Vibhuti Narayan Singh (5 November 1927 – 25 December 2000) was the king of Benares, a city considered holy, located in the present-day Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He was the last Bhumihar king of the Kingdom of Kashi.
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]
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]
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]
Singh died on 25 December 2000. His body was cremated with state honours at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi.[6]
