Abstract

This essay describes how the Kashi Visvanatha temple and its holy grounds have changed since they were first mentioned in the sixth century BCE. The patron deity of Varanasi, Vishvanatha, also known as Vishveshvara, is a manifestation of Shiva, who is considered the Lord of the World (also called Kashi/Banaras). The temple faced destruction, demolition, reconstruction, contestation, and recent resurrection in its history spanning more than a millennium. In 1777 CE under the patronage of Ahilyabai, the present temple of Vishvanatha was re-constructed for the 4^th time. By the 19th century CE, the area surrounding the temple became a sanctuary of gods associated with Shiva. Within this dense habitation, a unique circumambulation called the Antragrihi yatra, defined, connected and celebrated this sacred landscape. The renewal of this area was initiated in 2017, to create Kashi Vishvanatha Dham.  The historic settlement was replaced with a huge complex that has been developed with tourist and recreational facilities. This ambitious plan for promoting heritage tourism under Smart City, where new developments are structured to superimpose ‘heritagization’ under the umbrella of ‘Hindu Resurrection’ through a model of Neo-modernism, are looked in the historical context of the site and its potential for the sustainable development of Varanasi.

Keywords:Vishvanatha sacred-scape, Archetypal temples, Ahilya Bai, Todar Mal, Antragrihi yatra,Kashi Vishvanatha Corridor,Inclusive Heritage development.

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10. Ali, M. Athar 1968. The Mughal Nobility under Aurangzeb.Asia Publishing House, Bombay.
11. Asher, Catherine B. 2020. ‘Making Sense of Temples and Tirthas: Rajput Construction Under Mughal Rule. Twelfth MHJ Annual Lecture, The Medieval History Journal, 23, 1 (2020): 9–49 Los Angeles DOI: 10.1177/0971945820905289vol. 34 (2): 79–91.
12. Baker Hans 1993. Early Mythology related to Benares. In: Singh RB (ed) Benares - Cosmic Order, Sacred City, Hindu Tradition(pg.). Tara Books, Varanasi.
13. Beal Samuel 1884. Buddhist records of the Western world (Xuanzang) ISBN-10: 8120811070https://www.wisdomlib.org/south-asia/book/buddhist-records-of-the-western-world-xuanzang/d/doc220240.html, accessed on 3.7.22
14. Case Margaret (ed) 1996. Govindadeva: A Dialogue in Stone. IGNCA, New Delhi
15. Desai Madhuri 2012. Interpreting an Architectural Past Ram Raz and the Treatise in South Asia. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 71, No. 4, pp. 462-487 Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural Historians Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jsah.2012.71.4.462 Accessed: 02-07-2016 12:13 UTC
16. Desai, Madhuri 2017. Banaras Reconstructed: Architecture and Sacred Space in a Hindu Holy City.Orient Black swan Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad.
17. Desai, Madhuri 2019. The Vishweshwur temple and Gyan Vapi mosque: entangled histories in Banaras; In: Dumper, Michael (ed.) Contested Holy Cities: The Urban Dimension of Religious Conflicts (pp. 63-80).Routledge, London, and New York.
18. Dumper, Michael 2020. Hindu-Muslim Rivalries in Banaras: History and Myth as the Present. In: his, Power, Piety, and People: The Politics of Holy Cities in the Twenty-First Century (pp. 104-152).Columbia University Press, New York.
19. Eck, Diana L. 1993. A Survey of Sanskrit Sources for the Study of Varanasi. In: Singh RB (ed) Benares - Cosmic Order, Sacred City, Hindu Tradition(pg.). Tara Books, Varanasi.
20. Eck, Diana L. 1999. Banaras, city of Light.Alfred A. Knopf, New York

12. Gupta Divay 2021. Franchising Kashi: Converging Mythologies and Geographies in Creating Multiple Manifestations of Kashi in India and Nepal, paper presented at Cultural Kashi: Tradition & Modernity conferenceBHU: 11 Dec 2021, Varanasi. (under publication)

13. Jayaswal, Vidula and Mani, Buddha Rashmi 2016. Early History of Varanasi: Recent Excavations at Rajghat.Aryan Books International, New Delhi.
14. Michell, George 2005.Temple Styles. In: Michell, George and Singh, Rana P.B. (eds.) Banaras, The City Revealed (pp. 78-91).Marg Publishers, Mumbai.

