Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Tradition holds that worship of Vishweshwara in Kashi is extremely ancient. Claims of a precise age, however, are matters of faith and not documented history. The historical record shows that temples to Vishweshwara in the city were destroyed and rebuilt several times. Most of Varanasi's ancient temples were lost after the conquests of 1194, and historians link later demolitions to the Lodi period.

A major Vishwanath temple was rebuilt in the late sixteenth century, during Akbar's reign. In 1669 the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb ordered it demolished. The court chronicle Maasir-i-Alamgiri records that the order was carried out, and the Gyanvapi mosque was raised on the site. That mosque still stands beside the present temple, and the history of the site has been the subject of court proceedings in recent years.

According to the temple trust, the present temple was built in 1780 by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore. Some accounts place the start of construction a few years earlier. The trust also records a Naubatkhana, a music gallery, built in front of the temple in 1785. Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab later donated gold to cover two of the temple's domes. The trust gives the year as 1839, while other accounts commonly say 1835.

In 1983 the Uttar Pradesh government took over the temple's management and placed it under the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust. On 13 December 2021 the Prime Minister inaugurated the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham project. According to the Press Information Bureau, it enlarged the temple premises from about 3,000 sq ft to around 5 lakh sq ft, connected the precinct to the Ganga and added pilgrim facilities. More than 40 older shrines found during the work were restored.

Architecture and sacred features

The temple is a compact stone shrine in the North Indian (Nagara) manner, with tall spires over the sanctum. According to the temple trust, gold donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh covers two of its domes, and the third remains uncovered. The Shiva linga is enshrined in the sanctum. The Kashi Vishwanath Dham around the temple adds wide courtyards, gateways and a pathway down to the river, along with buildings such as a Mumukshu Bhavan, a Vedic Kendra, a Bhogshala and a city museum.