Kashi Vishwanath Temple
The
Holy Temple
The Kashi Vishwanath temple is one of the holiest temples for Hindus.
Situated in Old Varanasi, aka Kashi, the temple is always full of
devotees. The shrine of lord Shiva is in black polished smooth rock. The
shrine is surrounded by a silver wall. The temple is a regular visit for
the locals. It is an important pilgrim centre for the Hindus all over
the world. The Temple has been visited by all great saints- Adi
Shankaracharya, Ramkrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekanand, Goswami
Tulsidas, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati, Gurunanak and several other
spiritual personalities. The temple is open only to Hindus. Other
religion followers are not allowed to enter the temple, though they can
take an outside view of the temple.
Temple History
The temple is said to be existing since pre-historic times. The
building of temple has been constructed and destructed many times. The
last known invasion was by Aurangzeb, who destroyed the temple heavily.
He constructed a mosque, called Gyanwapi Mosque, in the same compound.
The mosque shares same wall with the temple. In 1776, Maharani Ahilyabai
of Indore, donated heavily to re-construct the buildings of temple.
Maharaj Ranjit Singh of Lahore is said to have donated 1000 Kg of gold
to construct the 16 mt high spire of the temple. The temple was under
control of the priests for long. In 1983, Goverment of Uttar Pradesh
took over the charge of temple and appointed Vibhuti Singh, former ruler
of Benaras, as the trusty. Heavy security arrangements have been made to
make sure that no unfavorable incident happens near the disputed area of
temple-mosque compound.
Religious Importance
The temple holds a strong religious importance for the Hindus. It is
said that when earth was formed, the first ray of light fell on Kashi.
Since then Kashi has become the centre for knowledge and sprituality. As
per myths, after spending several years of exile, Lord Shiva came to
Varanasi and stayed at this place. Brahma welcomed him by sending him a
chariot of 10 horses on the Dashashwamedh Ghat. Dasashwamedh means 10
horses and this is how the ghat got its name. The temple of Shiva is
said to be protector of the city. Vishweshwara jyotirlinga has a very
special and unique significance in the spiritual history of India.
Deeply and intimately implanted in the Hindu mind, the Kashi Vishwanath
Temple has been a living embodiment of the timeless cultural traditions
and highest spiritual values.
How to Visit
The temple is situated in the conjusted Vishwanath gali, in Kashi. The
temple is reached on foot. Rickshaw or Auto-rickshaws provide services
to the Godaulia crossing. From there one has to walk down the narrow and
heavily conjusted lanes of Kashi to reach the temple.