15. Motichandra, 1962. Kāśī kā Itihās. (History of Kashi). 2nd ed. 1985, 3rd ed. 2003, Varanasi: Vishwavidyalaya Prakashan.

16. Prinsep, James 1833. Benares Illustrated in a Series of Drawings.Lithographed in England by Eminent Artists. I to III Series. Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta; and Smith, Elder & Co., London 1834.Reprinted with an introduction by O.P. Kejriwal 1996: Vishwavidyalaya Prakashan, Varanasi.

17. Rötzer, Klaus 2005.Mosques and Tombs. In: Michell, George and Singh, Rana P.B. (eds.) Banaras, The City Revealed (pp. 50-65).Marg Publishers, Mumbai.

18. Sarkar, Jadunath 1928. History of Aurangzeb.4 vols. Calcutta. Reprinted in 1972 by Orient Longman, New Delhi.

19. Sarvadhikari, Jadunath 1915. Tirthabhramana (‘Pilgrimage Tour’).Bangiya Sahitya Parishad, Kolkata. [in Bengali].

20. Singh, Rana P.B. 2009. Banaras, Making of India’s Heritage City. [Planet Earth & Cultural Understanding Series, Pub. 3].Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne UK.

21. Singh Rana P.B. 2015.Heritage Value of Religious Sites and Built Archetypes: The Scenario of Hinduism, and illustrating the Riverfront Varanasi. [A special address in the ICOMOS-UNESCO Conference, Seoul, Korea: 24 April 2015]. Aatmbodh, the Journal of Knowledge of Self(ISSN: 0972-1398), 12 (1), Spring: 1-23.

22. Singh, Rana P.B. and Rana, Pravin S. 2002.Banaras Region: A Spiritual & Cultural Guide. Indica Books, Varanasi. Pilgrimage & Cosmology Series: 1.

23. Singh, Rana P.B.; Rana, Pravin S. 2022. The Kashi Vishvanatha, Varanasi city, India: Construction, Destruction and Resurrection to Heritagisation. In Rana P.B. Singh and Olimpia Nigalio (eds) ‘ Historic Cities and Cultural- Religious Heritage. Preservation & Regeneration’, Internation Journal of Architecture and Engineering, Vol.9(no.1),(pg 15- 31), Rome Italy.

24. Sukul, Kuberanāth 1977 (Samvata 2034). Varanasi Vaibhava.(The Glory of Varanasi).Rastrabhasha Parishad, Patna. [in Hindi].

25. Upadhyay Chandan 2021. Not an Old Temple, Kashi is an Eternal city of Light, No Invasion could Kill its Spirit, https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/not-old-temple-town-kashi-is-eternal-city-of-light-no-invasion-could-kill-its-spirit-4550495.html, latest updated on 14.12.21, accessed on 3.7.22.
26. Visuvalingam Sunthar and Elizabeth-Chalier Visuvalingam, 2002 ‘Between Mecca and Benares: The Marriage of Lat Bhairava & Ghazi Miyan’. Journal of the American Academy of Religions. http://svabhinava.org/1809riot/index.php, accessed on 7.8.22
27. Yanagisawa K, Funo S. How Mohallas were formed: Typology of Mohallas from the viewpoint of spatial formation and the urbanization process in Varanasi, India. 2018. Architecture Review;1: 385–395. https://doi.org/10.1002/2475-8876.12040

28. https://www.varanasi.org.in/kashi-vishwanath-corridor
29. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/gyanvapi-mosque-asi-report-confirms-existence-of-large-hindu-temple/articleshow/107153258.cms. (Times of India newspaper on 27^th January 2024)
30. Jaiswal Roshan and Devika Bhattacharya, 2024. In Gyanvapi survey report, photos show 'shivling', broken deity statues, India Today New Delhi, Jan 26, 2024 11:36 IST.

