“Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” Mark Twain
There’s a beautiful story that goes around in Banaras (also Varanasi) today. Days before Aurangzeb’s attack on Kashi in 1669, the then queen in Kashi had a lucid dream, indicating to her that the temple was at risk. While the city prepared as much as it could, the queen is said to have carried the Shivalinga and jumped in the well, the well of knowledge (now part of Gyanvapi mosque). She remained there for as long as the battle ensued and came out to see all was lost. But not all was lost. The Shivalinga, one of the 12 jyotirlingas, a part of Shiva, was saved. The same linga is said to have been kept in the new Vishwanath temple, built adjacent to its old site. But what is Shiva’s connection to Banaras and how He continues to reside in the heart of the city even today?
In Puranas, one of the holy scriptures of Hindus, Shiva, one of the three supreme Gods, once killed a Brahmin – an act which is considered the worst of sins in Hindu scriptures. To save Shatarupa from her father Brahma, Shiva cuts one of his heads off. But the head stuck fast to his hand, like a constant reminder and a way of punishment for attacking a Brahmin. Shiva wanders the earth searching for places and ways to free him of this sin. Losing hope each day, he reaches Kashi, now also named Varanasi. It is said that as soon as he washes his hands in the Ganga flowing through the city, his hand is freed from the skull. As if, the Ganga washed his sins off.
This is a story that forms the foundation of the entire practice of Hindus cremating dead beloveds in Banaras. Today, two of the eighty-eight Ghats in Banaras, Manikarnika and Harishchandra Ghats are dedicated to cremation rituals. Those who are not cremated in Banaras, are brought in a kalash (clay pot) to Banaras and offered to the Ganga river. The family member while offering their beloved’s ashes, asks Mother Ganga to wash off their sins and pray for them to reunite with the source and creator of this universe, from whence they had come, from whence, we all have come.
It is said that Shiva fell absolutely in love with Kashi. He then, went on to place the city aloft on his trident. Legends say that because Kashi is atop one of the tridents, it has a high vibrational energy, the kind that can help humans connect with themselves, and the divine. It is also believed that Kashi will forever remain protected from natural disasters, because of its special place on Shiva’s Trishul, but man-made disasters are something else, like the floods formed from the nearby dams or the greed of many to attain power over the holy land.
But if there is one city in the world, whose soul is as firm as the earth itself, it has to be Kashi. Kashi’s mention, and its legends, go back more than 10,000 years. While the city is home to numerous beautiful and legendary banks, temples, and alleys, the story of Kashi Vishwanath temple is the one often told, but never told enough. A temple, dedicated to the God that loves Kashi, Shiva.
Kasha Kandra, an ancient text that may be as old as the 6th century, notes the existence of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. So it is believed that the temple is more than over 2500 years old. The original temple, built by King Vikramaditya is said to have been a majestic and beautiful sight, noted in many writings, of India and foreign travellers. It housed one of the 12 jyotirlingas – a form of Shiva, found and worshipped across various regions in India.
I see the temple as the epitome of Kashi itself, strong, resilient, and a place of Shiva. The temple built by King Vikramaditya is noted to have been razed and attacked by many as an occupation tactic.
| A rough breakdown of the attacks on Kashi Vishwanath 1034 – Ahmad Niyaltigin (or Nialtagin), a general in Mahmud Ghazni’s army attacked the temple . 1194 – Qutb al-Din Aibak demolished more than 1000 temples of Kashi and completely razed the Vishwanath temple. 1240 – Razia Sultana constructed a mosque at the Kashi Vishwanath temple site. 1230 – A Gujarati merchant re-builts the Vishwanath temple within the compound of the ancient Avimukteshwara temple . 1447 – Mahmud Hussai Shah Sharqi partially destroyed the rebuilt temple. 1490 – Sikandar Lodi destroys the temple, along with the Avimukteshwar temple. 1585 – Narayana Bhatta and Raja Todar Mall built the temple again, following the cruciform plan of the original temple described in Kashi Khand. 1658 – Shah Jahan had destroyed more than 70 prominent temples of Kashi. 1664 – Following his father’s footsteps, Aurangzeb attacks Vishwanath temple and is brutally defeated by the Naga Sadhus, a shadowy sect of sadhus (saints) that worship God Shiva. 1669 – Aurangzeb comes back prepared, razes the holy temple to its ground, constructs a mosque on its site. |
Why did Kashi have to bear so much? It was an occupation tactic. A harsh, brutal, way to crush the soul of Kashi by razing the temples. A scholar Sukul notes that between the 12th and 17th centuries, all temples of Varanasi were destroyed over five times. According to Kashi Khanda, there were 1099 temples in Varanasi, out of which, 513 were dedicated to Shiva. Today, the number is much less.
But the Kashi Vishwanath temple alone was subjected to numerous assaults, and attacks leading to the killing of several who tried to protect their identity and their faith. However, Kashi never bowed down, and neither did people’s love for their heritage. Queen of Indore, Rani Ahilyabai Holkar, at the behest of her sheer will and determination, had the Vishwanath temple rebuilt at a site adjacent to its original place in 1777. It could not be built on the original site, partly because of the intervention of the Nawab of Awadh, who controlled the territory, and partly because of the fear of another bloodshed in the city which had seen too much red under the blue sky.
With the story of Kashi Vishwanath temple, comes alive the story of the struggle to save its essence, the shivlinga. There are many versions of how the Shivalinga of the original Vishwanath temple was saved. Some say that it was a priest who jumped into the well with the Shivalinga. Some conspiracy theories say that the original Shivalinga was destroyed along with the original temple. But whatever the stories may say, the fact remains, that today, a Vishwanath temple stands tall in Kashi. Even if the construction is fairly new, the temple is a sight to behold and an embracing place to meditate and revere the lord Shiva, who refused to leave Kashi, no matter what king, army, or emperor may come.
To me, Kashi is the epitome of a soul, a soul that is beautiful, loving, strong, and resilient. To me, Kashi is divinity in the form of a city.
Symphony of conch shells
Played aloud by the banks
The bells in harmony
Sing with the dusk and wind
At the grace of devout priests’ hands,
Dances the holy flames of humungous aarti stands
It’s Shiva’s city,
Whose resilient soul will bring out yours
Come to Kashi, o lost heart
Bask in the history, energy, and embrace of
The place which is God’s love letter to man
References:
Tracing the Past of Kashi Vishwanath Temple – Cultural Heritage of Varanasi
Opinion | The Millennia-old History of Kashi Vishwanath – News18
