History of Kashi beyond Jyotirlinga

Hrishikesh Sarma

(hriskikeshsarma@gmail.com)

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is one of the most famous Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest of Shiva Temples. Kashi the illuminator of the entire universe with its spiritual aura, is directly related to Lord Shiva as Kashi, the world's oldest city and known to be as Vishwakarma's best creation, which lord Shiva himself called 'Anandkanan Tadantar Avimukta' and 'Avinashi'.

Being situated between Varuna and Asi rivers on the banks of the holiest of all rivers, mother Ganga, it is known to the whole world as Varanasi. It is also known with the names of Purnatirth, tapahsthali, kaashika, avimukta, aanandvan, apunarbhavabhumi, drawas and mahashmshan. The oldest known manuscript 'Rigveda' indeed has a mention of the holiest land 'Kashi', which is also called 'AdhaVaishnav Sthal' according to 'Purana". This place is also said to be the abode of Lord Vishnu (Madhav), where 'Anandashru' of Srihari fell on this land and turned into Bindusarovar, where the lord resided as Bindumadhav.

Matsya Purana describes that Kashi is the supreme place of Lord Brahma, Studied, Nurtured and Protected by Lord Brahma. In Skanda Purana, Kashi is not a mere piece of land but Brahmarasayan which means it is the entire chemistry of the Universe in a spiritual sense. As per the sayings, Lord Vishweshwar himself called Kashiroopi Brahmarasayan as the space of supreme happiness. Skandapuran also depicts Kashipuri as the place better than 'Trilok' and the epitome of the supreme truth. Kashi is sited on the pinnacle of the trident of Lord Shankar. The word 'Kashi' is found in Rigveda, Atharvaveda, Shatpath Brahman, Gopath Brahman and there is mention of the importance of Kashi in all the manuscripts like Brihdaranyakopnishad, Valmiki Ramayana, Mahabharata and Ashtadhyayi. Maharishi Vyas has described Kashi as the navel of Trailokya which does not even have a cataclysm. As said by Lingapurana, the speciality of Kashi is such that Bhagwan Mahadev mentioned 'Varanasi is my mysterious space and is always the cause of the salvation of beings'. Kashi has always been the centre of spirituality, culture and education. Lord Buddha came to Rishi Pattan (Sarnath) at Kashi for Dharma Chakra Parivartana, though he acquired knowledge at Bodh Gaya. The greatest guru of Vedanta, Adiguru Sankaracharya travels to Kashi from the place named Kaaladi in Kerala. Great Saint Nanak and Prince Darasikhoh also came to Kashi. The voice of Kabir has a resonance of nirgun at Kashi, whereas, Tulsi established the bridge between Sagun and Nirgun via Ramkatha. Kashi's accreditation means the world's accreditation. Bharat Ratan Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya came from Prayag to establish Kashi Hindu Viswa Vidyalaya at Varanasi. Kashi has been the most popular venue for the exchange of new ideas. The ancient cultures of manuscript study in Sanskrit Schools are still alive in Kashi. Kashi, the city of Lord Shiva has been the centre of attraction for followers of every religion, so it is a living example of all religious sacraments.

Lord Vishwanath's Divya Dham in Kashi, the place of Mata Annapurna, Kalbhairav, Bada Ganesh, Navgauri, Navdurga, Chhappan Vinayak, Dwadas Aditya, Asthabhairav Chausanthyogini and Pakka Mahaal lanes still echo Vedic mantras. Means Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya (Haridwar), Kashi (Varanasi), Kanchi, Avantika (Ujjaini) and Dwarka Dham are the seven mokshapuris and it may be mentioned that in the end living in Kashi is considered to be the provider of moksha.

But Kashi is the only puri that gives salvation, as described, that the one who sacrifices his life in Kashi is not born. The good fortune of its journey, this residence, death, and cremation of Muktidayini Kashi comes only by the virtues of previous birth and the grace of Baba Vishwanath. The proximity of Kashi only wins over all the sins.

