Benares Handbook of the Indian Science Congress Benares Session 1941

The beautiful bend of the river for a distance of about four miles from the outskirts of the Benares Hindu University in 'he south to the Dufforin bridge near Rajghat in the north the majestic flow of the waters of the Ganges the piles of buildings on the top of a long flight of steps the spires of temples and the minarets of Aurangzeb's mosque glittering in the morning air or bathed in the gol [...] The river has been named the 'Siwalik river' and is believed to be the successor of the narrow strip of the sea as the latter gradually withdrew through the encroacment of the delta of the replacing river. [...] The order was executed during the monsoon of 1669 A. D. The Gyan Vapi mosque to the north of the present Viivnatha temple was the site of the older temple. [...] The old site of the temple was polluted by the presence of the mosque on it for several decades ; how could it be roused by the Hindus for enshrining the linga of Vigvanatha ?28 Though the Marathas could not rescue Benares from the Muslim rule their rise to political power and importance contributed very largely to the prosperity of the city during the 18th century. [...] The existing vegetation of Benares apart from the fruit trees and ornamental plants in which the indigenous and the introduced species are inextricably mixed up and the cultivated crops contains an admixture of the floras of the adjoining tracts of the province.