The Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Varanasi

The Kashi Vishwanath temple, with the deity also known as Vishwanath and Vishweshwar and the shrine often called the Golden Temple of Varanasi, is the great Jyotirlinga of Shiva in the holy city of Varanasi, or Kashi, on the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh. Counted by tradition among the twelve Jyotirlingas and revered as one of the holiest shrines of the Shaiva faith, it stands at the spiritual heart of a city regarded as among the most sacred in India. The present temple was rebuilt in the eighteenth century by the Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar, and its spire was later gilded with gold given by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The shrine belongs to the broad tradition surveyed in the guide to Indian temple architecture. This article explains its location, history, the Jyotirlinga tradition, worship and living significance within the rich heritage of India.

Key Takeaways

• Kashi Vishwanath is the Jyotirlinga temple of Shiva at Varanasi (Kashi) on the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh.
• It is counted by tradition among the twelve Jyotirlingas and among the holiest Shaiva shrines.
• The present temple was rebuilt in the 18th century by the Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar.
• Its spire was gilded with gold gifted by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, giving it the name Golden Temple.
• It stands at the spiritual heart of Varanasi, one of the most sacred cities of India.
• It is now linked to the Ganga ghats by the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.

The sections below explain where the temple stands, its history, the Jyotirlinga tradition and what a pilgrim can still see today.

Quick Facts

What Is the Kashi Vishwanath Temple?

The Kashi Vishwanath temple is the great Jyotirlinga shrine of Shiva at Varanasi on the Ganga, counted by tradition among the twelve supreme abodes of the god and revered as one of the holiest temples of the Shaiva faith. It is best known as the spiritual heart of Varanasi, or Kashi, a city regarded as among the most sacred in India, and for its gold-plated spire that gives it the name Golden Temple. What distinguishes the shrine is this union of a pre-eminent Jyotirlinga with the sanctity of Kashi and the Ganga. The present temple was rebuilt in the eighteenth century by the Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar. It draws immense numbers of pilgrims from across India and beyond. The Kashi Vishwanath temple is therefore best understood as both a living Jyotirlinga shrine and the sacred centre of Varanasi, among the most revered places of pilgrimage in the whole of the Hindu world.

Where Is the Temple Located?

The Kashi Vishwanath temple is located in Varanasi, also called Kashi and Banaras, on the western bank of the Ganga in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. The shrine stands in the dense old heart of the city, close to the sacred river and its famous ghats, amid the narrow lanes and teeming devotional life of Kashi. Varanasi is one of the most ancient and holy cities of India, drawing pilgrims from across the land to its temples and riverfront. The temple is now connected to the Ganga by the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, a broad approach linking the shrine to the river. Roads, rail and air bring great numbers of visitors to the city. The location of the Kashi Vishwanath temple therefore places the Jyotirlinga at the very centre of one of the holiest cities of India, beside the sacred Ganga in the ancient and revered city of Varanasi.

Why Is the Temple Called Vishwanath?

The temple is called Vishwanath because the deity Shiva is worshipped here as Vishwanath, meaning the Lord of the Universe, a title expressing his supreme standing in the Shaiva faith. The name, also given as Vishweshwar, honours Shiva as the lord of all, enshrined at the heart of Kashi, the city held to be especially dear to the god. The word Kashi, an ancient name of Varanasi, is joined to Vishwanath to identify this particular shrine among the many temples of Shiva. The deity’s gold-crowned spire has also earned the temple the popular name of the Golden Temple of Varanasi. These names together express the dignity and sanctity of the shrine. The name Kashi Vishwanath therefore expresses the heart of the temple, honouring Shiva as the Lord of the Universe enshrined in the sacred city of Kashi, at one of the most revered of all his abodes.

What Is a Jyotirlinga?

