Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Kashi Vishwanath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Vishwanath Gali, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The temple is a Hindu pilgrimage site and is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines. The presiding deity is known by the names Vishwanath and Vishweshwara (IAST: Viśvanātha and Viśveśvara), literally meaning Lord of the Universe.

According to several historical accounts, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the Hindu temple in 1669. Subsequently, in 1678, the Gyanvapi Mosque was built on its site, but Hindu pilgrims continued to visit the remnants of the temple. The current structure was constructed on an adjacent site by the Maratha ruler Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore in 1780.

In 2021, a major redevelopment of the temple complex was completed, and the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor connecting the Ganga river with the temple was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi, leading to a many-fold increase in visitors. It has become one of the most visited Hindu temples in India, with an average 45,000 pilgrims per day in 2023. The total assets of the temple, were estimated to be more than ₹6 crores in 2024.

Legend
It is believed that Varanasi is the first Jyotirlinga to manifest itself. According to the legend, it was at this place that Shiva (the Hindu god of destruction) manifested as an infinite column of light (Jyotirlinga) in front of Brahma (the Hindu god of creation) and Vishnu (the Hindu god of preservation) when they had an argument about their supremacy.

In order to discover the origin of the luminous column, Vishnu took the form of a boar (Varaha) and tracked the column beneath the ground, while Brahma, who assumed the shape of a swan, scoured the heavens in an attempt to locate the apex of the column. However, both of them were unsuccessful in identifying the source of the luminous column. Yet, Brahma deceitfully asserted that he had discovered the summit of the column, while Vishnu humbly admitted his inability to find the starting point of the radiant column. Due to Brahma's deceit over the discovery of the origin of the luminous column, Shiva penalised him by cutting his fifth head and placing a curse upon him. This curse entailed that Brahma would no longer receive reverence, whereas Vishnu, being truthful, would be equally venerated alongside Shiva and have dedicated temples for eternity.

Hindu scriptures describe Vishweshwara as the sacred deity of Varanasi, holding the position of king over all the other deities as well as over all the inhabitants of the city and the extended circuit of the Panchkoshi, an area (the sacred boundary of Varanasi) spreading over 50 miles.

Jyotirlinga
The jyotirlinga is an ancient axis mundi symbol representing the supremely formless (nirguna) reality at the core of creation, out of which the form (saguna) of Shiva appears. The jyothirlinga shrines are thus places where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.

There are twelve 'self manifested' jyotirlinga sites that take the name of the presiding deity; each is considered a different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is a lingam representing the beginningless and endless Stambha pillar, symbolising the infinite nature of Shiva.

The twelve jyothirlinga are located at Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, Bhimashankar in Maharashtra, Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Triambakeshwar in Maharashtra, Baidyanath Jyotirlinga at Deoghar in Jharkhand, Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat, Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, and Grishneshwar at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

Ancient and classical periods
The Skanda Purana contains a part titled "Kashi Khanda", while the Brahmavaivarta Purana includes a portion known as "Kashi Rahasya", both of which are dedicated to the city of Varanasi.

As per the Kashi Khanda, there were a total of 1099 temples, out of which 513 were specifically devoted to the worship of Shiva. The scripture states that the Vishvanath temple was formerly known as Moksha Lakshmi Vilas. The temple housed a total of five mandapas (halls). The lingam of Vishwanath was situated in the garbhagriha (innermost sanctuary). The remaining four mandapas include the Jnana mandapa located to the east, the Ranga mandapa to the west, the Aishvarya mandapa to the north, and the Mukti mandapa to the south.

Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭa, in his book Tristhalisetu, as well as Madhuri Desai describe that the temple centres around a repetition of destruction and reconstruction.

Medieval period and destruction
The original Vishwanath temple, initially known as the Adi Vishveshwar Temple, was destroyed by the Ghurids in 1194, when Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad ibn Sam returned to India and defeated Jayachandra of Kannauj near Chandawar and afterwards razed the city of Kashi. In a few years, the Razia Mosque was constructed in its place. In 1230, the temple was rebuilt near the Avimukteshwara Temple, away from the main site, during the reign of Delhi's Sultan Iltutmish (1211–1266). It was demolished again during the rule of either Hussain Shah Sharqi (1447–1458) or Sikandar Lodi (1489–1517).

