Read Book Online : http://www.archive.org/stream/kashicityillustr00grea#page/n5/mode/2up

Download pdf Book : http://ia700100.us.archive.org/21/items/kashicityillustr00grea/kashicityillustr00grea.pdf

Amezing Amrita jee u r gr8.

I love Kashi..It's the birth place of my mom & my mom was cremated along the ghats of holy Ganges ....!!! it's really sad to know that It's constantlyunder terrorist attacks..... Thank U RBSI for putting this one up ...

Benares --- The Oldest, Ancient still inhabited City in the entire world,,,it was still around when Babylon & Alexandria were at there helm,,,and London & Paris were not even in existence....

The magnetic appeal of Kashi cannot be overstated.

I visited Kashi about two years back. I found the roots of India there. It was so vibrant luv to visit again.

Well, the history of Benares is great but the current reality not so much so. i went there in Jan this year and was saddened by the creeping commercialism. By the way there are some good books on Benares which have come out in Hindi. I bought some. Current archaeological evidence suggests a first millenium bce date for the establishment of Kasi, one of the first Aryan cities( as opposed to IVC cites, of course). By the 8th or 7th century bce there were 16 mahajanapadas in the subcontinent, Kasi being one of them. By the 6th century bce however, Kosala, after a long series of battles annexed Kasi. after this time Kosala was known as Kasi Kosala, so important was Kasi as a river port and so commanding its control over navigation on the Ganges which was the central commercial and trade route in those days. Daring navigators also made attempts to reach the sea from kasi and there are mentions of trade(specially salt) even beyond the Ganges delta. Its cotton and silk were already famous even 3000 years ago; its well known orange brown die 'kashaya' gave the color for buddhist robes and retains its popularity as the famous Benares Katthai even today. Kasi -Kosala was , of course defeated by Magadha and then became part of the Mauryan Empire when Magadha spread its rule over the entire subcontinent. It is one of the places which have retained their importance from the ancient to the medieval to the modern age. Which is quite singular.

The mornings of Kashi and the eveningS of Awadh are famous in UP.