Varanasi | Wikipedia audio article
Channel: wikipedia tts
Date: 2018-12-09

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Varanasi


00:04:28 1 Etymology
00:05:38 2 History
00:05:47 2.1 Hindu Mythology
00:07:00 2.2 Archaeological evidence
00:07:28 2.3 Ancient period
00:08:36 2.4 Medieval period
00:09:26 2.5 Modern history (1500 – present)
00:13:20 3 Geography and climate
00:13:29 3.1 Geography
00:15:23 3.2 Climate
00:16:37 4 Administration and politics
00:16:47 4.1 Administration
00:16:56 4.1.1 General Administration
00:18:21 4.1.2 Police Administration
00:19:22 4.1.3 Infrastructure and Civic Administration
00:20:28 4.2 Politics
00:20:47 4.3 Healthcare
00:22:06 4.4 Public maintenance
00:24:10 5 Demographics
00:25:14 6 Economy
00:29:35 7 Notable landmarks
00:30:18 7.1 Jantar Mantar
00:30:52 7.2 Ramnagar Fort
00:31:58 7.3 Ghats
00:34:56 7.4 Temples
00:38:39 7.5 Mosques
00:40:51 7.6 Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan
00:41:22 7.7 Sarnath
00:42:05 8 Culture
00:42:13 8.1 Literature
00:43:17 8.2 Art
00:44:04 8.3 Music
00:45:20 8.4 Festivals
00:47:58 9 Education
00:51:14 10 Sport
00:52:23 11 Transport
00:52:50 11.1 Air transport
00:53:46 11.2 Railways
00:55:25 11.3 Roads
00:56:34 11.4 Varanasi Metro
00:57:56 12 Twin towns – sister cities



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SUMMARY
=======
Varanasi (Hindustani pronunciation: [ʋaːˈraːɳəsi] (listen)), also known as Benares, Banaras (Banāras [bəˈnaːrəs] (listen)), or Kashi (Kāśī [ˈkaːʃi] (listen)), is a city on the banks of the river Ganga in the Uttar Pradesh state of North India, 320 kilometres (200 mi) south-east of the state capital, Lucknow, and 121 kilometres (75 mi) east of Allahabad. A major religious hub in India, it is the holiest of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) in Hinduism and Jainism, and played an important role in the development of Buddhism and Ravidassia. Varanasi lies along National Highway 2, which connects it to Kolkata, Kanpur, Agra, and Delhi, and is served by Varanasi Junction railway station and Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport.
Varanasi is also one of 72 districts in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. At the time of the 2011 census, there were a total of 8 blocks and 1329 villages in this district. The main languages of Varanasi are the Awadhi and Bhojpuri dialects of Hindi-Urdu.
Varanasi grew as an important industrial centre, famous for its muslin and silk fabrics, perfumes, ivory works, and sculpture. Buddha is believed to have founded Buddhism here around 528 BCE when he gave his first sermon, "The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dharma", at nearby Sarnath. The city's religious importance continued to grow in the 8th century, when Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. During the Muslim rule through Middle Ages, the city continued as an important centre of Hindu devotion, pilgrimage, mysticism and poetry which further contributed to its reputation as a centre of cultural importance and religious education. Tulsidas wrote his epic poem on Rama's life called Ram Charit Manas in Varanasi. Several other major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi, including Kabir and Ravidas. Guru Nanak visited Varanasi for Maha Shivaratri in 1507, a trip that played a large role in the founding of Sikhism.
In the 16th century, Varanasi experienced a cultural revival under the Mughal emperor Akbar who patronised the city, and built two large temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu, though much of modern Varanasi was built during the 18th century, by the Maratha and Brahmin kings. The Kingdom of Benares was given official status by the Mughals in 1737, and continued as a dynasty-governed area until Indian independence in 1947. The city is governed by the Varanasi Nagar Nigam (Municipal Corporation) and is represented in the Parliament of India by the current Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, who won the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 by a huge margin. Silk weaving, carpets and crafts and tourism employ a significant number of the local population, as do the Diesel Locomotive Works and Bharat Heavy Electricals. ...