Sacred Site of the Mahabharata
Kashi
काशी
Sacred city and kingdom, Amba's homeland, where Bhishma abducted the three princesses from their svayamvara
Kashi (Present-day Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh): Sacred city and kingdom, Amba's homeland, where Bhishma abducted the three princesses from their svayamvara, located at coordinates 25.32°N, 83.00°E.
Key Facts
| Type | Sacred Site |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit name | काशी |
| Coordinates | 25.32°N, 83.00°E |
| Modern location | Present-day Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh |
| Region | north |
| Significance | Sacred city and kingdom, Amba's homeland, where Bhishma abducted the three princesses from their svayamvara |
About Kashi
The ancient sacred city, also known as Varanasi, and the kingdom ruled from it by the King of Kashi. Home of princesses Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika, who were abducted by Bhishma from their svayamvara for his brother Vichitravirya.
Why it matters: Sacred city and kingdom, Amba's homeland, where Bhishma abducted the three princesses from their svayamvara
Rulers and Custodians
- King of Kashi
Details
- Tragedy
- Amba's rejection led to her vow to kill Bhishma
- Rebirth
- Amba became Shikhandi to fulfill her vengeance
On the Map
Kashi sits at 25.32°N, 83.00°E, in Present-day Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
View on the full mapEvents at Kashi
- Amba's Vow of RevengeYear -96Bhishma abducts three princesses of Kashi for his brother. Amba vows revenge when Bhishma sends her away.
- Amba's Terrible VowYear -90Princess Amba, abducted by Bhishma but rejected by her intended groom, vows to be the cause of Bhishma's death.
- Abduction at KashiYear -80Bhishma abducts Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika from their svayamvara to be brides for Vichitravirya, defeating all kings.
- The Ungrateful GuestYear 61Rajadharma, a noble crane and friend of the gods, shelters, feeds, and enriches a poor brahmin; the ungrateful guest repays him by killing and eating his benefactor. The grieving gods restore the crane to life, and the betrayer is cast down - a tale of the supreme sin of ingratitude.
- The Sage Who Forgot HimselfYear 67The sage Narada, certain he understands maya, asks the Lord to show it to him; sent to fetch water, he forgets himself, marries, raises a family, and loses them all in a flood - then wakes to find no time has passed. Humbled, he learns that to know about illusion is not to be free of it.
- The Vulture and the JackalYear 80A grieving family lingers over their dead child at the burning ground, pulled between a vulture who urges them to let go (the dead never return) and a jackal who urges them to hold on (perhaps he will revive) - each beast secretly craving the body. Their steadfast love, turned to the divine, is answered when grace restores the child.
- The Yogi of Many WorldsYear 83The proud ascetic Asita Devala follows the silent master Jaigishavya with his yogic sight through world after world, finding him already honored in every one, and is humbled. Jaigishavya teaches him that all powers and higher worlds are not the goal, but only the supreme peace of the soul freed from both joy and sorrow.
Stories Set at Kashi
The Abduction at Kashi
The Svayamvara and the Tragedy of Amba
The Fire-Born and the Woman Who Became a Man
Drupada's Children, Drona's Old Feud, and Amba's Vow Across Lives
The King Who Never Lied
Harishchandra's Trial of Truth
The Honest Merchant
Tuladhara and the Proud Ascetic
The Ungrateful Guest
The noble crane and the benefactor's murderer
The Sage Who Forgot Himself
Narada lives a whole life in an instant of illusion
The Vulture and the Jackal
Two voices over a dead child: hope and acceptance
The Yogi of Many Worlds
The true goal of yoga is peace, not powers
The False Vasudeva
Paundraka, the King Who Dressed as God
Pandu's Conquest
The pale king who filled the treasury
The King Who Declared War on Himself
Alarka finds the only enemy worth conquering
Kashi, the City of Light in the Epic
Three princesses and a long revenge
The King Made of Two Halves
A mango, two queens, and the demoness who put a child together
The Names That Cleanse Sin
Asked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kings
The Brahmanas Who Deserve Worship
Narada tells Krishna whom he bows to, and Bhishma tells a king what it costs to forget
The Five Forms of Marriage
Bhishma on how a daughter is given, what a dower does not buy, and the honour owed to women