Kashi Vishwanath

                                  Kashi Vishwanath

Temple

About

Shivaling

Kashi Vishwanath Temple is one of the most famous Hindu Temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located in Varanasi Uttar Pradesh, India. The temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganga and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest of Shiva temples. The main deity is known by the name Vishvanatha or Vishveshvara meaning Ruler of The Universe. Varanasi city is also called Kashi, and hence the temple is popularly called Kashi Vishvanath Temple.

The temple has been referred to in Hindu scriptures for a very long time as a central part of worship in the Shiva philosophy. It has been destroyed reconstructed ten a number of times in history. The last structure was demolished by Aurangzeb, the Sixth Mughal Emperor who constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site. The current structure was built on an adjacent site by the Maratha ruler, Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780.

History

Ganga Ghat

The temple has been mentioned in the Puranas including the Kashi Khanda (section) of Skanda Purana. The original Vishwanath temple was destroyed by the army of Qutub-al-Aibak in 1194 CE when he defeated the Raja of Kannauj as a commander of Mohammad Gauri. The temple was rebuilt by a Gujarati merchant during the reign of Delhi's Sultan Illtumish (1211-1266 CE). It was demolished again during the rule of either Hussain Shah Sharing (1447-1458) or Sikander Lodhi (1489-1517). Raja Man Singh built the temple during Mughal emperor Akbar’s rule, but orthodox Hindus boycotted it as he had let the Mughals marry within his family. Raja Todar mal further re-built the temple with Akbar's funding at its original site in 1585.

In 1669 CE, 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 at the rear part of the mosque.

Importance of Temple

Located on the banks of the holy Ganges, Varanasi is regarded as the holiest of the Hindu cities. The Kashi Vishwanath temple is widely recognized as one of the most important places of worship in Hindu religion. Inside the Kashi Vishwanath Temple is the Jyotirlinga of Shiva, Vishveshvara or Vishawanth. The Vishveshvara Jyotirlinga has a very special and unique significance in the spiritual history of India.

Importance Of Temple

Many leading saints, including Adi Shankaracharya, Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekanand, Goswami Tulsidas, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Sathya Sai Baba, and Gurunanak have visited the site.A visit to the temple and a bath in the river 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 the temple, and the pilgrimage would also include a visit to the temple at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu in Southern India, where people take water samples of the Ganges to perform prayer at the temple 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 record that the true devotee achieves freedom from death and Samsara by the worship of Shiva, Shiva's devotees on death being directly taken to his abode on Mount Kailash by his messengers and not to Yama. The superiority of Shiva and his victory over his own nature—Shiva is himself identified with death—is also stated. 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.