When 5 Hindu ladies moved a Varanasi courtroom in August 2021 in search of permission to worship day-after-day the picture of Maa Shringar Gauri situated on the again wall of the Gyanvapi mosque, in addition to the “seen and invisible” deities inside the mosque/outdated temple complicated, it set in movement a sequence of occasions that has transfixed the pious on either side of the non secular divide.

The petition by the 5 ladies is one among the many many fits filed in opposition to the mosque in recent times, however that is one which is being seen as a big step by the Hindu organisations to take management of the mosque. Right here’s why.

The Shringar Gauri (an embodiment of Shiva’s consort Parvati) is seen as a smudge of vermillion and sandalwood on a financial institution of historic stones alongside the western wall of the mosque. Ever for the reason that case started to unfold within the courts, the wall is closely guarded apart from a day in Chaitra Navratri, when ladies are permitted to hope there. Earlier than the Babri masjid’s demolition in December 1992, devotees used to worship there day-after-day, however given its proximity to the mosque’s western wall, this was restricted following the communal tensions set off by the demolition in Ayodhya. 

Quoting dates when the traditional Adi Visheshwar temple was demolished and looted a number of occasions in historical past by rulers corresponding to Queen Raziya Sultana, Qutbuddin Aibak and lastly by Aurangzeb, the ladies of their petition preserve that though there was repeated destruction of the temple construction, Hindu devotees continued to pay homage to the seen and invisible deities even after the destruction of the unique temple. The petition additionally states that plot quantity 9130 on which the mosque stands, vests in Adi Visheshwar for “lacs of years” and subsequently the “deity is the de jure proprietor” of the land. It goes on to say that “the development raised within the regime of Aurangzeb, by and enormous is on the present columns and stays of the temple.” That the japanese portion of the open platform of the mosque is shaped by protecting  an in depth Hindu mandap with stone slabs, “part of which remains to be in possession of Hindus.” It additional claims that when the engineers of Aurangzeb set in regards to the activity of changing the outdated temple right into a mosque, they retained as a lot of the outdated temple “as might be doable”, by utilising helpful constructing materials, levelled the particles and allowed it to stay in that situation, “which remains to be there.”

After a authorized battle that went as much as the Supreme Courtroom, in April 2022, a civil courtroom in Varanasi directed that however the Locations of Worship (Particular Provisions ) Act 1991, a videographic survey of the mosque be completed to determine the place Shringar Gauri and different deities like Lord Hanuman, Lord Ganesh, Nandi are situated. The survey was lastly completed in Could. When the group reached the Wuzu khana (ablution tank) of the mosque, it discovered an object that the Hindu litigants instantly claimed as a Shivling. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad mentioned it’s one among 12 jyotirlingas and is the unique Shivling of the Adi Visheshwar temple. The Muslims represented by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, maintain that the article is a disused fountain manufactured from lime and mortar, as is usually present in a number of mosques and Mughal monuments of the time. 

The surveyors inserted a seenkh (skinny stick of steel) into the slabs on the prime of the article, which went in, as much as a depth of 63 cm. A report in regards to the survey was despatched to the courtroom and the latter ordered that the tank be sealed. For the curious Hindu devotee, policemen guarding the mosque’s boundaries flip into keen guides who will be relied upon to level out the grilled field of the wuzu khana housing the article claimed to be a Shivling. They may also allow an occasional persistent customer to cross over to the opposite facet and see the picture of Shringar Gauri on the again wall.

The Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. Photograph: Chander Suta Dogra

What started as a petition for permission to worship the picture of Shringar Gauri on an out of doors wall of the mosque has now morphed right into a full-fledged battle to open up the mosque for Hindu worshippers. There are numerous, together with Rajendra Tiwari, the previous mahant of the Vishwanath Temple, who see a repeat of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute enjoying out in Varanasi now.  

In a prolonged dialog with this correspondent at his Lunka (a locality in Varanasi) residence, Tiwari raised a number of questions. “They’ve discovered a one-foot-high stone khumb (column), however it’s laborious to consider that it is a Shivling as a result of there isn’t a ‘Arghya’ beneath it. They need to take away the spherical melancholy on which the column stands to see if there may be any ‘Arghya’ there. Solely then will it’s recognised as a Shivling.”

He additionally factors out that any stone Shivling extra so a swayambhu (one which has risen by itself) won’t ever have a gap or slats on its brow. “All I’m saying is, that there ought to be a correct, conclusive investigation to determine the reality, however they’re touching solely on a portion of the problem that aids their politics. Permitting it to linger within the air. That is pure political advertising of holy locations. In the event that they need to reverse the previous, then they need to say upfront that they need to break the mosque. However to provide Shivlings like this, smacks of deceit.”

Syed Mohammed Yaseen, who heads the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, factors out that if the newly found object is the unique ‘Shivling’ of the outdated Visheshwar temple, then what’s the one which is within the Kashi Vishwanath temple, constructed by Ahilyabai Holkar in 1780 CE, a couple of metres away from the mosque?

