Located right there in the heart of holiest of holy city Varanasi, Kashi Vishwanath temple is one very important pilgrim for the Hindus all over the world. Varanasi is the oldest civilized city in the entire world and there was the time when students from all over the world who were seeking the all-around education, used to come to the city. The religious centre of the country, Kashi or Varanasi’s heart lies in the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The temple is old and it has faced some extreme conditions over the years and still it is there, standing tall, helping millions of people from all over the world in attaining moksha, the liberation from Maya and the true freedom from the vicious cycle of life and death.
Some less known facts
The temple was built in 1490 and since then, it has seen many different rulers having their own concept about the religion and spirituality. Call it a blessing of the holy river Ganga, that flows just on the side, the temple faced it all and is standing right there in all its grandeur. While all other temples were destroyed by moguls and then remade again, this one survived everything. Mogul emperor Akbar gave the permission to build the temple and the final shape and restoration work was done by Rani Ahilya Bai Holker. Aurangzeb had destroyed the temple and built a mosque in its place. The ruins of the old structure can also be seen even today.
Sightseeing
The architecture of the temple is an engineering marvel in itself. The golden chhatra at the top of the temple is known to be quite auspicious and it is said that one who is able to get a glimpse of the chhatra, their wishes get fulfilled within days. After the temple was rebuilt by the queen of Indore, Raja Ranjit Singh from Indore donated a lot of gold to the temple in order to pay his respect to Lord Vishwanath. The towers of the temple are about 15.5 metres high and are just magnificent to look at. The temple is also having an inner sanctum that is having a linga made up of black stone that happens to be placed in a silver altar on the floor. Towards the south of the temple, there are three little shrines and around the temple, there are five shivlingas and together they are known as Neelkantheshwar temple.
The temple is open to the visitors all around the year and they come from all over the world. You can guess its popularity just by looking at the sheer number of foreign devotees. Five aartis are performed in the temple every day and in case you are planning on witnessing them, this is a sight you will never forget in this life at least.
Best time to Visit
The temple is open to the visitors all around the year yet.October and November are the months when the festivities make it this temple all glowing and enthralling.
Visitors flock from come from all over the world and you can guess the popularity by merely looking at the sheer number of foreign devotees.
The Aartis
Five aartis are performed in the temple every day. Their timings are as below
- . Mangala Aarti :- 3.00 – 4.00 am (Morning)
- . Bhoga Aarti :- 11.15 am to 12.20 pm (Day)
- . Sandhya Aarti :- 7.00 to 8.15 pm (Evening)
- . Shringara Aarti :- 9.00 pm to 10.15 pm (Night).
- . Shayana Aarti :- 10.30 pm -11.00 pm (Night).
How to Reach
In order to reach the temple, one has to pass through the Kashi Vishwanath Gali. The Gali is famous for its shops selling pooja items and sweets. Ladies can stop by the popular ladies corner in that gali. After the darshan of Lord Shiva, devotees can also go out on an affordable shopping spree.
Varanasi railway station is the best way to approach the temple which is only 5 km from the temple. If you are commuting from anywhere in the city, it is ideal to board a taxi or an auto rickshaw for reaching the place.
Any months all around a year is good to visit the city. But around October and November, the festivities make it all glowing and engrossing.
