or Benares
City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 1,100,748), Uttar Pradesh , India.
Located on the Ganges River in southeastern Uttar Pradesh, it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and was the site of an Aryan settlement before the 2nd millennium BC. It is one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism and has numerous shrines, temples, and palaces and miles of steps for ritual bathing. More than a million Hindus visit the city each year. Just north of Varanasi is Sarnath, where the Buddha delivered his first sermon.