Mughal period
Raja Man Singh started rebuilding the temple during Akbar's reign but Orthodox Hindus boycotted it, as Man Singh had let Akbar marry his sister and Jehangir his daughter. Raja Todar Mal furthered the reconstruction of the temple in 1585.

In the seventeenth century, during the rule of Jahangir, Vir Singh Deo completed the construction of the earlier temple. In 1669, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the temple and built the Gyanvapi Mosque in its place. The remains of the erstwhile temple can be seen in the foundation, the columns, and the rear part of the mosque.

Maratha and British period


In 1742, the Maratha ruler Malhar Rao Holkar devised a plan to demolish the mosque and reconstruct the Vishweshwar temple at the site. However, his plan did not materialise, partly because of the intervention of the Nawab of Awadh, who was given control of the territory. In 1750, the Maharaja of Jaipur commissioned a survey of the land around the site with the objective of purchasing land to rebuild the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which in turn failed.

In 1785, at the behest of Governor General Warren Hastings, Collector Mohammed Ibrahim constructed a Naubatkhana in front of the temple. In 1780, Malhar Rao's daughter-in-law, Ahilyabai Holkar, built the present temple adjacent to the mosque. In 1828, Baiza Bai, widow of the Maratha ruler Daulat Rao Scindhia of Gwalior State, built a low-roofed colonnade with over 40 pillars in the Gyan Vapi precinct. During 1833–1840, at the boundary of Gyanvapi Well, the ghats (steps by the riverside) and other nearby temples were constructed.

Many noble families from various ancestral kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent, and their predecessor states, made generous contributions to the operation of the temple. In 1835, Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire, at the behest of his wife, Maharani Datar Kaur, donated 1 tonne of gold for plating the temple's dome. In 1841, Raghuji Bhonsle III of Nagpur donated silver to the temple.

The temple was managed by a hereditary group of pandits or mahants. After the death of Mahant Devi Dutt, a dispute arose among his successors. In 1900, his brother-in-law, Pandit Visheshwar Dayal Tewari, filed a lawsuit, which resulted in him being declared the head priest.

Post-Independence
Since 1983, the temple has been managed by a board of trustees set up by the government of Uttar Pradesh. The Puja of the Maa Shringar Gauri Temple, on the western side of the disputed Gyanvapi Mosque, was restricted after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, due to the ensuing deadly riots that followed the demolition of the mosque. In August 2021, five Hindu women petitioned a local court in Varanasi to be allowed to pray at the Maa Shringar Gauri Temple.



The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 to make it easier to travel between the temple and the Ganges River and to create more space to prevent crowding. On 13 December 2021, Modi inaugurated the corridor with a sacred ceremony. A press release by the government said that around 1,400 residents and businesses within the corridor's area were relocated elsewhere and compensated. It also said that more than 40 ruined, centuries-old temples were found and rebuilt, including the Gangeshwar Mahadev temple, the Manokameshwar Mahadev temple, the Jauvinayak temple, and the Shri Kumbha Mahadev temple.

In February 2022, the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was gold-plated after an anonymous donor from South India donated 60 kg of gold to the temple. Flowers from the temple are recycled into incense by the biomaterials startup Phool.co.

As of August 2023, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust reported that 10 crore (100 million) tourists had visited the temple since the inauguration of the corridor in December 2021.

Temple complex


The temple complex consists of a series of smaller shrines located in a small lane called the Vishwanatha Gali, near the river. The linga of the main deity at the shrine is 60 cm tall and 90 cm in circumference, housed in a silver altar. The main temple is a quadrangle, and there are shrines to other gods all around it. There are small temples for Kala Bhairava, Kartikeya, Avimukteshwara, Vishnu, Ganesha, Shani, Shiva, and Parvati in the complex.

There is a small well in the temple called the Jnana Vapi, also spelled Gyan Vapi (the wisdom well). The Jnana Vapi is located to the north of the main temple, and during the invasion by the Mughals, the jyotirlinga was hidden in the well to protect it. It is said that the main priest of the temple jumped in the well with the lingam in order to protect the jyotirlinga from invaders.

