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Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi
Locality/village : Varanasi
State : Uttar Pradesh
Country : India
Nearest City/Town : Varanasi
Best Season To Visit : All
Languages : Hindi & English
Temple Timings : 3:00 AM to 11:00 PM
Photography : Not Allowed
Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi
Standing on the western bank of India’s holiest river, the Ganges, Varanasi is one of the oldest surviving cities of the world and the cultural capital of India. The Kashi Vishwanath temple is supposedly one of the holiest mandirs in the country which attracts tourists from around the globe as well. It is also said that the blessings one gets from all the other jyotirlingas can be accrued by a single visit to the Vishveshwara jyotirlinga alone. Such is the reverence and importance of this temple.
According to the Shiva Purana, once Brahma and Vishnu had an argument in terms of supremacy of creation. In order to solve the dispute, Shiva decided to pierce the three worlds as an endless pillar of light. Both Vishnu and Brahma started upwards and downwards respectively to find the end of the light. Brahma lied that he had found the end while Vishnu accepted that he could not and accepted defeat. Shiva cursed Brahma that as punishment for lying to him, Brahma would not be part of any ceremonies while Vishnu would always be worshipped. The jyotirlinga is the supreme partless reality, out of which Shiva partly appears. The jyothirlinga shrines, thus are places where Lord Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light. Each of the twelve jyothirlinga sites take the name of the presiding deity – each considered to be a different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is the jyotirlingam representing the infinite nature of Lord Shiva. The twelve jyothirlinga are Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna in Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleswar in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Himalayas, Bhimashankar in Maharastra, Viswanath at Varanasi, Triambakeshwar in Maharastra, Vaidyanath in Jharkhand, Nageshwar at Dwarka, Rameshwar in Tamil Nadu and Grishneshwar in Maharastra.
The temple complex houses many other smaller shrines, all of which can be reached from a small lane called the Vishwanath Galli. The jyotirlingam is 60 cm tall and 90 cm in circumference. There are small temples for Kaal bhairav, Dhandapani, Avimukteshwara, Vishnu, Vinayaka, Sanishwara, Virupaksha and Virupaksh Gauri in the complex. There is a small well in the temple called the Jnana Vapi also spelled as Gyaan vapi (the wisdom well). The well also has some interesting history. It is believed that the jyotirlingam was hidden in the well during the time of invasion. The head priest had jumped into the well along with the jyotirlingam so that the enemy would not get their hands on it. The jyotirlingam is made of black colored stone, and is placed on a silver platform. Structure of the temple is composed of three parts. The first compromises a spire on the temple of Lord Vishwanath or Mahadeva. The second is gold dome and the third is the gold spire atop the Vishwanath carrying a flag and a trident.
The Kashi Vishwanath temple receives around 3000 visitors every day. On certain occasions the numbers reach 1,000,000 and more.
A Shiva temple has been mentioned in the Skanda Purana. The original Vishwanath temple was destroyed by the army of Qutb-ud-din Aibak in 1194 CE, when he defeated the Raja of Kannauj as a commander of Mohammad Ghori. The temple was rebuilt by a Gujarati merchant during the reign of Shamsuddin Iltumish (1211-1266 CE). It was demolished again during the rule of either Hussain Shah Sharqi (1447-1458) or Sikandar Lodhi (1489-1517). Raja Man Singh built the temple during Akbar’s rule, but orthodox Hindus boycotted it as he had let the Mughal emperors marry within his family. Raja Todar Mal further re-built the temple with Akbar’s funding at its original site in 1585.
In 1669 CE, Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the temple and built the Gyanvapi Mosque in its place. The remains of the erstwhile temple can be seen in the foundation, the columns and at the rear part of the mosque. The Maratha ruler Malhar Rao Holkar wanted to destroy the Gyanvapi mosque and re-construct the temple at the site. However, he never actually did that. His daughter-in-law Ahilyabai Holkar later constructed the present current temple structure near the mosque. Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated gold for the temple. During 1833-1840 CE, Ahilyabai constructed the boundary of Gyanvapi Well, the ghats and other temples.
