List of people from Varanasi

Last updated December 07, 2025

This is a list of notable people from Varanasi, a city in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Saints

Activists

The arts, including music and entertainment

Rasoolan Bai, singer
Ashutosh Bhattacharya (1917–2004), tabla player
Ekta Chowdhry, model
Girija Devi, singer; Padma Vibhushan recipient
Siddheshwari Devi, khayal singer; Padma Shri recipient
Sitara Devi, actress, dancer and actress; Padma Shri recipient
Bismillah Khan, shehnai player; Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan recipient
Sujit Kumar, actor and producer
Anant Lal, Indian classical musician and teacher
Birju Maharaj, Kathak guru; Padma Vibhushan recipient
Kishan Maharaj, tabla player; Padma Vibhushan recipient
Vikash Maharaj, sarod player; Yash Bharati recipient
Ronu Majumdar, flautist
Channulal Mishra, Hindustani classical player; Padma Bhushan recipient * Prabhash Maharaj, Tabla player; shiromani recipient
Deobrat Mishra, sitarist, surbaharist
Shivnath Mishra, sitarist, surbaharist
Lalmani Misra, musician
Hemanta Mukherjee, singer, music director and film director
Shamta Prasad (Gudai Maharaj), tabla player; Padma Shri recipient
Sameer, lyricist
Ritwik Sanyal, singer, Dhrupad
Ravi Shankar, sitarist; Bharat Ratna recipient
Uday Shankar, dancer; Padma Vibhushan recipient
Vidisha, actress
Hiralal Yadav, folk dinger; Padma Shri recipient

Scholar and writer

Sitaram Chaturvedi, educator, dramatist and scholar
Manmath Nath Gupta, revolutionary and writer

Literature and academics

Bedhab Banarasi, Hindi writer
Kabir Das, mystic Bhojpuri poet and saint
Ashok Dhawan, MLA, Uttar Pradesh
Sudama Panday 'Dhoomil', poet
Deviprasad Dwivedi, writer and teacher, Padma Bhushan recipient
Shiv Prasad Gupta, freedom fighter, philanthropist and founder of Kashi Vidyapeeth
Bharatendu Harishchandra, novelist, poet, playwright
Gopinath Kaviraj (1887–1976), Sanskrit scholar; principal, Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi (1923–1937); Padma Vibhushan (1964)^[1]
Devaki Nandan Khatri, writer
Shiv Prasad Mishra, writer
Veer Bhadra Mishra, founding president of the Sankat Mochan Foundation; former professor and HOD of civil engineering at IIT (BHU), Varanasi^[2]
Premendra Mitra, Bengali poet and novelist
Jaishankar Prasad, writer
Premchand, Hindi-Urdu writer
Ravidas, mystic saint and poet
Vagish Shastri, Sanskrit scholar, tantric, linguist and grammarian
Charu Sheel Singh, writer
Kashi Nath Singh, writer
Namvar Singh, literary critic, Sahitya Akademi winner
Shiv Prasaad Singh, writer
Teg Ali Teg, Bhojpuri writer and poet
Harihar Kripalu Tripathi, Sanskrit scholar, Padma Bhushan recipient
Tulsidas, saint and poet, and philosopher
Baldev Upadhyaya, Hindi, Sanskrit scholar, literary historian, essayist and critic, Padma Bhushan recipient

National and International Award winners

Bharat Ratna

Padma Vibhushan

Padma Bhusan

Deviprasad Dwivedi, writer and teacher, Padma Bhushan
Gopinath Kaviraj (1887–1976), Sanskrit scholar; principal, Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi (1923–1937); Padma Vibhushan (1964)^[1]
Harihar Kripalu Tripathi, Sanskrit scholar, Padma Bhushan
Baldev Upadhyaya, Hindi, Sanskrit scholar, literary historian, essayist and critic, Padma Bhushan

Padma Shri

Kamalakar Tripathi, Indian physician and Former Professor in the Department of Medicine, BHU Institute of Medical Sciences.[1][2] He has been the Head of Nephrology Department.
Ajita Srivastava is an Indian singer, educationist and a social worker. Srivastava is known for popularizing and promoting the Kajari folk songs.
Bismillah Khan

Politics

Prime Minister of India

Lal Bahadur Shastri, Ex-Prime Minister of India

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh

Sampurnanand, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and former governor of Rajasthan
Tribhuvan Narain Singh, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh
Kamalapati Tripathi, writer, freedom fighter, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and former railway minister

MP of Varanasi

Shankar Prasad Jaiswal, former MP of Varanasi
Anil Shastri, former MP of Varanasi
Raghunath Singh, first MP of Varanasi

Royalty

Raja Chait Singh Maharaja of Benaras
Kashi Naresh Maharaja Banaras Vibhuti Narayan Singh
Maharani Kiran Rao, Queen of Bhopal
Maharani Lakshmibai, Queen of Jhansi
Raj Narain

Scientists

Arvind Mohan Kayastha, biologist
Bishun Khare, research scientist
Subhash Chandra Lakhotia, cytogenetist and biologist
Sanjaya Rajaram, plant biologist
Sushruta, father of plastic surgery

Sports

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, basketball player
Bernard Brodhurst, cricketer
Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, cricketer
Mohammed Shahid, field hockey player
Akanksha Singh, basketball player
Divya Singh, basketball player
Prashanti Singh, basketball player
Pratima Singh, basketball player
Shivpal Singh, track and field athlete
Lalit Upadhyay, field hockey player
Narsingh Pancham Yadav, wrestler
Punam Yadav, weightlifter
Ram Singh Yadav, marathon runner
YASHOVARDHAN SINGH, CRICKETER

Others

Sir James Brooke, founder of the White Rajah dynasty of Sarawak
Sitaram Chaturvedi, educator, dramatist and scholar
Ekta Chowdhry, model
Bhagwan Das, Bharat Ratna recipient
Manmath Nath Gupta, revolutionary and writer
Rai Krishnadasa, Padma Vibhushan recipient
Lahiri Mahasaya, yogi
Arun Pathak, activist and politician
Ravidas
Sameer, lyricist
Sachindra Nath Sanyal, revolutionary and founder of the Hindustan Republican Association
K. L. Shrimali, Padma Vibhushan
Tapan Singhel, managing director and chief executive officer of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance

References

1 2 "Sri Sri Anandamayi Ma's Devotees". Anandamayi Ma. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
↑ "Dr. Veer Bhadra Mishra". Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.

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[ana-1] 1 2 "Sri Sri Anandamayi Ma's Devotees". Anandamayi Ma. Retrieved 26 September 2014.

[2] "Dr. Veer Bhadra Mishra". Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.

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