After Rani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, who rebuilt the temple in 1777, and Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who had plated 1,000 kg of gold to coat its dome in 1835, Prime Minister Narendra Modi built it with world-class facilities. Expanded and beautified. devotees and pilgrims.
For this purpose he laid the foundation of Kashi Vishwanath Dham Project on 8th March 2019. He will inaugurate the revamped temple complex in the middle of this month.
When the temple of Vishweshwar was first built and what was its first original site is a matter of historical investigation. After the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, the entire Gangetic plain came under Muslim rule.
The religious life of the city was under constant threat and the temples of Kashi were destroyed several times.
Rana PB Singh, a former professor of cultural geography and heritage studies at Banaras Hindu University, writes in his book ‘Banaras Region: A Spiritual and Cultural Guide’ that it is accepted that the first destruction took place in 1194 by order of Qutb-Din. Aibak, including the demolition of the temple of Vishweshwar, which was at the site of the present Razia Masjid. During his reign, Razia Sultana (1236–1240) built a mosque on the deserted site of the Vishweshwara temple. By the end of the 13th century, the temple was built in the premises of Avimukteshwar, and continued until the next destruction under the Sharqi kings of Jaunpur (1436–1458).
The Purana description mentions the Vishweshwara temple by the name of Moksha Lakshmi Vilasa Mandir, and its architectural plan was described in detail. In 1490, Sikandar Lodhi demolished the major temples of Banaras, and Avimukteshwar lost his prominence. Under the patronage of Raghunath Pandit (known as Todarmal) of Banaras, the new temple of Vishweshwar was built in 1585. It was demolished in 1669 by order of Aurangzeb, and converted into a mosque. Today, there are two mosques on the ruins of two old Vishwanath temples, one built by Razia and the other by Aurangzeb. The present temple was built by Ahilyabai Holkar in 1776-77.
After laying the foundation stone, the UP government constituted Shree Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board (SKSADB) to complete the project. Many ancient temples came to light during the expansion work. Most of the temples are centuries old which display the architectural grandeur.
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