Shiva created Kashi, the eternal city, and took permanent residence there. Kashi, or Varanasi, is destroyed only at the end of 100 kalpas.
The Varanasi Jyotirlinga, also known as the Kashi Vishvanath Jyotirlinga, is one of the Dwadasa Jyotirlingas. It is located in the holy city of Varanasi, which is the oldest surviving city of the world. The city was built at the confluence of the rivers Varana and Asi with the Ganga, and hence the name. The kasha tribe was the original inhabitants of this place and therefore the city is also known as Kashi.
The temple of Vishvanath towers to a height of 100 feet. The temple consists of a garbhagriha and a mandap. The lingam is in the center of the garbhagriha and is placed in a square pit made of silver and brass. The lingam itself is of black stone. The temple opens for worship at 2.30 a.m. From 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. only ticket holders are allowed in. From 4 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 12 noon to 7 p.m. the temple is open to the general public. After that there are several rituals performed and the temple closes at 11 p.m.
The Legend
Prior to the creation of the universe by Brahma, Shiva created a wonderful city known as Panchakoshi. It is said that Vishnu spent time in this beautiful area and once when he tilted his head there a gemstone fell from his ear. Hence this place came to be called Manikarnika. Mani is the Sanskrit for gem and karnika for ear. Shiva then scooped up the entire Panchakoshi area on his trident and waited for the process of creation. After Brahma finished creating the universe, Shiva set Panchakoshi in the place now known as Kashi. Here Shiva decided to reside eternally as the Muktidayak or Provider of Salvation in the form of a Jyotirlinga. The Varanasi Jyotirlinga is believed to be the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Anyone praying here is assured of freedom from the cycles of birth and death.
One day in the life of Brahma is known as a kalpa, which is several million years in human time scale. At the end of every kalpa the universe is destroyed and then recreated. However Kashi is not destroyed because Shiva keeps it safe on his trident. However after 100 kalpas even the Trinity ceases to exist and God is in his completely unmanifest form. At that time Kashi is destroyed. When the Trinity becomes manifest again then Kashi is once again created.
Varanasi is also a Shakti Peeth. The left hand of Sati fell at Varanasi when Vishnu’s Sudarshana Chakra cut her body after Daksha’s yagna at Kankhal.
The History
The Kashi Vishvanath temple was destroyed several times from the 11th century onwards by the Muslim invaders. Finally the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb built a mosque where the temple originally stood. The western wall of the mosque displays the remains of the temple. The original Jyotirlinga of Kashi Vishvanath is a not traceable, though many believe it is somewhere in the mosque. In 1777 AD Ahalya Devi Holkar of Indore built the present temple adjacent to the mosque. In 1785 Warren Hastings, the Governor General of the British East India Company, ordered some additions to be made to the temple. In 1839 two domes of the temple were covered by gold donated by Maharaja Ranjeet Singh of Punjab. The King of Nepal donated the huge bell.
Since 1983 the temple has been owned by the Government of Uttar Pradesh through a trust managed by the former royal family of Kashi.
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