"Visiting in 1868, Sherring documented this Adi Vishweshwara temple and the adjacent Raziya mosque as well. This was in a north-westerly direction from the Gyan Vapi mosque. He writes: Looking beyond in a north-westerly direction, the eye falls on a temple about sixty feet in height, situated one hundred and fifty yards distant from the mosque. This is Ad-Bisheshwar [sic: Adi Vishweshwara], that is the temple of the ‘Primeval Lord of All.’ The natives in the neighbourhood all regard this shrine as of an epoch anterior to that of the old Bisheshwar [sic], the ruins of which, as already stated, form a constituent portion of Aurunguzeb’s [sic] mosque. Hence the name attached to it. This temple is surmounted by a large dome, the decaying condition of which is visible in the gaps on its outer surface … there is really nothing in this temple of an ancient character; but, on the eastern side of the enclosure, the ground becomes considerably elevated, and upon it stands a mosque [Raziya?] built of very old materials, the pillars of which date as far back as the Gupta period, and possibly earlier. May not these old stones and pillars be remains of the original Bisheshwar?"

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Added on April 10, 2026
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English