Kashi, the City of Light, was the embodiment of Indian civilization for millennia. Archaeological mounds at Rajghat Plateau, on the northern outskirts of the city, represented the ancient settlement of Kashi. Its three major settlements, Varanasi, Sarnath, and Aktha, all had “a religious nature.” The first reference to Kashi was in the Paippalada recension of the Atharva Veda (V.22.14). The grammarian Panini mentioned Varanasi as the capital of Kashi janapada, and its citizens as varanaseya.