A Jyotirlinga is a shrine where Shiva is worshipped as a linga of light, and Kashi Vishwanath is counted by tradition among the twelve most sacred Jyotirlingas of India. The word joins jyoti, meaning light or radiance, with linga, the emblem of Shiva, expressing the belief that the god manifested himself at these places as a column of divine light. Tradition holds that there are twelve such supreme shrines spread across the land, and pilgrims regard a journey to them as especially meritorious within the Shaiva faith. Among the twelve, Kashi Vishwanath holds a place of particular eminence because of the sanctity of Varanasi itself. Each Jyotirlinga has its own sacred lore and setting. The idea of the Jyotirlinga therefore explains the special holiness of Kashi Vishwanath, marking it as one of the twelve great shrines, and one of the most revered, where Shiva is honoured as the self-manifested light of the divine.

Why Is Varanasi So Sacred?

Varanasi is held to be among the most sacred cities of India because it is regarded as a city especially dear to Shiva, set beside the holy Ganga and bound up with the deepest ideas of the Hindu faith. Also called Kashi and Banaras, the city is one of the most ancient living centres of pilgrimage, drawing devotees who come to worship, to bathe in the Ganga and to perform sacred rites along its ghats. Tradition holds Kashi to be a place of great spiritual power, cherished in the lore of Shiva and sought by pilgrims throughout life and at its close. The Kashi Vishwanath temple stands at the spiritual centre of this sacred city. The sanctity of Varanasi deepens the holiness of the shrine. Varanasi is therefore so sacred because it unites the worship of Shiva, the sanctity of the Ganga and an ancient tradition of pilgrimage, with Kashi Vishwanath at its very heart.

What Is the Role of the Ganga?

The Ganga plays a central role at Kashi Vishwanath, for the temple stands close to the western bank of the river in Varanasi, and the Ganga is the most revered of all the rivers of India. Honoured as a sacred and purifying river, the Ganga is the object of deep devotion, and pilgrims to Varanasi bathe in its waters and worship along its famous ghats as part of their observances. The nearness of the temple to the river binds the worship of the Jyotirlinga to the sanctity of the stream, and the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor now links the shrine directly to the riverfront. The dawn and dusk rites along the Ganga are among the great sights of the city. The confluence of the holy river and the supreme Jyotirlinga gives Varanasi its matchless sanctity. The Ganga therefore forms an essential part of Kashi Vishwanath, uniting the worship of Shiva with the reverence India holds for its holiest river.

Who Rebuilt the Present Temple?

The present Kashi Vishwanath temple was rebuilt in the eighteenth century by Ahilyabai Holkar, the Maratha queen of Indore renowned for her patronage of temples and sacred sites across India. Ahilyabai is remembered in tradition as a devout and able ruler who devoted great resources to the building and restoration of shrines, and the rebuilding of Kashi Vishwanath is counted among her most celebrated works of piety. The temple standing today is the shrine raised under her patronage, giving it its present form. Her role is widely honoured in the memory of the city and the wider Shaiva tradition. Later benefactions added to the splendour of the temple. The rebuilding of Kashi Vishwanath by Ahilyabai Holkar therefore gave the shrine its present fabric, and her patronage is remembered as a great act of devotion that restored one of the holiest Jyotirlingas of India at the heart of sacred Varanasi.

Why Is It Called the Golden Temple?

The Kashi Vishwanath temple is called the Golden Temple of Varanasi because its spire was gilded with gold, a gift traditionally attributed to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of the Punjab. The gold-plated tower rising above the sanctum gives the shrine its gleaming crown and its popular name, distinguishing it among the many temples of the city. Ranjit Singh is remembered for his benefactions to sacred places, and the gilding of the Vishwanath spire is counted among them. The golden spire has become one of the best-known features of the temple, admired by pilgrims and visitors alike. It adds to the splendour of the shrine at the heart of Kashi. The name Golden Temple therefore celebrates this gilded crown, honouring the gift that gave the Kashi Vishwanath shrine its shining spire and reflecting the devotion that successive benefactors lavished upon one of the holiest Jyotirlingas of India.

What Is the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor?