Abstract

This essay describes how the Kashi Visvanatha temple and its holy grounds have changed since they were first mentioned in the sixth century BCE. The patron deity of Varanasi, Vishvanatha, also known as Vishveshvara, is a manifestation of Shiva, who is considered the Lord of the World (also called Kashi/Banaras). The temple faced destruction, demolition, reconstruction, contestation, and recent resurrection in its history spanning more than a millennium. In 1777 CE under the patronage of Ahilyabai, the present temple of Vishvanatha was re-constructed for the 4^th time. By the 19th century CE, the area surrounding the temple became a sanctuary of gods associated with Shiva. Within this dense habitation, a unique circumambulation called the Antragrihi yatra, defined, connected and celebrated this sacred landscape. The renewal of this area was initiated in 2017, to create Kashi Vishvanatha Dham.  The historic settlement was replaced with a huge complex that has been developed with tourist and recreational facilities. This ambitious plan for promoting heritage tourism under Smart City, where new developments are structured to superimpose ‘heritagization’ under the umbrella of ‘Hindu Resurrection’ through a model of Neo-modernism, are looked in the historical context of the site and its potential for the sustainable development of Varanasi.

Keywords:Vishvanatha sacred-scape, Archetypal temples, Ahilya Bai, Todar Mal, Antragrihi yatra,Kashi Vishvanatha Corridor,Inclusive Heritage development.

🔒 This is a subscription article

Full text is available to subscribers and institutional members. Please choose an option below to access it.

10. Ali, M. Athar 1968. The Mughal Nobility under Aurangzeb.Asia Publishing House, Bombay.
11. Asher, Catherine B. 2020. ‘Making Sense of Temples and Tirthas: Rajput Construction Under Mughal Rule. Twelfth MHJ Annual Lecture, The Medieval History Journal, 23, 1 (2020): 9–49 Los Angeles DOI: 10.1177/0971945820905289vol. 34 (2): 79–91.
12. Baker Hans 1993. Early Mythology related to Benares. In: Singh RB (ed) Benares - Cosmic Order, Sacred City, Hindu Tradition(pg.). Tara Books, Varanasi.
13. Beal Samuel 1884. Buddhist records of the Western world (Xuanzang) ISBN-10: 8120811070https://www.wisdomlib.org/south-asia/book/buddhist-records-of-the-western-world-xuanzang/d/doc220240.html, accessed on 3.7.22
14. Case Margaret (ed) 1996. Govindadeva: A Dialogue in Stone. IGNCA, New Delhi
15. Desai Madhuri 2012. Interpreting an Architectural Past Ram Raz and the Treatise in South Asia. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 71, No. 4, pp. 462-487 Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural Historians Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jsah.2012.71.4.462 Accessed: 02-07-2016 12:13 UTC
16. Desai, Madhuri 2017. Banaras Reconstructed: Architecture and Sacred Space in a Hindu Holy City.Orient Black swan Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad.
17. Desai, Madhuri 2019. The Vishweshwur temple and Gyan Vapi mosque: entangled histories in Banaras; In: Dumper, Michael (ed.) Contested Holy Cities: The Urban Dimension of Religious Conflicts (pp. 63-80).Routledge, London, and New York.
18. Dumper, Michael 2020. Hindu-Muslim Rivalries in Banaras: History and Myth as the Present. In: his, Power, Piety, and People: The Politics of Holy Cities in the Twenty-First Century (pp. 104-152).Columbia University Press, New York.
19. Eck, Diana L. 1993. A Survey of Sanskrit Sources for the Study of Varanasi. In: Singh RB (ed) Benares - Cosmic Order, Sacred City, Hindu Tradition(pg.). Tara Books, Varanasi.
20. Eck, Diana L. 1999. Banaras, city of Light.Alfred A. Knopf, New York

12. Gupta Divay 2021. Franchising Kashi: Converging Mythologies and Geographies in Creating Multiple Manifestations of Kashi in India and Nepal, paper presented at Cultural Kashi: Tradition & Modernity conferenceBHU: 11 Dec 2021, Varanasi. (under publication)

13. Jayaswal, Vidula and Mani, Buddha Rashmi 2016. Early History of Varanasi: Recent Excavations at Rajghat.Aryan Books International, New Delhi.
14. Michell, George 2005.Temple Styles. In: Michell, George and Singh, Rana P.B. (eds.) Banaras, The City Revealed (pp. 78-91).Marg Publishers, Mumbai.