There is a Sabha Griha (congregation hall) leading to the inner Garbha Griha (sanctum sanctorum). The jyotirlinga is enshrined in the sanctuary and placed on a silver platform. The structure of the temple is composed of three parts. The first consists of a 15.5-meter-high spire on the temple; the second is a gold dome; and the third is the gold spire within the sanctuary bearing a flag and a trident.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is popularly known as the Golden Temple, due to the gold plating of its spire. One tonne of gold donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been used in the gold plating, as well as in three domes, each made up of pure gold, donated in 1835.

The temple receives around 3,000 visitors every day. On certain occasions, the numbers reach 1,000,000 or more.

The Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor was constructed between Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Manikarnika Ghat along the Ganges River, providing various amenities for pilgrims.

Religious importance
Located on the banks of the holy river Ganges, Varanasi is regarded as among the holiest of the Hindu cities. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is widely recognised as one of the most important places of worship in the Hindu religion, because the it holds the jyotirlinga of Shiva Vishveshwara, or Vishvanath.

A visit to the temple and a bath in the Ganges is one of many methods believed to lead one on a path to moksha (liberation). Thus, Hindus from all over the world try to visit the place at least once in their lifetime. There is also a tradition that one should give up at least one desire after a pilgrimage to the temple, and the pilgrimage would also include a visit to the temple at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu in South India, to which people take water samples of the Ganges to perform prayer there and bring back sand from near that temple.

Because of the immense popularity and holiness of Kashi Vishwanath Temple, hundreds of temples across India have been built in the same architectural style. Many legends tell of the true devotee achieving freedom from death and saṃsāra (aimlessness) by the worship of Shiva, Shiva's devotees upon death being directly taken to his abode on Mount Kailash by his messengers and not to judgment by Yama. There is a popular belief that Shiva himself blows the mantra of salvation into the ears of people who die naturally at the Vishwanath temple.

It is one of the shrines of the Vaippu Sthalams sung by Tamil Saivite Nayanar Sambandar.

Festivals
Phalgun Shukla Ekadashi is celebrated as Rangabhari Ekadashi, that is, a festival of colours. According to tradition, before Holi, Baba Vishwanath comes back to Kashi after having a cow in the form of Mother Bhagwati. The temple complex echoes with the beating of dozens of damroos (two-sided drums). This tradition has been performed for over 200 years. On Vasant Panchami, Baba's Tilak is performed. There is Shivaratri's marriage, and Rangbhari Ekadashi marks Parvati leaving with her husband Shiva. These traditions have been carried out by the erstwhile Mahant family of the temple for over a century.

These rituals of Baba's marriage ceremony are performed at the residence of Kulpati Tiwari, the erstwhile Mahant of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Redzone. The seven rituals of Saptarishi Aarti were performed by Baba Vishwanath. According to the Puranas, Kashi is beloved by the Saptarishi; so, according to the tradition, the devotees of the Saptarishi Aarti perform the rituals of marriage. The seven archaks under the leadership of Pradhan Archak Pandit Shashibhushan Tripathi (Guddu Maharaj) completed the marriage in Vedic rituals. Mangala Aarti is performed at 3:30 am, Bhog Aarti at 12:00 pm, Saptarishi Aarti at 7:30 pm and Shringar Aarti at 11:00 pm.

The Yadav community of Kashi associated with Chandravanshi Gop Seva Samiti and Shree Krishna Yadav Mahasabha have been performing jalabhishek on a shivling, traditionally for 90 years, starting in 1932.

Transport and accommodations
There are transportation options for getting to Benaras by air, land, and water. Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport is located roughly 22 kilometres from the city centre and approximately 25 km from the temple complex. There are two railway stations in the city, namely Varanasi Cantonment Station and Kashi Railway Station.

The city has two bus terminals: one located at the Cantonment (Cantt) and another at Golgadda, commonly referred to as Kashi Depot. The Cantonment terminal manages buses for both depots. The urban transportation system comprises many types of vehicles, including two-wheelers (34%), autos (20%), cycles (16%), pedestrians (14%), four-wheelers (6%), cycle rickshaws (6%), and other miscellaneous vehicles (4%).

There are various dharmshalas, rented guest rooms, and other hotels and lodges available nearby at various prices, including a guest house run by the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust.