Vishwanath
Jyotirlinga Tour
Kashi Vishwanath temple is one of the most
famous Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and is in the
holy city of Varanasi, India. The temple stands on the western
bank of Hinduism's holiest river Ganges, and the deity is
one of the twelve Jyotirlingas the holiest of Shiva deities.
The main deity is known by the name Vishwanatha or Vishweshwara
meaning the Ruler of the world. The temple town that claims
to be the oldest living city in the world, with 3500 years
of documented history is also called Kashi and hence the temple
is popularly called as Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Due to this
15.5m high golden spire, the temple is sometimes called as
the Golden Temple, similar to the Sikh Gurudwara at Amritsar.
The temple has been in Hindu mythology for a very long time
and a central part of worship in the Shaiva philosophy. The
original temple has not yet been found and due to invasions,
the temple has been destroyed and rebuit a number of times.
The current structure is believed to have been built by Maharani
Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780. Since 1983, the temple
is being managed by Govt. of Uttar Pradesh.
The temple complex consists of a series of smaller shrines,
located in a small lane called the Vishwanatha Galli, near
the river. The linga the main deity at the shrine is 60 cm
tall and 90 cm in circumference housed in a silver altar.
There are small temples for Mahakala, Dhandapani, Avimukteshwara,
Vishnu, Vinayaka, Sanishwara, Virupaksha and Virupaksh Gauri
in the complex. There is a small well in the temple called
the Jnana Vapi (the wisdom well) and it is believed that the
Jytorlinga was hidden in the well to protect it at the time
of invasion.
Importance of Kashi Vishvanath temple
The temple is widely recognized as one of the most important
places of worship in Hindu religion and most of the leading
Hindu saints, including Adi Sankaracharya, Ramakrishna Paramhansa,
Swami Vivekananda, Goswami Tulsidas, Swami Dayananda Saraswati,
Gurunanak have vitied this site [5]. According to Hindu mythology,
a visit to the temple and a bath in the river Ganga is believed
to lead one on a path to Moksha (liberation). Thus, people
from all over the nation, try to visit the place at least
once in their lifetime. There is also a tradition that one
should give up at least one desire after a pilgrimage the
temple, and the pilgrimage would also include a visit to the
temple at Rameswaram in South India, where people take the
water samples of Ganga to perform prayer at the temple and
bring back the sand from near that temple. Due to the immense
popularity and holiness of this temple, hundreds of temples
across the nation have been built with the same style and
architecture
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