The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor is a broad approach, created in recent years, that links the Kashi Vishwanath temple directly to the ghats of the Ganga, transforming the setting of the shrine. Before its creation the temple was reached through the dense maze of narrow old lanes, and the corridor opened a spacious pathway connecting the sanctum to the sacred river. The project reshaped the precinct around the temple, providing room for the great numbers of pilgrims and a clear route between the shrine and the Ganga. It has made the approach to the temple easier and has given new prominence to the link between Vishwanath and the holy river. The corridor is among the most notable recent developments at the shrine. The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor therefore marks an important modern chapter in the long history of the temple, binding the Jyotirlinga more closely to the Ganga at the heart of sacred Varanasi.

What Is the Architecture of the Temple?

The architecture of Kashi Vishwanath is that of a North Indian, or Nagara, shrine, with a sanctum crowned by a tower and the gold-plated spire that gives the temple its fame. The present structure, raised under the patronage of Ahilyabai Holkar, follows the forms of its age, with the sanctum housing the Jyotirlinga and halls for worship about it. The gilded spire and the smaller gilded dome rise above the shrine, gleaming over the old city. Worked in stone and adorned in the manner of its time, the temple is compact amid the dense heart of Varanasi, its splendour concentrated in its sacred core and golden crown. Recent works around it have reshaped its setting. The ensemble forms the sacred centre of the city. The architecture of Kashi Vishwanath therefore unites the Nagara tradition with the gilded splendour of its spire, producing one of the most revered and recognisable of all the shrines of India.

What Does the Sanctum Hold?

The sanctum of Kashi Vishwanath holds the Jyotirlinga of Shiva, worshipped as Vishwanath, the sacred linga that is the focus of all devotion and the reason for the shrine’s supreme standing among the twelve Jyotirlingas. The linga is the aniconic emblem of Shiva, before which devotees make their offerings of water, flowers and sacred formulas, honoured here as the Lord of the Universe at the heart of sacred Kashi. Pilgrims come in great numbers to behold and venerate the Jyotirlinga, regarding the sight of it in Varanasi as among the most blessed acts of a lifetime of devotion. The enshrined linga is cared for with the rites proper to one of the holiest of Shaiva shrines, attended through the cycle of the day. Its sanctity draws the devotion that fills the temple. The sanctum of Kashi Vishwanath therefore lies at the very heart of the pilgrimage, enshrining the supreme Jyotirlinga of Shiva in the holy city of Varanasi.

How Do Pilgrims Worship at Kashi Vishwanath?

Pilgrims worship at Kashi Vishwanath by beholding and venerating the Jyotirlinga of Shiva, bathing in the sacred Ganga and performing their devotions along the ghats of Varanasi, in keeping with the observances of the holiest of Shaiva cities. The darshan, or sight of the Jyotirlinga, is the central act of devotion, accompanied by offerings of water, flowers and sacred utterances. Many pilgrims bathe in the Ganga before approaching the shrine, and the route now runs through the corridor to the temple. The dawn and evening rites of the city, including the worship offered along the river, form part of the devotional round. Festival days and sacred Mondays draw especially great crowds. These observances together make up the living devotion of Kashi. Worship at Kashi Vishwanath therefore unites the veneration of the supreme Jyotirlinga with the sanctity of the Ganga, forming the central pilgrimage of the holy city of Varanasi.

What Festivals Are Celebrated at Kashi Vishwanath?

The festivals of Kashi Vishwanath centre on Mahashivaratri, the great night of Shiva, when the shrine and the whole city fill with worshippers who keep vigil and honour the Jyotirlinga through the night. On this most important of Shaiva festivals immense numbers of pilgrims gather for prayer, fasting and the recitation of sacred formulas. The holy month of Shravan brings a season of special devotion, with great crowds on its Mondays sacred to Shiva. Varanasi is also famous for Dev Deepawali, when the ghats of the Ganga are lit with countless lamps in a spectacle of devotion. These occasions animate the temple and the city with the rhythms of the sacred year. The gathering of pilgrims sustains the living traditions of Kashi. The festivals of Kashi Vishwanath therefore give the shrine a vivid devotional life, marking the Shaiva calendar with gatherings that unite the worship of the Jyotirlinga with the radiant festivals of the holy city.

What Is the Religious Significance Today?

The religious significance of Kashi Vishwanath today lies in its standing as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and as the sacred heart of Varanasi, among the holiest of all the shrines of the Shaiva faith. As a pre-eminent Jyotirlinga set in the most revered of cities, the temple holds a place of the highest honour in Hindu devotion, and a pilgrimage to it is cherished as among the most sacred acts of a devotee’s life. Its union with the Ganga and the sanctity of Kashi deepen its meaning beyond measure. For pilgrims the temple is the supreme place of darshan and prayer; for the city it is the spiritual centre about which the devotional life of Varanasi turns. The continuity of worship keeps the shrine endlessly alive. The religious significance of Kashi Vishwanath therefore combines the highest living devotion with profound heritage, making it both a focus of faith for countless pilgrims and the sacred heart of one of the holiest cities on earth.

How Does Kashi Vishwanath Compare With Other Jyotirlingas?

Kashi Vishwanath compares with the other Jyotirlingas as one of the twelve supreme shrines of Shiva, yet it holds a place of particular eminence because of the unmatched sanctity of Varanasi, the city in which it stands. The twelve Jyotirlingas are spread across India, forming a great network of Shaiva pilgrimage that unites the land from the Himalayas to the south. Kashi Vishwanath is distinguished among them by its setting in the holiest of cities, beside the sacred Ganga, and by its gold-crowned spire. Comparing it with shrines such as Omkareshwar on the Narmada, Trimbakeshwar near Nashik or Bhimashankar in the Western Ghats reveals both the unity of the tradition and the special standing of Kashi. It is for many the crown of the pilgrimage to the twelve. Kashi Vishwanath therefore belongs to the great family of Shaiva shrines while shining as perhaps the most revered jewel in the circle of the twelve Jyotirlingas.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Today

The Kashi Vishwanath temple today remains both a living Jyotirlinga shrine and the sacred heart of Varanasi, one of the most revered places of pilgrimage in the whole of the Hindu world. Its gold-crowned spire, its place among the twelve Jyotirlingas and its union with the Ganga continue to draw immense numbers of pilgrims, devotees and visitors from across India and beyond. The recent Kashi Vishwanath Corridor has reshaped its setting and bound it more closely to the sacred river. As the supreme shrine of the holy city it holds a cherished place in the devotional life of the country, its sanctity undiminished by the ages. For those who make the journey, the temple offers a profound encounter with the worship of Shiva at the heart of Kashi. The Kashi Vishwanath temple thus stands as a lasting witness to the Shaiva faith of India, the golden Jyotirlinga of Varanasi beside the eternal Ganga.

Sources & Further Reading

• Archaeological Survey of India (asi.nic.in).
• Uttar Pradesh Tourism (uptourism.gov.in).

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Kashi Vishwanath temple located?

The Kashi Vishwanath temple is located in Varanasi, also called Kashi, on the western bank of the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh. It stands in the ancient heart of the city, close to the river and now linked to it by the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.

Why is Kashi Vishwanath one of the holiest Jyotirlingas?

Kashi Vishwanath is counted among the twelve Jyotirlingas and holds particular eminence because it stands in Varanasi, among the most sacred cities of India, beside the holy Ganga. A pilgrimage to it is cherished as among the most sacred acts of a devotee’s life.

Who rebuilt the present Kashi Vishwanath temple?

The present temple was rebuilt in the eighteenth century by Ahilyabai Holkar, the Maratha queen of Indore renowned for her patronage of temples. Her rebuilding of the shrine is remembered as a great act of devotion.

Why is it called the Golden Temple of Varanasi?

The temple is called the Golden Temple because its spire was gilded with gold, a gift traditionally attributed to Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Punjab. The gleaming spire is one of the best-known features of the shrine.

What is the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor?

The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor is a broad approach, created in recent years, that links the temple directly to the ghats of the Ganga. It opened a spacious route between the shrine and the sacred river for the great numbers of pilgrims.

When is the main festival at Kashi Vishwanath?

The chief festival is Mahashivaratri, the great night of Shiva, when the shrine and the city fill with worshippers. The month of Shravan and the festival of Dev Deepawali, when the ghats are lit with lamps, are also times of great devotion.