Kashi vishwanath Temple-Uttar Pradesh

 Varanasi is known by the old name Kashi. It is one of the major pilgrimage sites of India. Varanasi is known all over the world for it’s famed Kashi Vishwanath Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva has various synonyms such as Vishwanath or Vishweshwar signifying the “ruler of the universe. The localities believe Lord Shiva to the King of Kashi. This is located on the Western bank of the holy river Ganges.The main deity is known by the names Shri Vishwanath and Vishweshwara (IAST: Vishveshvara) literally meaning Lord of the Universe. 

District-Varanasi

Diety-Vishwanath(Shiva) 

State-Uttar Pradesh

Creator-Raj Man Singh, Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar

Completed-1780

History-

The Kashi temple was first razed to the ground by the army of Qutb-ud-din Aibak in 1194 AD when he defeated the Raja of Kannauj. It was rebuilt again during Iltutmish's reign but was brought down again. It was rebuilt again by Raja Mann Singh under Akbar's patronage. But local Hindus boycotted the temple because the Raja had allowed Mughals to marry with his family. Nevertheless, the temple was further restored by Raja Torad Mal.The temple, as it stands today, was finally built by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar a Maratha ruler who constructed the present temple adjacent to the mosque circa 1780.

Cultural Events-

Phalgun Shukla Ekadashi is celebrated as Rangabhari Ekadashi, that is, colors. According to tradition, before Holi, Baba Vishwanath comes back to Kashi after having a cow in the form of mother Bhagwati. The temple complex is echoed by the echo of dozens of Damroos. This tradition has been performed for over 200 years. On Basant Panchami Baba's Tilak is performed, Shivaratri marriage and Rangbhari Ekadashi marks parvati leaving with shiva. These traditions are carried out by the erstwhile Mahant family of the temple for over a century. 

Structure-

The temple complex consists of a series of smaller shrines, located in a small lane called the Vishwanatha Galli, near the river.There are small temples for Kaalbhairav, Dhandapani, Avimukteshwara, Vishnu, Vinayaka, Sanishwara, Virupaksha and Virupaksh Gauri in the complex.Structure of the Mandir is composed of three parts. The first compromise a spire 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. 

How to Reach-

By Air-There is direct daily flight connection between Varanasi and New Delhi. 

By Train-Varanasi is an important and major rail junction. The city is served by trains from all metros and major cities across the country. 

By Road-Some important road distances are: Agra 565 km., Allahabad 128 km., Bhopal 791 km., Bodhgaya 240 km., Kanpur 330 km., Khajuraho 405 km., Lucknow 286 km., patna 246 km., Sarnath 10 km., Lumbini (Napal) 386 km., Kushi Nagar 250 km. (via Gorkhpur), UPSRTC Bus Stand, Sher Shah Suri Marg, Golgadda Bus Stand.

Address-Dashaswmedh Road, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221001, India.

Image credits-google

Temple of Barathmatha - Varanasi

When we talk about the different temples of India, we should definitely talk about an unique temple in the holy city of Varanasi. It is an unique temple of its kind and it takes through the independent struggle that our fore fathers went through. There is no idol or image given to Barath Matha and each and every one can imagine her in their own way. 


The temple is located about 3 km west of Godaulia, outside the old city. It is situated in the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth campus.This temple was inagurated in the year 1936 by Mahathma Gandhi himself. The entire temple is a two storey building with a map of 35ft x 35 ft engraved in the middle (may be to depict the deity). The entire map is carved out of marble and all the minute details like rivers, mountains, valleys, deltas, seas and oceans, Himalayas, Kanyakumari all are depicted. It also have the Indian subcontinent countries of Afghanistan, Tibet, Burma, Sirlanka. As the temple was inagurated in the year 1936, there had been no partition and so we cannot see Pakistan as a separate country in that map.

It is a must for every one of us to visit this temple atleast once in our life time. The temple depicts the pictures of freedom struggle, so it will be a great learning experience for the younger and future generations. We have to thank Shri. Shivprasad Gupta, who conceived this idea of having a temple for the mother nation.