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It is symmetrical and decorative in style.The Mughal dynasty was...

 style of architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 with carved balconies, open courtyards, and picturesque pavilions.

Ram leela at Ramnagar

When the Dussehra

Vijayadashami

Vijayadashami also known as Dasara, is one of the most important festivals celebrated in various forms, across India, Nepal and Bangladesh...

 festivities are inaugurated with a colourful pageant Kashi Naresh rides an elephant at the head of the procession. Then, resplendent in silk and brocade, he inaugrates the month long folk theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 of Ramlila at Ramnagar

Ramnagar

Ramnagar may refer to:Settlements in Bangladesh:* Ramnagar, BangladeshSettlements in India:* Ramanagar - a town near Bangalore in Karnataka state of India * Ramnagar, Agartala...

.

The Ramlila

Ramlila

Ramlila is a dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Lord Ram, ending up in ten day battle between Lord Ram and Ravan, as described in the Hindu religious epic, the Ramayana...

 is a cycle of plays which recounts the epic story of Lord Rama, as told in Ramcharitmanas, the version of the Ramayana

Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

 penned by Tulsidas

Tulsidas

Tulsidas , was a Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher renowned for his devotion for the god Rama...

. The plays sponsored by the Maharaja, are performed in Ramnagar every evening for 31 days. On the last day the festivities reach a crescendo as Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

 vanquishes the demon king Ravana

Ravana

' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...

. Maharaja Udit Narayan Singh

Maharaja Udit Narayan Singh

Maharaja Udit Narayan Singh , of the Royal House of Benares, was the Kashi Naresh from . He was the eldest surviving son of Mahipat Narayan Singh.He had a great contribution in the culture of Varanasi....

 started this tradition of staging the Ramleela at Ramnagar in mid-nineteenth century.

Over a million pilgrims arrive annually for the vast processions and performances organized by Kashi Naresh.

All India Kashi raj Trust

Serious work on the Puranas

Puranas

The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...

 began when the All India Kashiraj Trust was formed under the patronage and guidance of Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh, the Maharaja of Kashi

Varanasi

-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...

, which, in addition to producing critical editions of the Puranas

Puranas

The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...

, also published the journal Puranam.

Saraswati Bhawan at Ramnagar Fort

A rare collection of manuscripts, especially religious writings, is housed in Saraswati Bhawan. It includes a precious handwritten manuscript

Manuscript

A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...

 by Goswami Tulsidas. There are also many books illustrated in the Mughal miniature style, with beautifully designed covers.

Vyasa Temple at Ramnagar

According to a popular Puran

Puran

Puran Puran Tehsil is a sub-division and tehsil of Shangla District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan....

ic story, when Vyasa

Vyasa

Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...

 failed to get alms in Varanasi

Varanasi

-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...

 he put a curse on the city. Soon after, at a house where Parvati

Parvati

Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...

 and Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

 had taken human form as householders, Vyasa

Vyasa

Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...

 was so pleased with the alms he received that he forgot his curse. However, because of his bad temper Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

 banished Vyasa

Vyasa

Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...

 from Varanasi

Varanasi

-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...

. Resolved to be near at hand, Vyasa

Vyasa

Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...

 took his residence on the other side of the Ganges where his temple may still be seen at Ramnagar.