Life, Death and Lord Shiva: Why Kashi Is Called the City That Never Dies
Few places on earth hold life and death as close together as Varanasi. Along the same steps of the Ganga where families gather at dawn to offer prayers, funeral pyres glow through the night — and to the people of Kashi, there is nothing frightening in this nearness. Here, life and death are seen not as opposites but as two banks of one eternal river. Believed to be among the oldest continuously living cities in the world, Varanasi sits at the heart of the lore of Lord Shiva. Devotees say that Shiva himself whispers the Taraka Mantra to those departing on these ghats, offering moksha — release from the endless cycle of birth and rebirth. It is this belief that draws pilgrims, sadhus and seekers from every corner of India to the city's riverfront. Yet Kashi is not solemn. Mornings begin with Subah-e-Banaras, the sunrise aarti, as boatmen glide across the water and temple bells ring through narrow lanes scented with incense and kachori. Wrestlers train in age-old akharas, silk weavers bend over their looms, and life simply flows on. For a traveller, the deepest lesson of Varanasi is rarely found inside any one temple. It lives in the city's unhurried acceptance of impermanence — the quiet reminder that every sunrise over the Ganga is both an ending and a beginning. To visit with respect and an open heart is to glimpse why this city has been called eternal for thousands of years.
Compiled by HelloBanaras from public sources: