Description:
The Kashi Vishwanath temple:
The presiding deity of Varanasi is Lord Shiva and the temple is dedicated to the same. Also known as the golden temple owing to the golden top donated by the Maharaja of Lahore, Punjab in 1885 A.D. the structure of the temple is new. It was rebuilt in 1776 A.D. by Ahilyabai Holkar, the Maharani of Indore. Although the structure is around 250 year old, the idol, the Shiva Lingam is believed to be ancient. It is said that the idol was well preserved by the priest of the temple during the demolition of the temple by The Mughal king Aurangzeb in the 17th century. The temple is a major attraction of the devotees to Varanasi other than the Ghats.
The Bharat Mata Temple:
A unique temple and probably one of its kind in the whole of India, this temple is dedicated to the country, the mother land. The temple built by Babu Shiv Prasad Gupta and Durga Prasad Khatri was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1935 A.D. It houses a beautiful map of India carved out of marble.
The Durga Temple:
Dedicated to Goddess Durga, denoting the energy, this is one of the important temples of the city and is built in the Nagara style of Architecture in the 18th century.
The Alamgir Mosque:
This Islamic place of worship is placed just next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. It is said that the earlier structure of the Kashi Vishwanath stood right where the mosque stands today. The temple was demolished by the Mughal King Aurangzeb in the 17th century and built a mosque here naming it the Alamgir mosque. The Vishwanath temple was rebuilt later. The mosque is also known as the Gyanvapi mosque.
