Photos don’t lie: In 1669, a priest saved a self-styled Jyotirlinga by jumping into the Gyanvapi Kund, Aurangzeb’s army was defeated by Nandi

Gyanvapi Masjid is in the news these days. Due to the survey, the part of Gyanvapi visible from the road was covered with green screens and hoardings. There was an uncomfortable noise outside the mosque as soon as the survey team arrived.

353 years ago there was more noise in this area than it is today. Aurangzeb’s army had besieged this area to break the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The soldiers had swords in their hands and the screams of the people running away from the temple. Then a priest showed courage. He had put all his efforts to save the self-styled Jyotirlinga.

We have told the story beyond this in the first picture below. After this we have told the facts related to Gyanvapi in 6 pictures. Let’s go through them one by one…

The first decree was issued by Aurangzeb on 18 April 1669.

Story of the picture: On 18 April 1669, Aurangzeb issued a decree to attack Vishwanath temple. His army completely demolished the temple, but the self-styled Jyotirlinga who was enshrined in it did not even come under fire. Because on that day the mahants of the temple were protecting the Lord. Seeing the attacking army coming, the Mahant jumped into the Gyanvapi Kund with the Shivling.

The 353-year-old Gyanvapi Kund became part of the corridor in the expansion of the Kashi Vishwanath temple last year. This picture is of the same Gyanvapi Kund. It was captured on camera around the year 1900. This story is also mentioned in the book ‘Sacred City of the Hindus’ by K M A Tshering of London.

Hundreds of Aurangzeb’s soldiers were defeated by a Nandi

Story of the picture: When Aurangzeb’s army could not harm the self-styled Jyotirlinga. Then he attacked the 5 feet high Nandi idol sitting outside the temple. There were many hammers on the idol, many blows were made but Nandi did not move from his place. After all the efforts, the army was defeated and left Nandi in the same place.

This statue is on the side of Gyanvapi Mosque. It is now considered a part of the corridor in the expansion of the temple. This picture is from before independence.

James Prinsep’s sketch showed the world the first picture of Gyanvapi

Story of the picture: This sketch of Gyanvapi Mosque was made by Anglo-Indian scholar James Prinsep in 1834. The sketch showed the part of the Vishweshwar temple in Banaras that was demolished. In this the big dome of the mosque and the people sitting in the broken part at its outer end are seen. The original wall of this broken part now stands in the Gyanvapi Mosque.

The old map of Kashi Vishwanath temple is still kept in the British Library

Story of the picture: This map of Kashi Vishwanath temple kept in the British Library of London was also made by James Prinsep. In this map, the sanctum sanctorum of Kashi Vishweshwar temple is shown in the middle. Mahadev is written on it in English. There are other temples around it.

The dotted line shows the portion of the temple occupied by the present masjid. That is, the dotted line drawn in the map shows the part of the temple occupied by the existing mosque. This map was prepared in 1832.

5 feet Nandi stood with her head held high even during the British era

Story of the picture: This picture of Kashi Vishwanath temple was taken in 1890. We could not get the information of its photographer. In the picture, the idol of Nandi installed in front of Gyanvapi Kund and the priest sitting in the temple built right next to it can be seen. In the meantime, the British government was getting its northern headquarters constructed in Kashi.

Gyanvapi Mosque again seen in this picture taken in 1880

Story of the picture: In the picture, a large number of priests have gathered to participate in daily worship at the Gyanvapi Kund built in the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The huge Nandi idol can be seen in the right side of the picture. A little part of the mosque is also visible when looking upwards just behind the Gyanvapi Kund. The photo is from 1880.

There is also a picture of Gyanvapi from 2022

Story of the picture: On May 6, the Archaeological Department conducted a survey in the Gyanvapi Mosque. Earlier, a crowd of hundreds of people gathered outside the Gyanvapi campus. The administration deployed IB teams along with the Local Intelligence Unit to control the situation in the entire area. Apart from this, Paramilitary Force and PAC were also kept on standby mode.