SACRED CITY OF INDIA - VARANASI

Varanasi, one of the "most ancient continuously living cities" of the world. The world introduces this city as the "SACRED CITY" of India. This city holds a lot of culture and beliefs, also this city is unique in the architectural, artistic, and religious expression of traditional Indian culture and even today a living example of this culture and many tourists visit here to see and feel the rich Indian culture. It was once ruled by Mughals and Kings in past but now it is a free city. A city with a soul of its own, call it by any name Varanasi, Kashi, Banaras, it will compel you to fall in love with its simplicity and positivity.

The city gets its name Varanasi from the two rivers which meet here, namely Varuna and Assi. The city has the finest river frontage in India with miles of Ghats or steps for religious bathing, it has a total of 88 ghats, counting on the popular ones, first we have Dasashwamedh ghat, Assi ghat, Manikarnika ghat, Raj ghat, and many more.

The city has a lot more to explore, that is, an array of shrines and temples, and various other beautiful places. And via our blog, today we will take a look at one of its famous temples, that is, KASHI VISHWANATH TEMPLE.

   KASHI VISHWANATH TEMPLE

HISTORY

The famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple is located on the western bank of the holy river Gangas, dedicated to Lord Shiva. We find the mention of Kashi Viswanath Temple in Skand Puran. It enshrines one of the Twelve Jyotirlingams of Shiva. It is said that this temple was rebuilt several times. The latest structure standing here dates back to the 18th century. The temple had gone through a lot of destruction and construction over a period of time. Firstly destroyed by Qutbudin Aikba's army on his command, and in the time of Ittutmish, the temple got renovated again under his command, but later destroyed by Sikandar Lodi, in the era of Akbar, and again Raja Man Singh, ruler of Jaipur, recreated this temple.

Kashi is believed to be at the centre of the Hindu doctrine of cosmogony. If Kashi is at the heart of Hinduism, then Kashi Vishwanath Temple is the heartbeat of this Godly land. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a Sikh maharaja of Punjab, donated 1000kg of gold to the temple, which leads to the creation of the golden dome of the temple, hence the temple is also known as the "Golden Temple of Varanasi".

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE

The structure of the Mandir is composed of three parts. The first compromise aspires on the Mandir of Lord Vishwanath or Mahadeva. The second is a gold dome and the third is the gold spire atop Lord Vishwanath carrying a flag and a trident.

The temple complex consists of a series of smaller shrines, located in a small lane called the Vishwanatha Galli, near the river.

The main deity linga at the shrine is 60 cm tall and 90 cm in circumference housed in a silver altar. The venerable Jyotirlinga is a dark brown coloured stone.

The construction of the temple is done in quadrangle form and is surrounded by other deities' shrines.

According to the structure of the temple, there is a Sabha Griha or Congregation Hall leading to the inner Garbha Griha or Sanctum Sanctorum.

There are small temples for Kaalbhairav, 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 spelt as Gyaan Vapi (the wisdom well). The Jnana Vapi well sites to the north of the main temple and it is believed that the Jyotirlinga was hidden in the well to protect it at the time of the invasion.

As the Kashi Viswanath temple, stands on the Western side of Ganga, surrounded by narrow lanes and small claustrophobic lanes. The temple is the main house of worship in the city and it's not wrong to say that it's the main centre of worship for the country too, crowd struggles to make their entry to the temple through these congested lanes, especially during festive times. 

To overcome this issue, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a project Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, which will connect the ancient shine and one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples of the famous ghats of Varanasi.

CONCLUSION

Overall, if we talk about Varanasi in a nutshell, it has a rich culture and beliefs, also this place has been a great centre of learning for ages. There are three universities, including the large and important Banaras Hindu University and more than a dozen colleges and high schools.

Varanasi the India of imagination, people or pilgrims come to Varanasi ghat to wash away their sins in the sacred water of Ganga, to cremate their loved ones, or simply to take their last breath in the lap of Ganga, hoping for liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

To know more about the wonderful places of Varanasi, stay connected to this blog.

Thank You.