Vibhuti Narayan Singh

Vibhuti Narayan Singh (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 king of the Kingdom of Kashi.

Vibhuti Narayan Singh
Kashi Naresh
Maharaja Bahadur of Kashi
Reign	5 April 1939 – 15 August 1947
Predecessor	Aditya Narayan Singh
Successor	Office abolished
Titular Maharaja of Kashi
Reign	15 August 1947 - 25 December 2000
Predecessor	Office established
Successor	Anant Narayan Singh
Born	5 November 1927 (1927-11-05) Ramnagar, Varanasi, Benares State, British Raj
Died	25 December 2000 (2000-12-26) (aged 73) Ramnagar, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
Issue	4
Dynasty	Narayan dynasty
Father	Aditya Narayan Singh (adoptive)

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, Varanasi, where he studied with the famous grammarian, Vagish Shastri. He was a scholar of Sanskrit, Veda and Purana.^[3]

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.^[4]

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).^[5]

An intermediate college is named after him in Gyanpur and another in Surajpur at Mau district in Uttar Pradesh.^{[citation needed]}

Death

Singh died on 25 December 2000. His body was cremated with state honours at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi.^[6]