Varanasi (Sanskrit: वाराणसी "Vārāṇasī",Telugu: వారణాసి, [ʋaːɾaːɳəsiː), also commonly known as Banaras and Kashi, is a city situated on the banks of the river Ganga (Ganges) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh regarded holy by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, and is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world along with Damascus.