Kashi
Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi |
Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi |
|
Varanasi is the city of thousand temples. The main temple in Varanasi is the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the presiding deity of Varanasi. Situated amidst the crowded lanes of Varanasi, the temple of Vishwanatha can be approached from a lane called Vishwanatha lane. Inside the courtyard is the temple of Vishwanatha surrounded by many subsidiary shrines. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple enshrines the Jyotirlinga of Shiva, Vishweshwara or Vishwanatha. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple attracts visitors not only from India but as well as from abroad.
|
|
|
History of Kashi Vishwanath Temple |
It is believed that
the Jyotirlinga in the Kashi Vishwanath Temple goes back to the
time of the epics. According to a legend, the Lord Shiva
manifested himself in the from of a lingam at 12 holy cities in
India, Varanasi being one of them. These lingams were known as
Jyotirlingams. The city was destroyed in 1193 by Mohammed Ghori
and nearly 600 years later ended with the plunder of Banaras by
Warren Hastings. Due to all these happenings, the temple was
rebuilt a number of times. The original temple was located
across the road. This temple was destroyed in 1669 by the
Emperor Aurangzeb who built the Gyanvapi Mosque on this place.
The traces of the old temple can be seen behind the mosque.
Aurangzeb built the Gaynvapi Mosque by using columns from the
original temple razed by him. Even today the western wall of the
mosque show the minarets towering 71 meters above the Ganges of
a temple which had very intricate and fine artwork on it. Both
the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the Gyanvapi mosque are adjacent
to each other. When the temple was destroyed by the Aurangzeb,
the original Jyotirlinga was removed and hidden in a wellby a
priest. The present temple was constructed by Rani Ahilaya Bai
Holkar, the ruler of Indore, in 1776. In 1835, at the instance
of the Sikh ruler of Lahore, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the temple
Shikhara was gilded with gold leaf. Gold plating was done on its
15.5 meter high spire. One ton of gold donated by Maharaja
Ranjit Singh has been used in the gold plating of the spire. Due
to its Gold Shikhara this temple is also known as the Golden
Temple. This temple was renovated by Maharani Khaneti, wife of
Sudarshan Shah in 1857. Various great saints like the Adi
Shankaracharya, Ramkrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekanand, Goswami
Tulsidas, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati, Gurunanak and several
other spiritual personalities have visited this Temple. |
|
|
About The Temple |
There is
a well called Jnana Vapi i.e. wisdom well which is
located to the north of the main temple. As one
enters the temple from the southern side then on the
left side there are three temples in a row one
behind the other, Vishnu Temple, Virupakshi Gauri
Temple and Avimukta Vinayaka Temple. A cluster of
five lingas enclosed in a temple is called
Nilakantheshvar temple. To the right just near the
entrance is the temple enshrining a linga called
Avimukteshvara. There is a controversy regarding the
original Jyotirlinga at the place, which suggests
that not the Vishwanatha but the Avimukteshvara is
the original Jyotirlinga. Just above the
Avimukteshvara Vinayaka are temples of Shanishchara
and Virupaksha. Near the Kashi Vishwanath Temple is
a well known as the Gyan Kapur Kuan (well of
knowledge). The Vishwanatha temple consists of a
mandapa and a sanctum. Inside the sanctum a linga is
set into the center of the floor in a square silver
altar. The Linga is of black stone. This Linga is
about 60 cm. high and has 90 Cm. Circumference. Close to this
shrine is a temple of Sanischar (Saturn) and the Annapurna
Temple. During the Aaratis, Shiva is decorated with
leaves shaded under huge cobra. It is the belief of
the people of Banaras that Baba Vishwanath is
responsible for the happiness and sadness of the
lives of the people of Banaras.
|
|
|
|
New Vishwanath Temple |
The New Vishwanath Temple is located in the campus of the Benaras Hindu University. As a replica
of the original temple, this temple was built by the
Birlas, the industrialist family. The temple is open
to people of all religions and creeds. |
|
|
|
|