# Vārāṇasī

Source: https://buddhisma2z.com/varanasi/  
Author: Bhante S. Dhammika, *Guide To Buddhism A To Z*  
Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

![Vārāṇasī](https://buddhisma2z.com/images/V/varanasi.webp)

Vārāṇasī, often anglicized as Benares, is [**Hinduism**](https://buddhisma2z.com/hinduism/)’s mosts sacred city. Its name is derived from the fact that the ancient city was originally situated between two small tributaries of the [**Ganges**](https://buddhisma2z.com/ganges/), the Varna and the Asi. To die in Vārāṇasī or to bathe in the Ganges there, is the goal of every devote Hindu. In the [**Tipiṭaka**](https://buddhisma2z.com/tipitaka/) Vārāṇasī is sometimes called Kasi, the city’s oldest name, or Bārānasī (D.II,146). The city has long been a centre of religious learning, culture and trade, especially trade in luxury goods. The [**Buddha**](https://buddhisma2z.com/buddha/) said that before he renounced the world he only wore clothes made from Kasi cloth, a type of rich brocade, and used sandalwood from Kasi (A.I,145). Numerous [**Jātaka**](https://buddhisma2z.com/jataka/) stories are set in Vārāṇasī or are said to have taken place when ‘Brahmadatta was king of Bārāṇasī’.

Archeological investigations have shown that there was a Buddhist presence in Vārāṇasī in ancient times but it was always overshadowed by Hinduism. Isipatana, where the Buddha preached his first and second discourses and now called [**Sārnāth**](https://buddhisma2z.com/sarnath/), is just beyond  Vārāṇasī’s outer suburbs.

Subjects: Culture and Traditions