Varanasi Hotels

There have been numerous temples that have been built in and around Varanasi. However, amongst them Kashi Vishwanath temple really stands out tall. The temple had been originally known as the Golden temple and was built by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar from Indore in the year 1780. This place attracts several pilgrims throughout the year, as the temple is supposed to be the shrine of Lord Shiva, who is believed to reside there in the form of Vishweshwara Jyotirlinga.

According to the Hindu rituals, it has been believed that if you view the Vishwanath Jyotirlinga, you may not have to visit the others, as its worth counts more than all the others put together. Further in 1785, Governor General Warren Hastings saw to the Naubatkhana being built by Mohammed Ibrahim Khan, who had been the collector at that time. Further late from then, in the ruler of Punjab, Jat-Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh, known as the Punjab Kesari, had donated gold to make an effort in covering the two temple domes.

Later on as years passed by, the temple needed maintenance and thus, it was taken over by the Uttar Pradesh Government in the year 1983. After this, the entire matter of management was passed on to a trust headed by the Late Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh. There have been other instances when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb demolished the temple and built a mosque in its place allowing the temple to be resurrected again adjacent to it. The place has become a site of unrest for long, considering the tension between Hindus and Muslims.