A bend in the Ganga turns the river northward, back towards the Himalaya, and gives Kashi - or Varanasi the modern name  - its crescent of ghats, likened by devotees to the moon in Shiva’s hair. The image has become inseparable from Hinduism’s sacred imagination. 

Kashi has entranced generations over millennia. To be in Kashi is to glimpse history itself. It tells a tale of extraordinary civilisational continuity woven from Hindu spirituality, Buddhism, Sanskrit, philosophy, literature, music, craft, and education – an elevating mix. Kashi lives through an amalgam of tradition that endures, faith that does not obliterate knowledge, and modernisation that does not erase the past.

Of course, Kashi has witnessed its share of political upheavals, conflicts, economic transformation, and changes in patronage. Yet it has survived by continuously reinventing itself without forsaking its memory. Mark Twain, who visited in 1896, captured its antiquity in his work ‘Following the Equator’: “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.”

Kashi is generally associated with spirituality, enlightenment, and liberation, or moksha. It is the seat of Shiva as Vishwanath, Lord of the Universe, and a centre of Shaivism. With the sacred presence of the Ganga, the city became a pilgrimage destination where rituals, philosophy, and daily life were inseparable. The temple, the ghats, the gurus’ residences, and scholars’ households all functioned as places of learning and emancipation.

At its heart are the temples. The Kashi Vishwanath Dham is enthralling and can hold devotees in a trance. The Sankat Mochan Temple, even amid crowds of devotees, is a picture of tranquillity.

Civilisational Capital of India

But Kashi’s importance extends beyond temples and prayers. The city has been a meeting ground of different schools of Hindu thought. Shaivism and Vaishnavism found enduring homes, with various traditions interacting through debates and scholarship – a reminder that free speech, debate and even dissent have long been part of the tradition of this land. It is this culture that produced transformative works such as Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, completed in Kashi and composed in Awadhi, which carried the Ramayana from Sanskrit into the language of the people, and the poetry of Kabir, a son of Kashi, which prized direct spiritual experience and challenged empty ritual and formalism.

A short distance from Kashi, Sarnath became another centre of intellectual and spiritual life after the Buddha arrived here following his enlightenment and delivered his first sermon to his earliest disciples. His teachings set the Dharma Chakra in motion, introducing the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, which went on to shape much of Asia. The monasteries, museums, and archaeological remnants speak silently of our Buddhist traditions.

Eventually, Kashi became a civilisational capital of India. Poets, saints, scholars, musicians, artisans, and even ordinary citizens helped shape the city. For millennia, seekers and scholars travelled from far and wide in search of knowledge, learning, and even emancipation. Its modern institutions carry that legacy forward. 

Banaras Hindu University (BHU), founded by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in 1916, combines India’s classical heritage with modern scientific and technical education on a 1,300-acre campus that even has its own airstrip.

The Government Sanskrit College, founded in 1791 at the instance of Jonathan Duncan, the East India Company’s Resident, transformed into a full university in 1958 through the efforts of Dr. Sampurnanand, then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Pt. Kamlapati Tripathi, then the state’s education minister. It was renamed Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (SSU) in 1974. Its famous library, Saraswati Bhavan Granthalaya, houses a vast collection of rare books and documents, including palm-leaf bhoj patra and handmade-paper manuscripts, as well as a gold-inked Shrimad Bhagavatam.

Leading Institution of Buddhist Studies

The Central University of Tibetan Studies (CUTS) at Sarnath grew out of discussions between Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the 14th Dalai Lama and was founded in 1967. Today, it stands as a leading institution of learning in Buddhism and philosophy.  Students from many countries can be seen walking its lawns, in the manner of a serene old seat of learning. The CUTS library preserves rare manuscripts with passion and the latest technology.

Such richness deserves care to match: cleanliness, and an extraordinary effort to preserve its authenticity with simplicity. The CUTS campus, though much smaller, stands in stark contrast to BHU, which is somewhat in disarray, with milling crowds, unkempt buildings, and uncut grass in open areas.

CUTS Vice Chancellor, Prof. Wangchuk Dorjee Negi, explains the nuances of Hindu and Buddhist thought in terms a layperson can follow. Prof. Pandey, former head of the Department of Philosophy, BHU, an eminent scholar of Indian philosophy, answers questions with rare depth. 

A meeting with the nonagenarian Prof. Vashishtha Narayan Tripathi, Padma Bhushan awardee and president of Kashi Vidvat Parishad, along with his son, and his grandson, Dr. Gyanesh Tripathi, is a memorable encounter. Tripathi is considered a prodigy, having started teaching the Gita at age 13. As alert as ever, he can explain the basic tenets of Indian values and culture in a manner few others can.

Exploring this ocean of heritage is a journey beyond religiosity. Its depth is an invitation to learn, to grow and to serve, and, in the end, to rise beyond the self towards knowledge itself. This festival season, when more than a million lamps light its ghats, Kashi offers an old lesson: that faith and questioning are one, part of an unending inquiry carried on along these banks for millennia.

(Bajpai is former Chairman, SEBI & LIC. Tiwari is former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General and Member, NFRA.  The views expressed are personal. By special arrangement with The Billion Press).