Kashi Naresh
The Kashi Naresh ((Maharaja of Kashi)) is believed to be a descendent of Lord Shiva. During the religious occasion of Shivratri, the Kashi Naresh is the chief officiating priest and no other priest is allowed entry into the garbhagriha or sanctum sanctorum. Only after he performs his religious offerings may anyone else be allowed to enter.
The residential palace of the Naresh is the Ramnagar Fort at Ramnagar near Varanasi, which is next to the river Ganges.
On January 28, 1983, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple was taken over by the government of Uttar Pradesh and its management was transferred to a trust, with the late Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh, then Kashi Naresh, as President, and an executive committee with the Divisional Commissioner as Chairman.
Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh was the last Naresh to see kingship after Benares was ceded to the Union of India on 15 October 1948. After his death in 2000, his son Anant Narayan Singh became responsible for upholding the traditional duties of a Kashi Naresh.
Read more about this topic: Kingdom Of Kashi