Home / Temples / Krithivaseshwar Mandir
Shiva TempleWest of Har Tirath pond on Mrityunjay Mahadev Road, Krithivaseshwar is traditionally described as an unusually large linga formed from the body of the demon Gajasura, with a single Rudra Japa performed here said to equal seven crore (seventy million) Rudra Japas performed elsewhere.
Gajasura, an elephant-demon figure in Puranic legend, appears in more than one version of Shiva mythology, sometimes linked to the origin of Shiva's elephant-hide garment; this temple's tradition that the linga itself formed from the demon's body is a distinctive local variation on that wider mythological thread.
Rudra Japa — the repeated chanting of mantras dedicated to Rudra, the fierce Vedic form of Shiva — is a significant devotional practice across Shaiva tradition, and the exceptionally high multiplier of merit attributed to performing it here marks Krithivaseshwar as one of the more spiritually weighty individual lingas documented in Kashi's temple tradition.
The temple's history includes a documented destruction under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, whose reign saw the demolition of a number of Varanasi's temples, including the original Kashi Vishwanath structure; Krithivaseshwar's present form was later rebuilt by Raja Patnimal, a notable patron whose name recurs in the restoration of several of the city's temples during the subsequent Hindu revival period of temple-building.
West of Har Tirath pond, Mrityunjay Mahadev Road, via Bishweshwarganj
The linga is said to have formed from the body of the demon Gajasura
Original destroyed under Aurangzeb; rebuilt later by Raja Patnimal
A patron credited with rebuilding Krithivaseshwar after its original structure was destroyed under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb — part of a wider wave of temple reconstruction in Kashi during later centuries.
Banaras Hindu University campus
Shiva TempleNear Madanpura, close to the weavers' lanes
Shiva TempleDaranagar, on the route to Kaal Bhairav
Shiva TempleTrilochan Ghat
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