Memory, Monumentality, and the Quest for Shiva’s First Abode: Exploring Adi Vishweshwar as the Original Site of Shiva Temple in Kashi

Abstract (English)

Kashi (Varanasi), acknowledged as one of the oldest living cities globally, holds profound cosmological and ritual significance within the Hindu perspective. This paper revisits the inquiry into Adi Vishweshwar as the original shrine of Shiva, existing before and possibly overshadowed by subsequent temple edifices, while the Kashi Vishwanath Temple attracts worldwide attention as the emblematic centre of devotion. This reassessment explores sacred chronology and engages deeply with archaeological evidence, alongside the anthropology of memory, displacement, and contested ritual geographies.

Recent excavations carried out by Banaras Hindu University and the ASI at sites including Rajghat, Sarnath, and Bhelupur have uncovered stratified cultural deposits, terracotta remnants, and foundation levels that date back to the 9th–12th century CE and earlier. Evidence also suggests the existence of an even older sacred occupation of the city, possibly during the early historic and pre-Gupta periods. The findings challenge the traditional temporal boundaries of Kashi’s sacred urbanism, supporting claims of a continuous site of Shiva worship at or near the present Adi Vishweshwar precinct.

This paper utilises a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating:

Exploration of archaeological sites featuring Gupta-period structures, foundations of early mediaeval shrines, surveys from the colonial era (including those by Prinsep and Cunningham), along with current stratigraphic and architectural data;

Examination of the Kashi Khanda, Sthala-Puranas, and early Persian and Buddhist narratives;

Charting sacred geography, following ritual landscapes, cosmological alignments, and mandalic networks of devotion;

Involving oneself ethnographically with local priestly families, shrine-keepers, and oral historians who preserve subterranean memory and ritual continuities that extend beyond monumental visibility;

An archival study of the Razia Masjid, believed to have been constructed on the original site of Adi Vishweshwar, reveals a complex narrative of sacred contestation and transformation over the centuries.

Exploring the mediaeval land revenue records (dasturs) and sacred grants that reference Kashi’s architectural landscape—emphasizing Kashi Vishwanath while the ancient site of Adi Vishweshwar maintained considerable ritual significance among local Shaiva lineages.

This detailed examination offers a new perspective on the sacred timeline of Kashi, acknowledging Adi Vishweshwar as more than an archaeological relic, but as a lasting hub of ritual significance and theological relevance. This re-evaluation prompts scholars to reflect on the relationships among myth and monument, visibility and memory, along with the political dynamics related to sacred heritage in one of South Asia’s enduring religious landscapes.