Banāras

Banāras (Benares, also Kāśi or Vārānasī) is a tīrtha, a spiritual pilgrimage city on the sacred Ganges (see Ganges) River in Northern India. Pilgrims come from all over India to bathe in the river at Banāras. The Buddha (see Gautama Buddha) preached near Banāras in the Anandavana (the “forest of Bliss”), and deities have always been worshipped there. The god Śiva, as Viśvanātha, “Universal Lord” (see Śiva), is the dominant god at Banāras. The Skanda Purāṇa (see Purāṇas) tells how Śiva's liṇga, or sacred phallus (see Liṇga) of light arose from the earth itself to pierce the skies above at Banāras. It is also said that Śiva sent all the gods to his sacred city, which he entered in glory after Viṣṇu (see Viṣṇu) had helped him rid it of its king.