THE STORY OF KASHI VISHWANATH TEMPLE

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple (located in Varanasi, U.P) has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. The last structure was demolished in 1669 CE by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who built the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site.

The Kashi Khanda section of Skanda Purana also mentions the temple.
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple we know today was built on an adjacent site by the Maratha ruler, Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780.

Its construction was a result of numerous efforts. In 1742, the Maratha ruler Malhar Rao Holkar made a plan to demolish the mosque and reconstruct the temple but the plan didn’t work out because of the intervention of Nawab of Awadh, in-control of the territory.

Around the year 1750,a survey of land around the site was conducted by Maharaja of Jaipur with the aim of purchasing land to rebuild the temple; however, his plan did not materialize either.

Finally, in 1780, Ahilya Bai Holkar, Malhar Rao’s daughter-in-law got the temple constructed.
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