New Vishwanath Temple

BHU Vishwanath Temple is also known as Birla Temple is one of the most famous temples and biggest tourist attractions in Varanasi. It is known as the Birla Temple because it is built by the Birla family(Industrialist). The temple is situated in Benaras Hindu University(BHU) and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Temple is open to all the people of any castes and religions. The temple’s tower is known as the tallest temple tower. Even it is tallest to the Qutub Minar in the New Delhi.

History

The original Kashi Vishwanath Temple was destroyed and reconstructed several times; by Qutb-ud-din Aibak  in 1194, by Hussain Shah Sharqi in 1458 then by Aurangzeb in 1669 CE.

In the 1930s, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya planned to make a replica of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir within the campus of Benaras Hindu University. The Birla family undertook the development and foundation was laid in March 1931. The Birla temple (New Vishwanath Mandir) was finally completed in 1966.

Construction

The construction of the Birla Temple took thirty-five years to complete between 1931 to 1966. The temple is considered as one of the tallest in India. The total height of the temple is 77 meters (253 feet). Temple’s design was inspired by Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir and is formed mostly of marble.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, besides this, it has got nine more temples. The Shiva temple is on the ground floor and the Lakshmi Narayan and Durga temples are on the first floor. Other temples are Nataraj, Mata Parvati, Lord Ganesha, Panchmukhi Mahadev, Lord Hanuman, Saraswati and Nandi also situated within the temple. The Bhagavad Gita and sacred Hindu scriptures are written on the inner marble walls of the temple.

Location

The Birla Temple is situated 1.7 km inside the campus of Benaras Hindu University(main entrance gate). It is 3.3 km South-West of Durga Mandir, 7 km South-West of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple and 9 km South of Varanasi train station.