On the occasion of Mahashivratri, one of the most important Hindu festivals in India, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the state of Uttar Pradesh has been decorated with 37 kgs of gold. The gold has been used to decorate the inner walls of the sanctum of the temple.
According to the reports, an anonymous donor had donated 60 kgs of gold to Kashi Vishwanath Temple out of which 37 kgs of gold have been utilized for the purpose. A special team from Gujarat and Delhi was called for glittering the inner portion of the temple ahead of the Mahashivratri festival. Reportedly, the balance of 23 kgs of gold will be used for covering the lower portion of the inner dome.
Kashi Vishwanath gets a Golden Makeover
— The Uttar Pradesh Index (@theupindex) February 28, 2022
Ahead of Maha Shivratri tomorrow, Garbh Grih in Kashi Vishwanath Temple has been decorated with 60 kg gold donated by an anonymous Bhakt from South India
Before this, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh had donated gold for temple’s Shikhar in 1853 pic.twitter.com/I9gK4EUSId
An anonymous donor had donated 60 kgs of gold to the Kashi Vishwanath temple months before the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in December 2021. The temple authorities had then decided to finalise the plan of gold plating the inner walls of the sanctum sanctorum and the lower portion of the main temple.
The project of gold plating the temple had been set in motion in three phases. The walls were first covered with a coated plastic layer, then with the copper sheets and finally with the gold sheets. According to reports, temple authorities had planned to undertake the project 6 years ago. An estimate of Rs 42 crores was also approved for the purpose. But the plan was put on hold since the IIT (BHU) at Varanasi had said in its report that the age-old temple was not capable of bearing the load.
However, this is the second time major work being done to gold plate a part of Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Earlier in the 18th century, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh of Punjab had donated one ton of gold for specifically covering two of the temple domes.
It is pertinent to note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year expanded the Kashi Vishwanath Temple area 2,700 sq ft to 5 lakh sq ft under Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor project worth Rs 900 crores. The BJP led government established direct connectivity between the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and River Ganga through Jalasen, Manikarnika and Lalita ghats.
The process of covering the temple with the precious metal had started long back and is still underway. A committee of 10 people is working in two shifts to execute the project which is in the last phase of completion.