Shri Kashi Viswanath Dham is an important centre of eternal cultural religion, which has an impact on the entire India. It is believed that touching the Viswanath (Vishweshwar) Linga abolishes the sins of two generations of the devotee's family. It is the unique worship style or ritual method that attracts devotees. Amongst this ritual style, one is 'Saptarshi Aarti'. There is a description in the Kashi section that when Baba Bholenath Vishweshwar was describing the importance of ling then there was dev on his one side and the circle of Saptrishis all around him. Even today the aarti of Shri Devadhidev Lord Vishwanath is concluded with the same ancient history method. After expansion and beautification, this Baba Vishwanath Dham, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas, will help in promoting cultural activities and will also play an important role in the development of Kashi.

According to ancient history beliefs, Lord Siva is present at 12 places in the form of Jyotirlinga. Shri Somnath at Sauraastra Pradesh (Kaathiyawad), Shri Mallikkarjun at Shri Shailam, Shri Mahakaal, Unkaareshwar or Mamaleshwar at Ujjyaini (Ujjain), Vaidhnath at Parli, Shri Bhimashankar at the Daankini named place, Shri Rameshwar at Setubandh, Shri Naageswar at Daaskravan, Shri Viswanath at Varanasi (Kashi), Shri Trayambkeshwar at the ghat of Gautami (Godawri), Sri Kedarnath at Kedarkhand of Himalaya, and Shri Ghrineswar in Shivalay. It is believed that the sin of seven births of a man who remembers these twelve Jyotirlingas every morning and evening is destroyed by mere remembrance of these lingas. Kashi Viswanath Jyotirling is situated in Kashi. The north of Kashi is Onkarkhand, the south is Kedarkhand and the middle is Vishweshwarkhand. Popular Viswanath Jyotirlinga is situated in this khand.

The Purans tell the story of this Jyotirlinga that Lord Shiva was living on mount Kailash after marrying Parvati, but Parvati did not like living with her husband in her father's home even after getting married. One day she told Lord Shiva to take her home, she didn't like to stay here. Lord Shiva accepted her confrontations. Then Lord Shiva came to his holy city Kashi with Parvati. He exists here as Vishwanath Jyotirlinga. In accordance with the ancientness of Kashi, the oldness of the temple of Kashi Viswanath with the resemblance of Jyortilinga form of Bhagwan Shiva is also very important. Situated in the city of Varanasi is one of the oldest amongst the Hindu's temples, which is situated at the west bank of the Ganga River. This temple is worshipped for the Jyotirlinga form of Lord Shiva since ancient times.

According to historians, the Shri Kashi Visvanatha temple was inaugurated by King Harishchandra during the 11th century. But it was demolished by Muhammad Gauri in the year 1194. Qutubuddin Aibak and Shahabuddin Gauri had conquered Varanasi around 1194 century and offered their rule to Sayad Jalaluddin. He demolished the Shri Kashi Visvanath temple and tried his best to eliminate the tradition of idol worship. In course of time, it was constructed again by society. This temple was demolished again by the sultan of Jaunpur Mahmood Shah after its reconstruction was complete. The destruction of Benaras temple restarted during the rule of Mahmood Shah Shark (1436-1458). The Lal Darwaza masjid was built around 1447 and around that time. The temple of Kashi was also demolished. During the rule of Akbar, the Kashi Visvanath temple was renovated by Narayan Bhatt with the support of Todarmal. The credit of here's religious works goes to the son of Todarmal Govardhan, Govardhandhari or Dharu. Historian's claim, that the temples or reservoirs built under the name of Todarmal were actually built by Govardhan. In the 1632 century, Shahjahan ordered statements and sent his soldiers to demolish temples but due to Hindus forceful protest, they could not damage the central temple but managed to crush 63 other temples of Kashi. On 18 April 1669, Aurangzeb commanded to destroy the Kashi temple (The written document is still safe in the Asiatic Library, Kolkata). The mention of this destruction is in the book written by the Saki Mustayyid Khan. Aurangzeb had demanded not only to destroy the Kashi Visvanath temple but to make sure that no temple was to be reconstructed at that place.

