Indian Antiquary Vol 48

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 290

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reign Buddhism superseded Siva-worship at Benares, though it appears that the Buddhist religion was again superseded by Saivaism after a short period. In 1027, Benares became part of Gauda, then governed by Mahipala, and Buddhism was again introduced in his reign or in the reign of his successors Sthirapala and Vasantapâla. Benares was wrested from the Påla kings by Chandra Deva (1072-1096) and annexed to the kingdom of Kanauj. Towards the close of the twelfth century, Benares was conquered by Muhammad Ghuri who defeated Jaya Chand of Kanauj (James Prinsep's Benares Illustrated, Introduction, p.8; Vayu P., Uttara, ch. 30). In the seventh century, it was visited by the celebrated Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsiang. He has thus described the city and its presiding god Visveśvara, one of the twelve Great Lingas of Mahadeva : "In the capital there are twenty Deva temples, the towers and halls of which are of sculptured stone and carved wood. The foliage of trees combines to shade (the sites), whilst pure streams of water encircle them. The statue of Deva Maheśvara, made of teou-shih (brass), is somewhat less than 100 feet high. Its appearance is grave and majestic, and appears as though really living." The Padma P. (Uttara, ch. 67) mentions the names of Visvesvara, Vindumadhava, Manikarnika, and Jñána vâpf in Kasi (Benares). The present Visvešvara, which is a mere Linga dates its existence since the original image of the god, described by Hiuen Tsiang, was destroyed by the iconoclast Aurangzebo and thrown into the Jhanavápi, a well situated behind the present temple. There can be no doubt that Benares was again converted into a Buddhist city by the Pala Rajas of Bengal, and Siva-worship was not restored till its annexation in che eleventh century by the kings of Kanauj, who were staunch believers in the Pauranic creed. The shrines of Adi-Visvesvara, Veņimàdhave, and the Bakarya-kunda were built on the sites of Buddhist temples with materials taken from those temples. The temple of Adi-Keśava is one of the oldest temples in Benares: it is mentioned in the PrabodhaChandrodaya Nayaka (Act IV) written by Krishna Miśra in the eleventh century A.D. The names of Mahadeva Tilabhändesvara and Dasasvamedheśvara are also mentioned in the Siva Purana (Pt. 1, ch. 39). The Maşikarņika is the most sacred of all cremation ghats in India, and it is associated with the closing scenes of the life of Raja Harischandra of Ayodhyâ, who became a slave to a Chandala for paying off his promised debt (Kshemeśvara's Chanda-kausika; Markandeya P., ch. viii). The old fort of Benares which was used by the Pala Rajas of Bengal and the Rathore kings of Kanauj, was situated above the Râj-ghat at the confluence of the Barnâ and the Ganges (Bholanath Chunder s Travels of a Hindoo, vol. I). Benares is one of the Pithas where Sati's left hand is said to have fallen, and is now represented by the goddess Annapârnâ, but the Tantrachudamani mentions the name of the goddess as Višâlákshi. There were two Brahmanical Universities in anoient India, one at Benares and the other at Takshasilâ (Taxila) in the Punjab. For the observatory at Benares and the names of the instruments with sketches, see Hooker's Himalayan Journals, Vol. I, p. 67. Benares is said to be the birth-place of Kasyapa Buddha, but Fa Hian says that he was born at Too-wei, which has been identified by General Cunningham with Tadwa or Tandwa (Legge's Fa Hian, ch. xxi; Arck.