Vibhuti Narayan Singh (5 November 1927 – 25 December 2000) was the king of

Benares Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.* * * * The city ...

, a city considered holy, located in the present-day Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. 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

. The day after the Maharaja's death on 4 April 1939, Vibhuti Narayan Singh was appointed his successor to the Narayan dynasty.

Education

Singh studied at Mayo College,

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

. He received his master's degree in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

from

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

, Varanasi, where he studied with the famous grammarian, Vagish Shastri. He was a scholar of Sanskrit,

Veda FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

and

Purana Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

Contribution

On 28 January 1983 the Vishwanath Temple was taken over by the government of Uttar Pradesh and its management was transferred to a trust of which Singh was president. 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). An intermediate college is named after him in Gyanpur and another in Surajpur at Mau district in Uttar Pradesh.

Death

Singh died on 25 December 2000. His body was cremated with state honours at

Manikarnika Ghat Manikarnika Ghat (Hindi: मणिकर्णिका घाट) is one of the holiest cremation grounds among the sacred riverfronts ( ghats), located on the banks of River Ganges, in the city of Varanasi in the Indian state of Uttar Prade ...

in Varanasi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, H.H.Maharaja.Vibhuti Narayan Banaras Hindu University alumni Indian Hindus 1927 births 2000 deaths Indian Sanskrit scholars Maharajas of Benares Narayan dynasty 20th-century Indian royalty People from Varanasi Scholars from Varanasi