Former Mahant of Kashi Vishwanath Temple

When 5 Hindu ladies moved a Varanasi courtroom in August 2021 searching for permission to worship every single day the picture of Maa Shringar Gauri positioned on the again wall of the Gyanvapi mosque, in addition to the “seen and invisible” deities throughout the mosque/previous temple advanced, it set in movement a sequence of occasions that has transfixed the pious on either side of the non secular divide.

The petition by the 5 ladies is one among the many many fits filed towards the mosque in recent times, however that is one which is being seen as a major step by the Hindu organisations to take management of the mosque. Right here’s why.

The Shringar Gauri (an embodiment of Shiva’s consort Parvati) is seen as a smudge of vermillion and sandalwood on a financial institution of historical stones alongside the western wall of the mosque. Ever because the case started to unfold within the courts, the wall is closely guarded aside from a day in Chaitra Navratri, when ladies are permitted to wish there. Earlier than the Babri masjid’s demolition in December 1992, devotees used to worship there every single day, however given its proximity to the mosque’s western wall, this was restricted following the communal tensions set off by the demolition in Ayodhya. 

Quoting dates when the traditional Adi Visheshwar temple was demolished and looted a number of instances in historical past by rulers akin to Queen Raziya Sultana, Qutbuddin Aibak and lastly by Aurangzeb, the ladies of their petition keep that despite the fact that there was repeated destruction of the temple construction, Hindu devotees continued to pay homage to the seen and invisible deities even after the destruction of the unique temple. The petition additionally states that plot quantity 9130 on which the mosque stands, vests in Adi Visheshwar for “lacs of years” and due to this fact the “deity is the de jure proprietor” of the land. It goes on to say that “the development raised within the regime of Aurangzeb, by and huge is on the present columns and stays of the temple.” That the japanese portion of the open platform of the mosque is fashioned by overlaying  an intensive Hindu mandap with stone slabs, “part of which continues to be in possession of Hindus.” It additional claims that when the engineers of Aurangzeb set concerning the job of changing the previous temple right into a mosque, they retained as a lot of the previous temple “as may very well be potential”, by utilising helpful constructing materials, levelled the particles and allowed it to stay in that situation, “which continues to be there.”

After a authorized battle that went as much as the Supreme Courtroom, in April 2022, a civil courtroom in Varanasi directed that however the Locations of Worship (Particular Provisions ) Act 1991, a videographic survey of the mosque be completed to establish the place Shringar Gauri and different deities like Lord Hanuman, Lord Ganesh, Nandi are positioned. The survey was lastly completed in Might. When the crew reached the Wuzu khana (ablution tank) of the mosque, it found an object that the Hindu litigants instantly claimed as a Shivling. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad stated it’s one of 12 jyotirlingas and is the unique Shivling of the Adi Visheshwar temple. The Muslims represented by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, maintain that the article is a disused fountain manufactured from lime and mortar, as is often present in a number of mosques and Mughal monuments of the time. 

The surveyors inserted a seenkh (skinny stick of steel) into the slabs on the high of the article, which went in, as much as a depth of 63 cm. A report concerning the survey was despatched to the courtroom and the latter ordered that the tank be sealed. For the curious Hindu devotee, policemen guarding the mosque’s boundaries flip into keen guides who might be relied upon to level out the grilled field of the wuzu khana housing the article claimed to be a Shivling. They will even allow an occasional persistent customer to cross over to the opposite facet and see the picture of Shringar Gauri on the again wall.

The Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. Photograph: Chander Suta Dogra

What started as a petition for permission to worship the picture of Shringar Gauri on an out of doors wall of the mosque has now morphed right into a full-fledged battle to open up the mosque for Hindu worshippers. There are a lot of, together with Rajendra Tiwari, the previous mahant of the Vishwanath Temple, who see a repeat of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute enjoying out in Varanasi now.  

In a prolonged dialog with this correspondent at his Lunka (a locality in Varanasi) residence, Tiwari raised a number of questions. “They’ve discovered a one-foot-high stone khumb (column), however it’s laborious to consider that it is a Shivling as a result of there isn’t a ‘Arghya’ beneath it. They need to take away the spherical despair on which the column stands to see if there may be any ‘Arghya’ there. Solely then will it’s recognised as a Shivling.”

He additionally factors out that any stone Shivling extra so a swayambhu (one which has risen by itself) won’t ever have a gap or slats on its brow. “All I’m saying is, that there ought to be a correct, conclusive investigation to establish the reality, however they’re touching solely on a portion of the difficulty that aids their politics. Permitting it to linger within the air. That is pure political advertising of holy locations. In the event that they wish to reverse the previous, then they need to say upfront that they wish to break the mosque. However to supply Shivlings like this, smacks of deceit.”

Syed Mohammed Yaseen, who heads the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, factors out that if the newly found object is the unique ‘Shivling’ of the previous Visheshwar temple, then what’s the one which is within the Kashi Vishwanath temple, constructed by Ahilyabai Holkar in 1780 CE, a couple of metres away from the mosque?

