Prabhu Narayan Singh (26 November 1855 – 4 August 1931) was ruler of the

Benares State Benares or Banaras State was a kingdom and later princely state in what is today Uttar Pradesh, India. On 15 October 1948, Benares' last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union. The state was founded by the local zamindar, Raja Bal ...

(

Royal House of Benares The Narayan dynasty was the ruling family of Benares. After its liberation from Awadh, independence ( s''waraj'') was established in Benares by Maharaja Balwant Narayan Singh in the 18th century. Since then, the family has ruled Benares. In 1911, ...

), an

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

, from 1889 to 1931. Prabhu Narayan Singh would reign for 42 years as Maharaja; in 1891, he was knighted with the KCIE, later becoming an honorary colonel in the Indian Army. In 1911, he became the first Maharaja of the newly created princely state of Benares, including the parganas of

Bhadohi Bhadohi is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is home to the largest hand-knotted carpet weaving industry hub in South Asia. The city is 45 km west of Varanasi and 82 km east of Allahabad. Demographics As of 2011 Indi ...

and Keramnagar, Chakia, and Ramnagar, together with certain limited rights within the City of Benares. He was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

(KCIE) in 1892,

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appo ...

(GCIE) in 1898, and

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointmen ...

(GCSI) for his services in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the 1921 New Year Honours. He donated 1300 acres of land to establish famous

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...

. He donated land at Kamacha, Varanasi to Dr. Annie Basent for the establishment of Hindu College which she donated for the establishment of BHU. Donated charity for digging a well at drought-stricken village of Oxford, still known as Maharaja's well. He was a great scholar and well versed in Sanskrit, Persian, and English. Established Iswari Memorial Hospital for reducing mother-child mortality during childbirth. Continued the tradition of Saint Kings and got operated on without Anesthesia by going into Yog-Samadhi. Ascending to Baikunth(divine abode) in 1931, aged 75, Maharaja Sir Prabhu Narayan was succeeded by his only son, Sir Aditya Narayan Singh.

Titles

*1855–1889:

Maharaj Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Prabhu Narayan Singh *1889–1891:

His Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style (manner of address), style used to address (in grammatical person, second person) or refer to (in grammatical person, third person) certain members of a reigning or formerl ...

Maharajadhiraja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Sri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, ...

Prabhu Narayan Singh

Sahib Sahib or Saheb (; ) is an Arabic title meaning 'companion'. It was historically used for the first caliph Abu Bakr in the Quran. The title is still applied to the caliph by Sunni Muslims. As a loanword, ''Sahib'' has passed into several langua ...

Bahadur, Kashi Naresh,

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tr ...

*1891–1898: His Highness Maharajadhiraja Sri

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Prabhu Narayan Singh Sahib Bahadur, Kashi Naresh, Maharaja of Benares, KCIE *1898–1919: His Highness Maharajadhiraja Sri Sir Prabhu Narayan Singh Sahib Bahadur, Kashi Naresh, Maharaja of Benares,

GCIE The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

*1919–1921:

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

His Highness Maharajadhiraja Sri Sir Prabhu Narayan Singh Sahib Bahadur, Kashi Naresh, Maharaja of Benares, GCIE *1921–1931: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Maharajadhiraja Sri Sir Prabhu Narayan Singh Sahib Bahadur, Kashi Naresh, Maharaja of Benares,

GCSI The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

, GCIE

Honours

(GCIE)-1898 (KCIE-1891) *Delhi Durbar Gold Medal-1903 *Delhi Durbar Gold Medal-1911 *

(GCSI)-1921 *Grand Cross of the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgi ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

-1926

Footnotes

References

*Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 5 August 1931 1855 births 1931 deaths Maharajas of Benares Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Narayan dynasty Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II History of Varanasi {{India-royal-stub