Benares has other names. Varanasi, located between two rivers Varana and Asi, and hence the name Varanasi, it’s a holy city, being one of the most sacred pilgrimage places for Hindus. More than 1,000,000 pilgrims visit the city each year. Hindus believe that bathing in Ganga remits sins and that dying in Kashi ensures release of a person’s soul from the cycle of its transmigrations. Benares is also known as Kaasi because it is beleived that supreme brilliance shines there, and lights the way to salvation (Kas – to shine).