True Story Of GYANVAPI VARANASI

Aurangzeb demolished the Kashi Vishwanath temple and then built a controversial structure on it, which Muslims started calling 'mosque'. It was December 2, 1669 when this temple was demolished on the orders of the Mughal Emperor. Before that, Raja Todarmal, who was the Revenue Minister during the time of Akbar, had built it at the behest of a monk named Narayan Bhatt. Shivalinga was put in Gyanvapi during the time of Aurangzeb.

It is said that when the temple was demolished, the chief priest there hurriedly immersed the idols in the well (Gyanvapi) to save them. Besides, Shivalinga was also installed in it. Since then, Gyanvapi became a bigger center of devotion for Hindus. Instead of completely demolishing the temple, Aurangzeb raised the domes of the mosque over it. The sanctum sanctorum was converted into the hall of the mosque.

The spire was badly demolished. Most of the gates of the temple were closed. Historian Meenakshi Jain, in her book ‘Flight Of Deities And Rebirth Of Temples’, tells how Aurangzeb, apart from banning festivals like Holi and Diwali, had also banned Hindus from performing last rites on the banks of Yamuna. He also ordered the demolition of Keshav Dev temple. Then Shahi Idgah Mosque was built there.

Meenakshi Jain also tells about the Kedar Temple of Varanasi, which was worshiped as the elder brother of Vishveshwar and is the oldest Shivalinga of Kashi. It was popular among the local people that when Aurangzeb's army destroyed the statue of Nandi, blood started dripping from his neck, after which they ran away from there in fear. During the time of Aurangzeb, countless temples like Krittivaseshwar, Omkar, Mahadev, Madhyameshwar, Vishveshwar, Bindu Madhav and Kaal Bhairav Samar were demolished in Banaras.

Most of these places were closed for Hindus and mosques were built there. Foreign travelers living in Varanasi at that time have also written in their memoirs that the ancient temples were demolished by the Muslim rule and converted into mosques and dargahs. However, Aurangzeb's army had to fight a battle with the Dashnami sadhus before demolishing this temple. The sadhus of the Akharas had received weapons training and came out to face the Mughal army.

The name ‘Akhara’ itself shows that training in wrestling and martial arts must have been taking place there. Deliberately a mosque was built on the walls of the temple, but its name remained 'Gyanvapi'. This name is not found in any Muslim literature, it is definitely mentioned in Sanatani texts. After this demolition, Shivalinga was established on the south side of Gyanvapi. No temple was built there and Hindus worshiped Lord Shiva quietly and secretly, so that the Mughals did not know about it.

Some documents show that Maharaj Bhav Singh of Rewa, Jagat Singh of Udaipur, and Anirudh Singh of Rewa came to worship here in different years. In 1734, Maharaj Jawan Singh of Udaipur established a Shivling near Vishweshwar, which was called Jawaneshwar. Maharaj Sangram Singh and Asi Singh of Udaipur also reached here. Finally, Ahilyabai Holkar got the temple built here, whose statue is also installed in Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.

During the time of Aurangzeb, the three big temples of Varanasi on which mosques were built are - Gyanvapi 'Mosque' in place of Vishweshwar Temple, Dharhara Mosque in place of Bindu Madhav Temple on Panchganga Ghat (the entire city can be seen by climbing the two minarets here). ) and the Alamgiri Mosque at Daranagar in place of the Krittivaseshvara Temple. The minarets of Bindu Madhava were long called 'Madhava ka Dharhara', in memory of the temple. However, the efforts of the Bhakti saints and the devotion of the common people kept the Hindus mentally strong and connected to their religion.

The Gyanvapi temple was not completely demolished so that in future, Hindus would be afraid of seeing it and remembering this cruelty. An interesting incident is found in Persian literature on the destruction of Gyanvapi. There was a poet in Aurangzeb's court, who said that he was a Brahmin and would remain a Brahmin even after visiting Kaaba 100 times. He said that his heart is so fascinated by 'kufr' that even if he goes to Kaaba a hundred times, only a Brahmin will return.

When Aurangzeb asked the poet Chandrabhan, who wrote under the name 'Barhman', whether he would like to say something about the demolition of the temple in Kashi and the construction of a mosque on it, he wrote, "O Sheikh, this miraculous image of my temple. Look at the greatness that even your God came here only when it was ruined.” It is said that the king remained silent on this statement of the old poet. Kuber Nath Shukla has mentioned this in the book ‘Varanasi Down The Ages’.

Chandrabhan used to be in the court of Mughals since the time of Shahjahan and his father also used to be an officer in the Mughal government. He knew what Hindus think about Kashi and what their reverence is. The Vishwanath temple, which was later built by Todarmal, was also grand. The temple was built in the shape of a square with each side of 124 feet, in the middle of which was the sanctum sanctorum. There were 16*10 pavilions all around. There were four separate pavilions and small temples outside at each corner.