Vishwanath Rises and Rises: The Story of Eternal Kashi

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Kashi, the City of Light, was the embodiment of Indian civilization for millennia. Archaeological mounds at Rajghat Plateau, on the northern outskirts of the city, represented the ancient settlement of Kashi. Its three major settlements, Varanasi, Sarnath, and Aktha, all had "a religious nature." The first reference to Kashi was in the Paippalada recension of the Atharva Veda (V.22.14). The grammarian Panini mentioned Varanasi as the capital of Kashi janapada, and its citizens as varanaseya.

Varanasi was first attacked in 1013 CE, by the Ghaznavid forces, under Ahmed Nialtagin. The cumulative effect of the subsequent centuries of assault was the complete obliteration of Banaras of the Puranic mahatmyas. The Krittivasa, Omkara, Mahadeva, Madhyameshvara, Visveshvara, Bindu Madhava, Kaal Bhairava, and countless other temples were all razed. In many cases, mosques were built with "calculated insolence" in their place, and the sites were forever closed to Hindus. But despite the difficult centuries, the construction of temples in Kashi did not cease, no matter how modest the structure might be.

The great Vishvanath temple was destroyed no less than three times during those centuries. It was said that in 1194 CE, when first attacked by Aibak, and on each subsequent occasion, Brahmins hid the jyotirlinga in the Jnanavapi, the well of knowledge. Queen Razia, during her short turbulent reign, appropriated the site of the temple and had a mosque constructed there. The temple was subsequently rebuilt at another location, where too it was ravaged.

Despite the repeated onslaughts, Banaras retained its standing as a centre of Hindu religious and intellectual activity.

Meenakshi Jain is a historian interested in cultural and religious developments in Indian history. In 2020, she was awarded Padma Sri by the Government of India for her contributions to the field of literature and education. Her recent publications include The Hindus of Hindustan (2023); Vasudeva Krishna and Mathura (2021); Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples (2019); The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya (2017); Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries and the Changing Colonial Discourse (2016); and Rama and Ayodhya (2013).

Skanda said:

1-2.... Sankara did not feel delighted because of the rising fever born of the separation from Kasi (Skanda Purana 1953: IV. i. 44. 1: 485).

Sri Parvati said:

37. Neither by performing meditation on the Absolute (Brahma), avoiding unsteadiness of sense-organs, nor by the performance of Kratu (sacrifice) and other rites, nor by Vedic knowledge or lore, is salvation attainable as easily as by casting off the body in Kasi (Skanda Purana 1953: IV. i. 44-37:488).

38. Nowhere is such happiness possible as found in Kasi. It is neither in heaven nor elsewhere in the world. How can it be found even in Patala which is so very beautiful. Where can be even talk of happiness in this mortal world (Skanda Purana 1953: IV. i. 44. 38: 488).

39. O trident-bearing Lord! Your holy place is Avimukta never bereft of the Lakshmi (glory) of salvation... (Skanda Purana 1953: IV. i. 44. 39: 488).

ETERNAL KASHI

Despite his ancient residence in the city, in Kaliyuga Shiva was repeatedly divested of his blessed abode. But Shiva never forsook Kashi, as his devotees never forsook him. The present work details the tribulations of Kashi, and its deities, that commenced with the attacks of Turkish forces in the eleventh century. The onslaughts continued relentlessly till the eighteenth century.

Kashi was a venerated centre of Indian civilization; the habitat of seers, seekers, and countless pilgrims who thronged to it over time. Archaeological remains attested to the earliest settlements in Kashi going back millennia. The turn of events in the eleventh century failed to deter rulers, or believers. Temples were continually demolished, and as continually rebuilt, many times by devout faithful, whose names have been lost, or forgotten.

DESTRUCTION AND DEVASTATION OF A SACRED CITY

Viswanath temple was destroyed at least thrice, the first time by Qutubuddin Aibak. A temple of the fourteenth- fifteenth century, was pulled down by Sikandar Lodi. As per the Hindu theory of sthana-mahatmya, a temple site remained a temple site in perpetuity. In the sixteenth century, Narayana Bhatt/Todar Mal built the Viswanath temple on the ruins of that desecrated shrine. That temple, too, was demolished in 1669, on orders of Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb; and a mosque was erected in its place. The site became a symbol of Hindu resistance, and physical contest, as in 1809 CE.

LITIGATION COMMENCES

In a startling development, in 1936, one Din Muhammad, in Civil Suit No. 62, claimed the entire Plot No. 9130 (on which the Narayana Bhatt/Todar Mal temple had stood), belonged to Muslims, and was Waqf land. The claim was dismissed by the Secretary of State for India in Council. Fifteen residents of Kashi deposed in contestation of the claims of Din Muhammad. Their testimonies were not challenged by the Muslim side.