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Vishwanath Temple
 Location
: Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)
Dedicated To
: Lord Shiva
Popularly Known As
: Golden Temple
Rebuilt By
: Rani Ahilya Bai
The Vishwanath temple, or Golden Temple, is the most sacred temple in Varanasi and is dedicated to Vishveswara-Shiva as lord of the universe. The original temple was destroyed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, and the present temple was built in 1776 by Rani Ahilyabai of Indore .
800kg of gold plating on the towers, which gives the temple its colloquial name, was provided by Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Lahore some 50 years later.
The Vishvanath temple was, however, destroyed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb who built the Gaynvapi Mosque in its place.
Even today the western wall of the mosque shows the remnants of a temple
which had very intricate and fine artwork on it. Both the Kashi Vishwanath and the Gyanvapi mosque are adjacent to each other.
Vishweshwara jyotirlinga has a very special and unique significance in the spiritual history of India. Deeply and intimately implanted in the Hindu mind, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple has been a living embodiment of our timeless cultural traditions and highest spiritual values.
The Temple has been visited by all great saints- Adi Shankaracharya, Ramkrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekanand, Goswami Tulsidas, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati, Gurunanak and several other spiritual personalities
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