One of the seven sacred cities of the ancient Aryans was the city of Varanasi - the center of learning and the capital of the kingdom of Kashi, that is, "shining". The epic claims that Varanasi was founded in ancient times, with the grandson of the great-ancestor of the people Manu, who escaped from the flood. According to the astronomical chronology of the Mahabharata, Varanasi as the capital existed already for 12 thousand 300 years before our days. Its name is produced either from the word "lizard", which means "forest elephant" (mammoth), or from the name of the rivers Varana and Asi, on which this city stood, or, perhaps, it comes from the combination "Vara-nash", which means "our circle (fortress)".
But is there a city with such a name on the Varana River today? If we look at the banks of the Vorona River, we will not see such a city there. However, let us remember that up to the 18th century, the current Voronezh River was called the Great Vorona, was navigable and even full-water of the upper Don. The largest city in southern Russia, Voronezh, stands on this river today. We have no exact data on when it was founded. Voronezh is mentioned both under 1177 and in 1237. It is believed that the Voronezh fortress was restored in 1586. In the 17th-18th centuries the city was made of wood, but back in 1702 there were ruins of some stone buildings within its boundaries, which were called by the locals “Kazarskie”. Now there are at least four ancient Russian settlements on the territory of Voronezh. There are also monuments of previous eras. But could Voronezh be the ancient Varanasi?
This question should be answered positively. First, the very name Voronezh is closer to the ancient Aryan Varanasi (Vara-nashi) than the modern Indian Ben-Ares (the city of Ares), especially since in the 16th century the fortress was called Voronets and in the 17th century - Voranash.
Secondly, the ancient Aryan epic indicates a number of geographical objects in the Varanasi region that are absent in India. In addition to the Varana (Great Crow) river, the Asi, Kaveri, and Deva rivers flowed near Varanasi. But near Voronezh and now the rivers Usman, Kaverye, Devitsa are flowing. Not far from Varanasi were the Vai-durya reservoir (“durya” - mountain) and the mountains Deva-sabha (“sabha” - hill). But even now, the Bai-Gora River flows in the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions, and the hills south of Voronezh, near the Sosna and Don rivers, are called Devogorye.
This apparent contradiction can be easily explained. At Voronezh, the Veduga river flows into the Don, after which, apparently, the Videha region was named.
Near the city of Varanasi, as evidenced by the Mahabharata, was the city of Hastin, which became the capital of the Aryans after the Battle of Kurukshetra (Kursk field) in 3102 BC. And what? Near Voronezh is the village of Kostenki (in the 17th century - the city of Kastin), famous for its archaeological sites, the oldest of which date back to 30 thousand BC. The cultural layers of this village go from ancient times to the present day without interruption, which indicates the continuity of culture and population.
So, we think it can be argued that Voronezh and Varanasi, like Kostenki and Khastin, are one and the same.
On the Voronezh River there is also another large city in the south of Russia - Lipetsk. This name is not found in the Mahabharata. But there is the city of Mathura (Matura), also one of the seven sacred cities of the ancient Aryans. It was located in Kurukshetra (Kursk field) east of Yamuna (Oka). But even now, the Matyra River flows into the Voronezh River near Lipetsk. The epic says that in order to capture the city of Matura, Krishna had to first capture five heights in its vicinity. But even today, as well as many thousands of years ago, the five hills north of Lipetsk continue to dominate the valley. It is quite possible that the numerous information on ethnogenesis preserved by the Mahabharata will help archaeologists in identifying those archaeological cultures of Eastern Europe that still bear their conventional archaeological names. So, according to Mahabharata in 6.5 thousand BC."All these panchala originated from Duhshanta and Parameshtina." Thus, it confirms the emergence of a tribe or people, called by archaeologists "Yenevtsy", immediately before their invasion of the Volga-Oka interfluve, since Dukhsanta immediately preceded Samvarana.
Promotional video:
Source: Zharnikova Svetlana Vasilievna. "Golden thread"