Temples

More

The new Kashi Vishwanath temple at Mirghat, near Dashashmedh ghat and the Vishwanath temple at the Banaras Hindu university are the other famous temples in Banaras. The new Kashi Vishwanath temple was established by the orthodox Brahmins, while the temple in the University compound was built in 1966, under patronage of the Birlas. The latter one is a huge temple. It has a 677 meter high rising white top and its well carved architecture attracts pilgrims.

The Adi Vishweshwar temple, in front of the Carmichael Library was built by Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur. Arti-puja is performed in milk and then honoured with fragrant sandalwood paste, flowers and bilva (bel) leaves. In the southern sector of the city, situated at the top of the ghats, is the Kashi Kedara temple. The linga has prominent red and white stripes. For the Kashi Kedara temple, it is believed that Shiva, while running away from Brahma, pushed up the earth and appeared as a linga, which liberates all those who behold it. The Shivalinga with the Karwat (a saw) by its side is enclosed in the dark chambers of the basement of the temple. A view of the linga can be had from above by dropping a small piece of lighted camphor into the sacred place.

The other important shrines and temples in Banaras are those of god Vishnu and other goddesses. The most famous temple is of goddess Durga. It is built with red stone and has excellent ornamentation. The temple was built under the patronage of Rani Bhawani of Nathore in Bengal in the 17th century. The temple is also nick named as the Monkey temple, because of the large number of monkeys playing on the top of the temple. Nearby the temple is the Durgakund (tank). The legend goes that Goddess Durga rested at this kund after slaying the demon. The image of the goddess in the temple is draped in red-cloth.

Goddess Annapurna, who is famous for giving alms, is the city's most prominent goddess. Her temple is situated just next to Vishwanath temple. It is believed that nobody will die in Kashi with the scarcity of food.

In Tulsi-Manas Mandir, the sparkling white marble stone walls are inscribed quartets and couplets from Ramcharitmanas. The Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple was build by Goswami Tulsidas. The other well known temples, dedicated to goddesses are Sankata Devi temple, Shitala Devi temple, Vishalakshi temple and eight temples dedicated to Tripur Bhairvi, Lalita Devi, Kashi Devi, Ma Durga and Gauri are reputed with power to heal. There is a temple for Aditya or sun God. There are twelve Aditya temples in Banaras, of which the most important and enthralling is the Aditya temple of Loharkakund in the Bhadaini locality situated in the extreme south of the city. The word Lolarka means 'The Trembling Sun'. It is believed that the sins of the pilgrims are burnt by the trembling sun. The Lolarkakund has steep steps, descending into the rectangular bathing pool, which is some fifty feet below the ground level. The belief attached to the kund is that a daily dip in the kund cures women of sterility. Every year in the month of August and September, a huge festival (Lolark Shasthi) is held here.

There is another Sun Temple at Gadaulia in Banaras which is in ruins. This site is called the Suraj kund or Surya kund. Part of the sun disc is still visible here. Other prominent temples of Varanasi are the temples of Tilbhangeshwar Mahadev, Kaal Bhairav, Mrityunjava Mahadev, Trilochan Mahdev, Kedareshwar, Beni Madhav, Satya Narain and Dashashavamedheshvara, Prayageshwara, Brahmeshvara, Somesh-war, Rameshwar, Dandapani, Shakshi Vinayaka and Dhundhiraja Ganesha. The Shiva linga of the Tilbhangeshwar Mahadev is 1.37 meters high, with a circumference of 4.57 meters and is reputed to grow the measure of a til (sesame seed) every year.

Nepalese temple is above the Lalita ghat. The structure of this temple is very different. It has various sexual poses carved on the wooden ribs supporting the roof. It is constructed in 1841A.D. by the king of Nepal, Surendra Veer Vikram Shah. Its structure is typically Nepalese. The temples have pandas (professional priests) who assist in the worship of deities. All the priests in a temple are not of the same status. The head priest of Vishwanath temple is called the Gaddi-dhari mahant, who alone can perform the full ritual worship. Others simply assist him.

[next]