Kashi Vishwanath Temple

The temple complex houses many other smaller shrines, all of which can be reached from a small lane called the Vishwanath Galli. The jyotirlingam is 60 cm tall and 90 cm in circumference. There are small temples for Kaal bhairav, Dhandapani, Avimukteshwara, Vishnu, Vinayaka, Sanishwara, Virupaksha and Virupaksh Gauri in the complex. There is a small well in the temple called the Jnana Vapi also spelled as Gyaan vapi (the wisdom well). The well also has some interesting history. It is believed that the jyotirlingam was hidden in the well during the time of invasion. The head priest had jumped into the well along with the jyotirlingam so that the enemy would not get their hands on it. The jyotirlingam is made of black colored stone, and is placed on a silver platform. Structure of the temple is composed of three parts. The first compromises a spire on the temple of Lord Vishwanath or Mahadeva. The second is gold dome and the third is the gold spire atop the Vishwanath carrying a flag and a trident.

The Kashi Vishwanath temple receives around 3000 visitors every day. On certain occasions the numbers reach 1,000,000 and more.

A Shiva temple has been mentioned in the 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 Shamsuddin Iltumish (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 Akbar’s rule, but orthodox Hindus boycotted it as he had let the Mughal emperors 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. The Maratha ruler Malhar Rao Holkar wanted to destroy the Gyanvapi mosque and re-construct the temple at the site. However, he never actually did that. His daughter-in-law Ahilyabai Holkar later constructed the present current temple structure near the mosque. Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated gold for the temple. During 1833-1840 CE, Ahilyabai constructed the boundary of Gyanvapi Well, the ghats and other temples.

Many noble families from various ancestral kingdoms of India and their prior establishments make generous contributions for the operations of the temple.