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This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located in Vishwanath Gali of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in India. The temple is considered a central part of worship in the Shaiva culture by Hindu scriptures.

It had been demolished several times by the Muslim rulers, most recently by Aurangzeb who constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site. Since 1983, the temple has been managed by the government of Uttar Pradesh. The Manikarnika Ghat on the banks of Ganges near to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple is considered as a Shakti Pitha, a revered place of worship for the Shaktism sect. Madhuri Desai notes accounts of the history of the temple to center around a litany of repeated destruction and re-construction.

Pilgrims visiting the present Kashi Vishwanath Temple are informed about the timelessness of the lingam. The Gyanvapi Mosque sketched as the Temple of Vishveshwur, Benares. Plan of the Ancient Temple of Vishveshvur. The dotted line shows the portion of the temple occupied by the present Masjid. Raja Man Singh built the temple during Mughal emperor Akbar’s rule.

Raja Todar Mal further re-built the temple in 1585, but orthodox Brahmins chose to boycott the temple, because his daughter was married to Islamic rulers. In 1742, the Maratha ruler Malhar Rao Holkar made a plan to demolish the mosque and reconstruct Vishweshwar temple at the site. However, his plan did not materialize, partially because of intervention by the Nawab of Awadh, who was given the control of the territory. Around 1750, the Maharaja of Jaipur commissioned a survey of the land around the site, with the objective of purchasing land to rebuild the Kashi Vishwanath temple. However, his plan to rebuild the temple did not materialize either. In 1780, Malhar Rao’s daughter-in-law Ahilyabai Holkar rebuilt the present temple adjacent to the mosque.