Banaras State initially known as Banaras kingdom or Kashi Kingdom was a kingdom and later princely state under the Narayan Dynasty in what is today Uttar Pradesh, India. On 15 October 1948, Benares' last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union.

The Narayan dynasty was the ruling family of Benares. After seceding from Awadh, Benares emerged as a kingdom of its own, ruled by Maharaja Balwant Singh in the 18th century. Since then, the family has ruled Benares. They belonged to the Bhumihar Brahmin community. In 1911, Benares became a full-fledged princely state of British India and the Narayan dynasty ruled it as British vassals until they acceded to independent India in 1947.