Kashi Vishwanath Temple is also one of the 12 Jyotirlingas(self-manifested lingams) Shrines of Lord Shiva. It is said that the benefits gained by the darshan of other Jyotirlingas in various parts of India, goes to the devotee by a single visit to Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The main deity is known as Vishwanatha or Vishweshwara, which means the Ruler of the Universe. Situated on the western bank of the river Ganges, the temple is visited by millions of devotees to get blessings and devout peace. Kashi Vishwanatha Jyotirlinga Temple is sometimes referred as the Golden Temple because of the 15.5m high golden spire which adorns the temple, similar to the Sikh Gurudwara at Amritsar.
Varanasi is also famed for being one of the Shakti Peethas of India. It is said that the left hand of Sati fell at Varanasi. Goddess Annapurna or Visalakshi signifies the Shakti Peetham here.
The legendary Vishwanath Temple has been rebuilt several times. Like most other temples in and around Varanasi. The original Kasi Viswanath Temple was ruined by Aurangazeb and he built a mosque in its place. The traces of the old temple can be seen behind the mosque. During the 18th century, the present temple was built by Maharani Ahilya Bai of Indore. It was Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Indore who provided the gold plating on the towers of the temple.
kashi vishwanath temple Architecture
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Banaras consists of a mandapa and a sanctum, besides many subsidiary shrines. The sanctum has a linga made of black stone and is set into the center of the floor in a square silver altar. On the southern entrance of the temple, there are three temples in a row one behind the other, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, Virupakshi Gauri and Avimukta Vinayaka. There are a group of five lingas enclosed in the temple called Nilakantheshvar temple. Shanishchara and Virupaksha temples are seen just above the Avimuka Vinayaka temple. There is another linga called Avimukteshvara which is seen on the right, near the entrance. Some people suggest that original Jyotirlinga at the place is not the Vishwanatha but the Avimukteshvara Jyotirlinga.
There is a well called Gyan-Kupor (the well of Knowledge), located beside the temple. Legend has it that when the Shiva Lingam was removed from the original temple, it was hidden in this well to protect it from Aurangazeb.
There are several entrances to the temple, all of them heavily guarded by gun-totting commandos and policemen, turning the whole area into a fortress. Camera and mobile phones are not allowed in the temple premises. There are innumerable shops selling various items for offering to Lord Shiva like flowers, Bilva leaves, milk, Ganga Jal, etc. which you can buy and then deposit your mobiles/cams in the small lockers built in their shops. We kept ours in one of these lockers and proceeded further. After going through multiple checkpoints, we reached the main temple area.
happy reading..blog by Nagaraju Poona
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| picture courtesy - google |
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| picture courtesy - google |
The legendary Vishwanath Temple has been rebuilt several times. Like most other temples in and around Varanasi. The original Kasi Viswanath Temple was ruined by Aurangazeb and he built a mosque in its place. The traces of the old temple can be seen behind the mosque. During the 18th century, the present temple was built by Maharani Ahilya Bai of Indore. It was Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Indore who provided the gold plating on the towers of the temple.
kashi vishwanath temple Architecture
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Banaras consists of a mandapa and a sanctum, besides many subsidiary shrines. The sanctum has a linga made of black stone and is set into the center of the floor in a square silver altar. On the southern entrance of the temple, there are three temples in a row one behind the other, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, Virupakshi Gauri and Avimukta Vinayaka. There are a group of five lingas enclosed in the temple called Nilakantheshvar temple. Shanishchara and Virupaksha temples are seen just above the Avimuka Vinayaka temple. There is another linga called Avimukteshvara which is seen on the right, near the entrance. Some people suggest that original Jyotirlinga at the place is not the Vishwanatha but the Avimukteshvara Jyotirlinga.
There is a well called Gyan-Kupor (the well of Knowledge), located beside the temple. Legend has it that when the Shiva Lingam was removed from the original temple, it was hidden in this well to protect it from Aurangazeb.
There are several entrances to the temple, all of them heavily guarded by gun-totting commandos and policemen, turning the whole area into a fortress. Camera and mobile phones are not allowed in the temple premises. There are innumerable shops selling various items for offering to Lord Shiva like flowers, Bilva leaves, milk, Ganga Jal, etc. which you can buy and then deposit your mobiles/cams in the small lockers built in their shops. We kept ours in one of these lockers and proceeded further. After going through multiple checkpoints, we reached the main temple area.
happy reading..blog by Nagaraju Poona
Hi Nagaraju poona... thanks for the valuable information... it will be very helpful for he ppl who are planing to visit Varanasi...
ReplyDeleteThanks Sudheer, for visiting my blog.
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