Maratha leaders Dattaji Sindhiya and Malharrao Holkar tried to free the temple from the year 1752 to 1780. On 7th August 1770, Mahadaji Sindhiya ordered to collect compensation from Delhi's Badshah Shah Alam for destroying the temple but till then Kashi had the rule of East India Company so the renovation of the temple had to be stopped. In 1777-80, this temple was reconstructed by the Queen of Indore, Maharani Ahilyabai. Later, the king of Punjab, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh had all the sikharas of the temple decorated with gold leaves. Queen of Gwalior, Maharani Baijabaai had the mandap of Gyanwapi made and the king of Nepal had the grand statue of Nandi established. History of the 11th and 15th centuries encounters the demolition of temples. Jinprabh Suri, a contemporary writer of Muhammad Tughlaq (1325), in his book, "Vividh Kalpa Tirth" has written that the vicinity of Baba Vishwanath was called "Deva Kshetra". Historian Furrer has also written that at the time of Firozshah Tuqhlaq a few temples were converted into mosques. In 1460, Vachspati, in his book; "Tirth Chintamani, stated that Avimukteshwar and Vishweshwar are single Linga.

Thus, according to history, the construction and demolition of the Kashi temple continued from the 11th century till the 18th century. Though on 30th December 1810, the district magistrate of Benaras M. Watson had written the letter to 'Vice President in Council' and requested to hand over the educational campus of Kashi to Hindus, it never happened. The linga of the main deity in the temple is placed in a silver altar 60 cm (24 inches) long and 90 cm (35 inches) in circumference. The main temple is a quadrilateral and is surrounded by temples of other deities. There are the small temples of Kaal Bhairav, Kartikey, Avimukteswar, Vishnu, Ganesh, Shani, Shiva and Parvati on site. There is a small well in the temple which is called Gyanwapi Koop. Gyanwapi Koop is situated on the north of the main temple. It is said that the main priest of the temple jumped along with the Jyotirlinga inside the well to save it from attackers.

The successful leader and today's Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, came to Kashi in 2014 to file his nomination papers and when he said at a public meeting, "Na Mai Yaha Aaya Hu, Na Laaya Gaya Hu, Mujhe Maa Ganga Ne Bulaya Hai." At that moment, the message of change of the Kashi era had sounded. With the election of an MP in Kashi in 2014, Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India. Shri Narendra Modi also visited baba 'Vishwanath temple before his nomination in Kashi. Perhaps this was the time when Shri Narendra Modi was distressed to see the narrow streets of the temple and the filth spread over there. Simultaneously, Modi remembered the scathing remark of Mahatma Gandhi on this condition of the temple, which was expressed by Gandhi at the inauguration ceremony of Banaras Hindu University on 4th February 1916. When the British leave this country out of their own pleasure or compulsion, what is the guarantee that our temples will suddenly become the epitome of purity, cleanliness and peace? Since then, even after the passage of about 105 years, Gandhi's questions regarding Kashi and Shri Kashi Vishwanath temple remained relevant in the same form, but Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has called for the rejuvenation of Kashi Vishwanath Dham in the context of Gandhi's pain and suffering. The initiative taken was accomplished with the intensive supervision of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, efficient administration and the immense support of the devotees and great people of Kashi. If told, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Adityanath understood the pain of Mahatma Gandhi very well. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a successful parliamentarian of Varanasi and a strong guardian of the nation who is constantly trying to re-establish Indian culture, civilization, self-respect, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spread about 50,000 square meters, Shri Kashi Vishwanath the work which has been done to establish the temple complex in the centre of the clean, the transcendent and spiritual energy of Mahatma Gandhi's contemplation, is certainly a true tribute to the nation towards Mahatma Gandhi.

The main attraction of Shri Kashi Viswanath Dham is the rest of the religious and modern structures built inside the temple campus. The sum of Rs 386.70 crore has been spent on its construction. The sum of Rs 489.05 crore was spent on the development of the temple area. During the development and construction of corridors, 27 temples along with idols were discovered from the surrounding houses. All these 27 temples have been reinstalled like beads of a garland with ancient grandeur and respect.