Tiwari, whose forefathers had been caretakers of the outdated Visheshwar temple and later of the present temple constructed by Holkar, tells an attention-grabbing story about how the unique ‘Shivling’ was saved when the temple was beneath destruction by Aurangzeb’s males in 1669 CE.

“The spot the place the current temple stands immediately was the home of my ancestors. They hid the Shivling there for 40 years until the reign of Aurangzeb got here to an finish together with his dying in 1707. The Tiwari household step by step knowledgeable the individuals of the time that although the temple was destroyed, they’d stored the Shivling secure, and other people started coming to the home for darshan and prayers. When Ahilyabai Holkar, a Shaivaite, heard of this, she requested the caretakers that she wish to convert their home right into a  new temple of Shiva. Our ancestors readily agreed and constructed a home a couple of metres away from the temple, which had been my house until final 12 months, when it was demolished by Modi’s males when the Kashi Vishwanath Hall was being constructed. The Shivling within the temple constructed by Holkar is put in on the exact place the place it was stored by my forefathers.” 

However the historical past of the Vishwanath shrine goes again to a lot earlier than Aurangzeb. Hindu organisations immediately skirt the truth that after its destruction by medieval Muslim invaders, it was throughout Akbar’s reign that the temple was rebuilt by his minister Raja Todar Mal in 1585 CE. The petition of the 5 ladies mentions {that a} magnificent temple was re-constructed by Raja Todar Mal, however the truth that this was completed throughout Akbar’s reign is ignored. Says Tiwari, “The significance of the Shivling was all the time there since time immemorial. But it surely was Akbar who constructed an enormous temple to accommodate it. It’s this temple which Aurangzeb destroyed.”

The Tiwari household retains a treasured patta (deed) given to them by Shahjahan’s eldest son Dara Shikoh which establishes that the Vishwanath temple was handed over to their ancestors to safe the ritual traditions of the temple, as they had been the main lights of the Shaivite sect at the moment. “Dara Shikoh had come to Varanasi to check historic Hindu non secular texts and the descendants of the household which taught him nonetheless dwell right here. However as soon as Aurangzeb ascended the throne after killing Dara Shikoh, he started to focus on all those that had good relations with the latter and commenced to deal with them as his adversaries. Our household’s oral historical past handed on to our era says that this was one of many the reason why Aurangzeb demolished the temple,” says Rajendra Tiwari. 

The ‘patta’ given by Dara Shikoh to the Tiwari household of Mahants. Photograph: By association

“Whereas everyone knows that historical past is filled with wrongs, in a democratic nation like ours, a constructive management that claims to rule in accordance with the structure should protect historical past. However right here, they’re behaving identical to the autocratic kings of the previous. When large-scale demolitions had been taking place for the Hall complicated, our current rulers who declare to be the guardians of the Hindu dharma destroyed many historic temples and Shivlings within the neighborhood of the temple,” says Tiwari. How are they completely different from Aurangzeb, he asks. He claims that he rescued 186 outdated Shivlings from Rohit Nagar nullah, filed an FIR and introduced them to the Lunka police station, the place they’re mendacity in a room of the thana. “I’m pained to see the complicated immediately because it resembles a shopping center, with retailers, accommodations and conference halls. We lived there for hundreds of years however they didn’t even spare us. We had been evicted forcibly.” 

And, what of the Muslim facet? When scores of circumstances had been being filed within the courts by residents of the Pucca Mahal and Lahori Tola localities across the temple, who had been threatened by the Hall demolition, did the mosque authorities take any preventive steps to protect their turf? A small portion of the mosque’s property, 1700 sq toes, got here inside the Hall mission, however the administration moved rapidly to quell any controversy with the Muslims. The Intezamia Masajid was given 1000 sq toes of business land elsewhere in lieu of that which got here inside the mission space. It’s a matter of report that greater than 350 homes had been demolished across the temple, most of which had been being occupied by tenants. The thrill in Varanasi is that the homeowners got hefty compensation for the misplaced properties and a lot of the litigation within the courts fell by means of.

There may be additionally the curious matter of an enormous stone Nandi (Shiva’s bull) that sits close to the traditional Gyan kup (nicely) going through the mosque. After the invention of the Gyanvapi Shivling/fountain, the Hindu facet has begun to say that as a result of the Nandi all the time faces a Shivling in Shiva temples, that is proof that the unique Shivling is someplace within the mosque. There isn’t any dispute over the truth that this explicit Nandi was given to the temple by a king of Nepal. A prevalent story is that the king had unintentionally killed a bull and was suggested by the pundits to donate a statue to the temple. Yaseen claims that the British performed mischief and intentionally turned the face of the Nandi in the direction of the mosque to drive a wedge between Hindus and Muslims of the city. The Hindu kings of Nepal have some property, containing outdated temples, such because the temple of Raj Rajeshwarhi adjoining the Vishwanath complicated. These properties have been left untouched. The matter remains to be within the courts, and every twist and switch of the case is watched with bated breath, Varanasi appears to be bracing itself for extra drama within the coming months.