old kashi vishwanath temple

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for all shiva bhakts who visit kashi vishwanath, please note the

following:

 

1. the original kashi vishwanath temple is the present gnan vapi

mosque and within this old temple namaaj is offered by muslims.

2. however, all the walls of the old temple were kept in tact upto

say one feet at the base level and the new masjid wall was

constructed over it. so a pradakshinam of this mosque would help

any shiv bhakt find traces of the original kashi vishwanath temple

where images of gods and goddesses were engraved.

3. even the old nandi (bull) of the original temple was left

undestroyed which is facing the present mosque. but thankfully this

nandi is outside the masjid complex and all shiv bhakts can touch it

and feel the positive vibrations of the original old temple and

imagine the original vishwanath shivling in front of the nandi, now

within the mosque.

 

the history of kashi vishwanath temple as published in Times of

India on 28.02.1995 is reproduced below:

 

KASHI'S OLDEST HINDU TEMPLE DESTROYED BY MUSLIM RULERS

Times of India, February 28, 1995

 

Lucknow: In the narrow winding lane from the Dashwashwamedh Ghat

leading towards the famed Vishwanath Mandir in Varanasi, the

atmosphere is one of extreme piety at all times of the day. The

temple is, perhaps, one of the most potent symbols of Hinduism in

the country in a city which by all accounts is one of the oldest

centers of pilgrimage for the Hindus.

 

The original Vishwanath temple is supposed to have been built around

490 AD during the Gupta period. Historical records suggest that it

was destroyed by Muslim rulers. The first Muslim invader to attack

Varanasi was Ahmed Nihalidin, the governor of the Indian province of

the Ghazani empire, in the 11th century. His aim was to acquire the

wealth accumulated in the temples of Varanasi. Later, Qutub-ud-din

Aibak of the slave dynasty invaded the city and more than 1000

temples are said to have been destroyed in this onslaught.

 

After the defeat of Ibrahim Lodi in 1526, the city passed under the

control of Afghans but was later captured by the Moghul ruler Babur.

In 1539, it was captured by Sher Shah Suri. In the tolerant regime

of Akbar, many temples and other structure were rebuilt by Hindu

kings in Varanasi.

 

Raja Todar mal, one of the "jewels" in Akbar's court, constructed a

new temple on the site of the destroyed Vishwanath temple in 1585.

This was again destroyed by Aurangzeb in 1669 while on his way to

conquer the Deccan. Aurangzeb got a mosque constructed in its place.

The present temple was reconstructed by Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar

in 1777. The dome of the Vishwanath temple was gold-plated by

Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839.

 

Adjacent to the temple is the Gyanvapi Masjid, which was built by

Auragzeb on the remnants of the original temple. He had, however,

agreed to the plea of the Kashi Brahmins that a temple would be

allowed to exist adjacent to the Gyanvapi masjid as also to the

reconstruction of the Kali temple at Aurangabad, about three km

away. This temple, too, was destroyed by the invading Muslim armies.

 

The remnants of the original Vishwanath temple are revered by the

devout Hindus as Shrinagar Gauri, the abode of Lord Mahadev. Muslims

offer namaz in the premises of the Gyanvapi masjid but not in the

main hall.