The river traditionally associated with the holy city of Varanasi is the Ganges, also called the Ganga. Varanasi stands on the river’s left bank in Uttar Pradesh and is one of Hinduism’s most important pilgrimage cities.
The Ganges is revered as a goddess in Hindu tradition. Pilgrims visit Varanasi’s ghats to bathe, pray and perform cremation rites, with the river playing a central role in beliefs about purification, death and release from the cycle of rebirth.
Geographically, the river is formed at Devprayag in the Himalayas, where the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda meet. It then crosses northern India, passes Varanasi and continues into Bangladesh, where the lower course is known as the Padma before joining the wider delta system.
Yamuna is an understandable distractor because it joins the Ganges at Prayagraj, another major pilgrimage site. Varanasi itself, however, is directly associated with the Ganges.