Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi – History
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 Qutb-ud-din Aibak in 1194 CE, when he
defeated the Raja of Kannauj as
a commander of Mohammad Ghori. The temple was rebuilt by
a Gujarati merchant during the reign of Delhi's Sultan Iltutmish (1211-1266
CE). It was demolished again during the rule of either Hussain Shah Sharqi (1447-1458)
or Sikandar 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 Gyana Vapi 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.
In 1742, the Maratha ruler Malhar
Rao Holkar made a plan to demolish the mosque and reconstruct Vishweshwara
temple at the site. However, his plan did not materialize, partially because of
intervention by the Nawabs of Lucknow, who controlled the
territory. Around 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. However, his plan
to rebuild the temple did not materialize either. In 1780, Malhar Rao's
daughter-in-law Ahilyabai Holkar constructed the
present temple adjacent to the mosque.
In the year 1785 a Naubatkhana was built up in front of
the Temple by the then Collector Mohd. Ibrahim Khan at the instance of Governor
General Warren Hastings. 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 CE, the
boundary of Gyanvapi Well, the Ghats and other nearby temples were constructed.
A 7-feet high stone statue of Nandi
bull, gifted by the Raja of Nepal lies
to the east of the colonnade.
Many noble families from various ancestral kingdoms of
Indian subcontinent and their prior establishments make generous contributions
for the operations of the temple. In 1841, the Bhosales of Nagpur donated
silver to the temple. In 1835, Maharaja Ranjit
Singh donated 1 ton of gold for plating the temple's dome. In
1839, two domes of the Temple were covered by gold donated by Punjab Kesari
Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. Third dome still remains uncovered, Ministry of culture
& Religious affairs of U.P. Govt. is taking keen interest for gold plating
of third dome of Temple.
The temple was managed by a hereditary group of pandas 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. On January 28, 1983 the temple
was taken over by the Govt. of Uttar Pradesh and it's management ever since
stands entrusted to a Trust with Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh. Former Kashi
Naresh, as president and an Executive Committee with Divisional Commissioner as
Chairman.
The Temple trust is now managed by the Government. The CEO of the trust is the Secy. VDA - Mr. Vishal Singh and the Chairman is the Commissioner Varanasi - Mr. Deepak Aggarwal.
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