The spiritual, mystical, religious symbolism of the ancient city of Kashi or Varanasi makes it a land of divinity. The city has an unbroken history of thousands of years encompass the core quest of the Sanatan Dharma, the search for ultimate reality. As the name suggests, Kashi is the “City of Light” i.e. the center of transcendental effulgence which overwhelms the visitors to this place. The gift of ancient wisdom given by this holy land since eternity has proved to be a treasure which has made it a jewel in the crown of ethereal knowledge. Hindu religious texts use many epithets to refer to Varanasi, such as Kāśikā, Avimukta (Sanskrit: "never forsaken" by Shiva), Ānandavana (Sanskrit: "The forest of bliss"), and Rudravāsa (Sanskrit: "the place where Rudra/Śiva resides").

“Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” Mark Twain.

The cultural landscape of the place has evolved over the centuries, thus playing a distinctive role in the evolution of the eternal ethos of Hinduism. The city has been a witness to many strands of Hinduism flourishing from time to time. The place called Sarnath, nearby Benaras bears testimony to the first sermon of Buddha. Mahavira also wandered here as a spiritual teacher, though Varanasi’s association with Jainism went way back to the times of Suparshva, the seventh Tirthankar who was born here.

The city has remained an unequaled seat of Adavita Vedanta too, as Adi Guru Shankaracharya visited the place and wrote some of the classic works on Adavita. Besides, Varanasi's prominence in Hindu discourse is virtually unrivaled, as, for the devout Sanatani Hindu, the city has always had a special place. Along with it, the city’s lifeline, the holiest river of the Hindus, the Ganga and its Ghats, have always remained the quintessential center of pilgrimage. There are about 84 Ghats in Varanasi, which are used for various Pooja rituals and ceremonies by the Sanatanis. The Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat, and the Harishchandra Ghat are the places used by the Hindus to cremate their dead.

Apart from the Ghats, temples too occupy the most significant place in this Spiritual Capital of the country and stand as the tallest example of the antiquity of this city. Among these temples, Kashi Vishwanath Temple is one of the most famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva which is also one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest of Shiva Temples. The main deity is known by the name Shri Vishwanath and also by the ancient name of deity Vishweshwara,  therefore, the temple is popularly known as Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The temple had been destroyed and rebuilt many times, but the present temple came into existence, when Maratha queen Ahilya Bai Holkar got it built-in 1780, adjacent to the mosque raised by Aurangzeb called GyanVapi Mosque over the original Vishwanath temple.

The trauma of such persecution, when hundreds of such glorious temples got desecrated, afflicted our ethos, resultantly, producing identity crisis for the Hindus. The time has now arrived to reclaim our lost heritage and legacy, in order to consolidate the unity and integrity of our society. In this context, P.M Narendra Modi who represents Kashi in Parliament has the vision to bring back the magnificence of the place and also the temple, thereby a project called Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project is under progress in Varanasi. The 50-feet-wide Corridor will connect the ancient shrine and one of the 12 Jyotirlingas temples to the famous ghats of Varanasi. The project covers an area of around 40,000 square meters and is aimed at creating a complex space that will facilitate seamless movement of pilgrims from the river Ganga, following a holy dip, straight to the Vishwanath temple.

This unique project will turn into a blessing of Lord Shiva for Kashi, as the P.M himself says, “With this corridor, Kashi is going to get a new identity in the whole world. When I came for elections in 2014, I had said that I haven't come but have been called here. Today, I think that was an invitation for such work itself and now that resolve has been strengthened further”.

The Kashi Vishwanath Project might prove to be a milestone in the revival of this age-old cultural harbor of Indic civilization. India had been an abode of grandeur and majesty with regard to temple architecture since ancient times, but unfortunately, several invasions in medieval times took their toll over this splendor, particularly in Northern India. Kashi and its temples are no exception to it, sometimes in order to save these temples from the brunt of brutal invasion, people surrounded them with different structures viz. houses or shops.

Now as the demolition drive is in progress, during the ongoing clearance for the project, a no. of temples get emerged from inside the buildings. These recently discovered temples will be made accessible to the public. Each of these temples has a vast history stored in it, and thus in a way will draw more and more inquisitive travelers exploring new vistas here at these centers of antiquity. Henceforth, eventually, we will witness, the change of historical narrative and the resurrection of a Dharmic horizon.

Numerous Ganesha temples have also been discovered tucked with the houses, forming part of the Panchkosi Parikrama, an ancient pilgrimage which starts from the Manikarnika Ghat at Varanasi and ends at the same Ghat. Besides, one temple of Lord Shiva has also been discovered, having the Samudra Manthan depicted on its walls. Such an amazing and cherished portrayal is a marvel which needs to be preserved for the generations to come. 

Though, the administration is facing severe opposition by some locals as they claim that they have been forced to leave their homes against their will due to the ongoing demolition drive but there was no way for the ‘avimukt kshtera’, the land of liberation, to reclaim its original glory because destruction is inevitable for something new to originate. This center of Hindu doctrine of Cosmogony is, therefore, at the cutting edge of gaining pre-eminence, it once enjoyed.

Therefore, this splendid and grandiose project of the Government is a celestial bliss for this city, which will help in raising the consciousness of the Sanatani Hindus who are in deep slumber and feel apologetic about their roots. This is the beginning of the process, which will aid in constricting the problem of deracination and its perpetuation in society day by day. The panacea veritably lies in bringing forth such projects of the revivalism of our obliterated heritage. 

“Varanasi sits above the earth as a ‘crossing place’ or tirtha between this world and the ‘far shore’ of the transcendent Brahmn” - Diana L Eck (in Banaras City of Light)

Image Credits:

By Santosh Kumar Velamala - https://www.instagram.com/p/B0tFGCNpewh/?igshid=m80zrzo787um, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81057934

References:

1. Diana L Eck, in Banaras City of Light,1982.
2. Official website, Departmrnt of Tourism, Uttar Pradesh.
3. Mark Twain, Following the Equator(travelogue), 1897.
4. Meenakshi Jain, Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples: Episodes from Indian History