The first original site of Vishveshvara or Vishvanatha (Golden) Temple. However, first destruction took place in 1194 by the order of Qutb-ud-din Aibak,[1][2][3] including demolishing the temple of Visheshvara which was at the presently existing Razia Mosque. During her reign Razia Sultana (1236-1240) had built a mosque on the deserted site of the above temple.[4] In 1448 Muhmud Shah Sharqui demolished the debris existing there and expanded the Razia Bibi Mosque. The temple was rebuilt by a Gujarati merchant during the reign of Iltutmish (1211–1266 CE) before being demolished by Hussain Shah Sharqi (1447–1458) or Sikandar Lodhi (1489–1517).[5]Raja Man Singh got the temple re-constructed during Mughal emperor Akbar's rule at the Gyan Vapi precincts. [6]Raja Todar Mal further improved the temple in 1585.[7] Here, the lingam was housed for a few centuries until it fell victim to Aurangzeb's intense religious zealotry in 1669, when it was demolished and converted to a Gyaanvapi mosque.[8]
Architecture
The laonet of the prayer Hall in the Razia Bibi Mosque is unusual, the middle of the façade thrusts forward the central gate with three flanking arcades to either side. The interior is divided by a thick wall with openings provided by three arcades. The two hall thus formed are built of pillars lintels and slabs made from stone taken from a building dating back beyond CE 1000 (Original Vishvanatha Temple). Originally, the northern wall opened directly out onto a garden, there was no intervening wall but only two double columns bearing lintels in the east. This was clumsily walled up in relatively recent times. It is obvious from the close study of the architectural design and plan that mosque was not completed and that the south hall was originally supposed to be at the centre. The structure of the south hall is of 13th century (Razia Sultana)and the planned extension is probably 15th century (Mahmud Shah Sharqui).
^Shin, Heeryoon (May 2015). Building a "Modern" Temple Town: Architecture and Patronage in Banaras, 1750-1900 (Thesis). Yale University. p. 4, 35, 38, 198.
^Udayakumar, S. P. (2005). "Ramarajya: Envisioning the Future and Entrenching the Past". Presenting the Past: Anxious History and Ancient Future in Hindutva India. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 99. ISBN978-0-275-97209-7.
^Udayakumar, S. P. (2005). "Ramarajya: Envisioning the Future and Entrenching the Past". Presenting the Past: Anxious History and Ancient Future in Hindutva India. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 99. ISBN978-0-275-97209-7.
^Searle-Chatterjee, Mary (April 1993). "Religious division and the mythology of the past". In Hertel, Bradley R.; Humes, Cynthia Ann (eds.). Living Banaras: Hindu Religion in Cultural Context. SUNY Series in Hindu Studies. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. pp. 152–158.
^Udayakumar, S. P. (2005). "Ramarajya: Envisioning the Future and Entrenching the Past". Presenting the Past: Anxious History and Ancient Future in Hindutva India. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 99. ISBN978-0-275-97209-7.
^Searle-Chatterjee, Mary (April 1993). "Religious division and the mythology of the past". In Hertel, Bradley R.; Humes, Cynthia Ann (eds.). Living Banaras: Hindu Religion in Cultural Context. SUNY Series in Hindu Studies. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. pp. 152–158.