Many noble families from various ancestral kingdoms of India and their prior establishments make generous contributions for the operations of the temple.
| Aarti | |||
| S.No | Time | Programme | Amount Rs. |
| 1-a | 3.00 A.M. to 4.00 A.M. | Mangala Aarti | 300.00 (Normal Days only) |
| 1-b | 3.00 A.M. to 4.00 A.M. | Mangala Aarti | 1000.00 (Shravan Monday only) |
| 1-c | 3.00 A.M. to 4.00 A.M. | Mangala Aarti | 500.00 (Shravan days except Monday) |
| 1-d | 3.00 A.M. to 4.00 A.M. | Mangala Aarti | 1500.00 (Maha Shivratri day only) |
| 1-e | 11.15 A.M. to 12.20 P.M. | Bhog/Aarti | 125.00 |
| 1-f | 7.00 P.M. to 8.15 P.M. | Saptarshee | 150.00 |
| 1-g | 9.00 P.M. to 10.15P.M. | Night Shringar/Bhog Aarti | 150.00 |
| 1-h | 10.30 P.M. to 11 P.M. | Night Shayan Aarti | Free |
| Rudrabhishek | |||
| S.No | Time | Programme | Amount Rs. |
| 2 | 4.00 A.M. to 6.00 P.M. | Rudrabhishek (1 shastri) | 150.00 |
| 3 | Rudrabhishek (5 shastri) | 400.00 | |
| 4 | Rudrabhishek (11 shastri) | 700.00 | |
| 5 | Laghu Rudra (11 shastri) | 1200.00 | |
| 6 | Maharudra (11 shastri) 11 Days | 10000.00 | |
There is also an annual pooja scheme. For those wishing for a membership, the donation is Rs. Eleven thousand. This scheme includes a pooja done once every year in the name of the devotee for the next 20 years on a date prematurely fixed by him even if the devotee himself cannot be present.
Most of the prasad, milk, clothes and other such offerings are given to the poor. Contribution in cash or kind towards development or specific purposes are accepted. A receipt thereof is issued and the donation is used for the desired seva.
Varanasi is easily accessible from all parts of the country. Very well connected by road, rail and air, the City offers convenient and comfortable travelling options to and from other cities of India.
Local Transport
Private taxis are available from travel agencies, hotels, etc. Auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws are also readily available.
By Air
Sarnath There is a. direct, daily flight connection between Varanasi and New Delhi. It also connects Varanasi to Calcutta and Mumbai.
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. New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, the city has direct rail connections.
By Road
Varanasi is situated on NH2 from Calcutta to Delhi.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi
6 thoughts on “Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi”
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A temple to be to at least once in your life time. I have been to a lot of temples in my life time but the Kashi Vishwanath temple will always be very special to me.
The Kashi Vishwanath temple is indeed one of the holiest temple in the whole world. So many devotees come here and seek blessing of the almighty. It is located on the banks of river Ganges and we saw a lot of people come here have a dip as they believe that this can help them wash away their sins. The main jyothirlingam is a black colored stone and pujas were done so frequently and even special pujas as requested by some devotees were also been done there.
I believe that if one is searching for Mukthi and wants to get rid of all his sins , visiting the Kashi Vishwanath temple at least once in your life time can be of great help. Such a divine and powerful temple gathered by devotees from so many places. The pujas and the homas that happen there regularly can uplift your spiritual mind and thought process to a completely different level.
I believe that if one is searching for Mukthi and wants to get rid of all his sins , visiting the Kashi Vishwanath temple at least once in your life time can be of great help. Such a divine and powerful temple gathered by devotees from so many places. The pujas and the homas that happen there regularly can uplift your spiritual mind and thought process to a completely different level.
very nice and powerful temple!
Its been our family tradition to visit this temple every year and till today we have not missed even for a single year. My entire family believes that all problems will surely get washed in the Ganges and the lord will bless us abundantly. We offer prayers every year and even do special pujas on certain special family occasions. The temple gets powerful each coming year with so many people flying and offering their prayers.