Tiwari, whose forefathers have been caretakers of the previous Visheshwar temple and later of the present temple constructed by Holkar, tells an fascinating story about how the unique ‘Shivling’ was saved when the temple was underneath destruction by Aurangzeb’s males in 1669 CE.

“The spot the place the current temple stands immediately was the home of my ancestors. They hid the Shivling there for 40 years until the reign of Aurangzeb got here to an finish together with his dying in 1707. The Tiwari household progressively knowledgeable the individuals of the time that although the temple was destroyed, they’d saved the Shivling protected, and other people started coming to the home for darshan and prayers. When Ahilyabai Holkar, a Shaivaite, heard of this, she requested the caretakers that she want to convert their home right into a  new temple of Shiva. Our ancestors readily agreed and constructed a home a couple of metres away from the temple, which had been my dwelling until final yr, when it was demolished by Modi’s males when the Kashi Vishwanath Hall was being constructed. The Shivling within the temple constructed by Holkar is put in on the exact place the place it was saved by my forefathers.” 

However the historical past of the Vishwanath shrine goes again to a lot earlier than Aurangzeb. Hindu organisations immediately skirt the truth that after its destruction by medieval Muslim invaders, it was throughout Akbar’s reign that the temple was rebuilt by his minister Raja Todar Mal in 1585 CE. The petition of the 5 ladies mentions {that a} magnificent temple was re-constructed by Raja Todar Mal, however the truth that this was completed throughout Akbar’s reign is ignored. Says Tiwari, “The significance of the Shivling was at all times there since time immemorial. However it was Akbar who constructed an enormous temple to accommodate it. It’s this temple which Aurangzeb destroyed.”

The Tiwari household retains a valuable patta (deed) given to them by Shahjahan’s eldest son Dara Shikoh which establishes that the Vishwanath temple was handed over to their ancestors to safe the ritual traditions of the temple, as they have been the main lights of the Shaivite sect at the moment. “Dara Shikoh had come to Varanasi to review historical Hindu non secular texts and the descendants of the household which taught him nonetheless reside right here. However as soon as Aurangzeb ascended the throne after killing Dara Shikoh, he started to focus on all those that had good relations with the latter and commenced to deal with them as his adversaries. Our household’s oral historical past handed on to our era says that this was one of many explanation why Aurangzeb demolished the temple,” says Rajendra Tiwari. 

The ‘patta’ given by Dara Shikoh to the Tiwari household of Mahants. Photograph: By association

“Whereas everyone knows that historical past is filled with wrongs, in a democratic nation like ours, a constructive management that claims to rule in accordance with the structure should protect historical past. However right here, they’re behaving identical to the autocratic kings of the previous. When large-scale demolitions have been taking place for the Hall advanced, our current rulers who declare to be the guardians of the Hindu dharma destroyed many historical temples and Shivlings within the neighborhood of the temple,” says Tiwari. How are they totally different from Aurangzeb, he asks. He claims that he rescued 186 previous Shivlings from Rohit Nagar nullah, filed an FIR and introduced them to the Lunka police station, the place they’re mendacity in a room of the thana. “I’m pained to see the advanced immediately because it resembles a shopping center, with outlets, resorts and conference halls. We lived there for hundreds of years however they didn’t even spare us. We have been evicted forcibly.” 

And, what of the Muslim facet? When scores of instances have been being filed within the courts by residents of the Pucca Mahal and Lahori Tola localities across the temple, who have been threatened by the Hall demolition, did the mosque authorities take any preventive steps to protect their turf? A small portion of the mosque’s property, 1700 sq toes, got here throughout the Hall undertaking, however the administration moved rapidly to quell any controversy with the Muslims. The Intezamia Masajid was given 1000 sq toes of economic land elsewhere in lieu of that which got here throughout the undertaking space. It’s a matter of document that greater than 350 homes have been demolished across the temple, most of which have been being occupied by tenants. The thrill in Varanasi is that the house owners got hefty compensation for the misplaced properties and a lot of the litigation within the courts fell via.

There may be additionally the curious matter of an enormous stone Nandi (Shiva’s bull) that sits close to the traditional Gyan kup (effectively) going through the mosque. After the invention of the Gyanvapi Shivling/fountain, the Hindu facet has begun to say that as a result of the Nandi at all times faces a Shivling in Shiva temples, that is proof that the unique Shivling is someplace within the mosque. There is no such thing as a dispute over the truth that this explicit Nandi was given to the temple by a king of Nepal. A prevalent story is that the king had unintentionally killed a bull and was suggested by the pundits to donate a statue to the temple. Yaseen claims that the British performed mischief and intentionally turned the face of the Nandi in the direction of the mosque to drive a wedge between Hindus and Muslims of the city. The Hindu kings of Nepal have some property, containing previous temples, such because the temple of Raj Rajeshwarhi adjoining the Vishwanath advanced. These properties have been left untouched. The matter continues to be within the courts, and every twist and switch of the case is watched with bated breath, Varanasi appears to be bracing itself for extra drama within the coming months.