His Highness Maharaja Vibhuti Narayan Singh Bahadur (5 November 1927 – 25 December 2000) was the king of Benares, a city considered holy, located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He was the last Bhumihar Brahmin king of the Kingdom of Kashi.

Early life

Vibhuti Narayan Singh was born on 5 November 1927. He was adopted in June 1934 by Maharaja Aditya Narayan Singh (1874–1939), the King of Benares.[1] The day after the Maharaja's death on 4 April 1939, Vibhuti Narayan Singh was appointed his successor to the Narayan dynasty.[2]

Education

Singh studied at Mayo College, Ajmer. He received his master's degree in Sanskrit from Banaras Hindu University at Varanasi. He studied with the famous grammarian, Vagish Shastri. He was a scholar of Sanskrit, Vedas and Puranas.[3]

Reign

On becoming an adult in 1947, Singh took charge of his inheritance. He lived at Ramnagar Fort and had a keen interest in cultural activities. His ancestors had started the world famous Ramlila of Ramnagar based on Ramayan and under his guidance these remained popular in Benares.[4]

He had a full-fledged court of justice in his fort and an army.[5]

His kingdom was dissolved and merged into India on 15 October 1948 and his army was converted to PAC stationed at Ramnagar. [6]

Contribution

After the independence of India, Singh became Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, from where he was awarded a D.Litt.[7] He also established Vishwa Sanskrit Pratisthanam for Sanskrit research under the guidance of Vagish Shastri.[8] He established Akhil Bhartiya Kashiraj Nyas which published several books on oriental studies.[9] He established Vidya Mandir trust which also runs the museum comprising exhibits like palanquins, costumes, swords, sabres etc.[10]

On 28 January 1983 the Kashi Vishwanath Temple was taken over by the government of Uttar Pradesh and its management was transferred to a trust of which Singh was president.[11]

In 1947, under his leadership, the Shree Kashi Naresh Education Trust laid the foundation of the Kashi Naresh Government Post Graduate College (KNPG), in the Gyanpur of Bhadohi district (U.P).[12]

An intermediate college is named after him in Gyanpur and another in Surajpur at Mau district in Uttar Pradesh.[13]

Death

Singh died on 25 December 2000. His body was cremated with state honours at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Raja of Benares Passes Away". The Indian Express. 5 April 1939. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Successor of New Ruler Announced". The Indian Express. 6 April 1939. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  3. ^ Baldev Upadhyaya Kashi ki Panditya Parampara, Vishwavidyalaya Prakashan, Varanasi.
  4. ^ Sanyal, Shiv. Benares under English East India Company. The world press.
  5. ^ Singh, Rana P. B. (2009). Banaras: making of India's heritage city. Planet earth & cultural understanding : a series. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Pub. ISBN 978-1-4438-1579-6.
  6. ^ Allen, Charles; Dwivedi, Sharada (1998). Lives of the Indian princes (Revised ed.). Mumbai: Eeshwar. ISBN 978-81-86982-05-1.
  7. ^ Association of Indian Universities (1987). "Banaras Hindu University". Proceedings- Association of Indian Universities. 62: 6-8-28.
  8. ^ "विश्वसंस्कृतप्रतिष्ठानस्य संस्थापना". Vishva Bhasha. 5: 3, 4, 5, 6.
  9. ^ "Bulletin of Puran Department". Puranam All India Kashiraj Trust. 34.
  10. ^ "Ramnagar Fort".
  11. ^ Official website of Varanasi
  12. ^ KNPG College home page
  13. ^ "College History".
  14. ^ "Varanasi bids adieu to Kashi Naresh". The Times of India. 27 December 2000. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
Preceded by Rulers of Benares State
1939–1948 		Succeeded by
Allikas: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibhuti_Narayan_Singh
No tags for this post.