15. Motichandra, 1962. Kāśī kā Itihās. (History of Kashi). 2nd ed. 1985, 3rd ed. 2003, Varanasi: Vishwavidyalaya Prakashan.

16. Prinsep, James 1833. Benares Illustrated in a Series of Drawings.Lithographed in England by Eminent Artists. I to III Series. Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta; and Smith, Elder & Co., London 1834.Reprinted with an introduction by O.P. Kejriwal 1996: Vishwavidyalaya Prakashan, Varanasi.

17. Rötzer, Klaus 2005.Mosques and Tombs. In: Michell, George and Singh, Rana P.B. (eds.) Banaras, The City Revealed (pp. 50-65).Marg Publishers, Mumbai.

18. Sarkar, Jadunath 1928. History of Aurangzeb.4 vols. Calcutta. Reprinted in 1972 by Orient Longman, New Delhi.

19. Sarvadhikari, Jadunath 1915. Tirthabhramana (‘Pilgrimage Tour’).Bangiya Sahitya Parishad, Kolkata. [in Bengali].

20. Singh, Rana P.B. 2009. Banaras, Making of India’s Heritage City. [Planet Earth & Cultural Understanding Series, Pub. 3].Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne UK.

21. Singh Rana P.B. 2015.Heritage Value of Religious Sites and Built Archetypes: The Scenario of Hinduism, and illustrating the Riverfront Varanasi. [A special address in the ICOMOS-UNESCO Conference, Seoul, Korea: 24 April 2015]. Aatmbodh, the Journal of Knowledge of Self(ISSN: 0972-1398), 12 (1), Spring: 1-23.

22. Singh, Rana P.B. and Rana, Pravin S. 2002.Banaras Region: A Spiritual & Cultural Guide. Indica Books, Varanasi. Pilgrimage & Cosmology Series: 1.

23. Singh, Rana P.B.; Rana, Pravin S. 2022. The Kashi Vishvanatha, Varanasi city, India: Construction, Destruction and Resurrection to Heritagisation. In Rana P.B. Singh and Olimpia Nigalio (eds) ‘ Historic Cities and Cultural- Religious Heritage. Preservation & Regeneration’, Internation Journal of Architecture and Engineering, Vol.9(no.1),(pg 15- 31), Rome Italy.

24. Sukul, Kuberanāth 1977 (Samvata 2034). Varanasi Vaibhava.(The Glory of Varanasi).Rastrabhasha Parishad, Patna. [in Hindi].

25. Upadhyay Chandan 2021. Not an Old Temple, Kashi is an Eternal city of Light, No Invasion could Kill its Spirit, https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/not-old-temple-town-kashi-is-eternal-city-of-light-no-invasion-could-kill-its-spirit-4550495.html, latest updated on 14.12.21, accessed on 3.7.22.
26. Visuvalingam Sunthar and Elizabeth-Chalier Visuvalingam, 2002 ‘Between Mecca and Benares: The Marriage of Lat Bhairava & Ghazi Miyan’. Journal of the American Academy of Religions. http://svabhinava.org/1809riot/index.php, accessed on 7.8.22
27. Yanagisawa K, Funo S. How Mohallas were formed: Typology of Mohallas from the viewpoint of spatial formation and the urbanization process in Varanasi, India. 2018. Architecture Review;1: 385–395. https://doi.org/10.1002/2475-8876.12040

28. https://www.varanasi.org.in/kashi-vishwanath-corridor
29. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/gyanvapi-mosque-asi-report-confirms-existence-of-large-hindu-temple/articleshow/107153258.cms. (Times of India newspaper on 27^th January 2024)
30. Jaiswal Roshan and Devika Bhattacharya, 2024. In Gyanvapi survey report, photos show 'shivling', broken deity statues, India Today New Delhi, Jan 26, 2024 11:36 IST.