ASI survey report shows photos of 'shivling', broken statues present inside Gyanvapi Mosque

Gyanvapi Mosque: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey report of the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, which was made public on January 25, has kicked off a fresh wave of controversy. The report has printed photos of fragments of what appear to be statues of Hindu deities and other iconography within the mosque complex, India Today reported on Friday.

The ASI had submitted its report to the Varanasi district court in a sealed cover on December 18, 2023. Following which on January 24, the Varanasi court ruled that the findings should be made public. 

The ASI report stated that the temple had a big central chamber, and at least one chamber to the north, south, east, and west, respectively. The western wall of the Gyanvapi mosque located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, is the remaining part of a pre-existing Hindu temple, says the ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey report of the structure prepared by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The ASI report concluded that it can be said there existed a Hindu temple prior to the construction of the existing structure, that is the mosque.

"The central chamber of the pre-existing structure (temple) forms the central hall of the existing structure (mosque)," the report said.

The report further concluded that the pillars and pilasters of the temple were reused — with little modifications — for the purpose of "enlargement of the mosque."

The report stated that a total of 34 inscriptions were recorded during the survey. 

"These include inscriptions in Devanagari, Telugu, Grantha, and Kannada scripts. Reuse of earlier inscriptions in the structure suggest(s) that the earlier structures were destroyed and their parts were reused in the construction/repair of the existing structure (mosque)," the reports stated.

The report said that names of deities such as Janardhana, Rudra, and Umesvara were found in the inscriptions.

India Today, which accessed the survey report, noted many photos show broken idols of Hindu deities like Hanuman, Ganesha, and Nandi. The photos also reveal the discovery of several yonipattas (the base of a shivling) as well as a shiv linga with its bottom part or base missing.

According to the report, the ASI had in its custody the record of an inscription engraved on a stone which recorded the construction of the mosque in 1676-77 CE. This inscription also recorded that the mosque was repaired in 1792-93 CE. The photograph of this stone inscription was recorded in ASI records in the year 1965-66.

The report also mentioned biography of Emperor Aurangzeb, Maasir-i-Alamgiri. It noted that the order for the demolition the temple of Vishwanath at Kashi was given on September 2, 1669.

The report ends with the mention of an Arabic-Persian inscription found inside a room mentions that the mosque was built in the 20th regnal year of Aurangzeb (1676-77 CE). "Hence the pre-existing structure appears to have been destroyed in the 17th century during the reign of Aurangzeb, and part of it was modified and reused to build the existing structure (mosque)."

A Varanasi district court had ordered the survey on July 21, 2023, after a group of Hindu litigants filed a petition seeking the right to hold prayers inside the mosque compound.

The district court’s verdict came after the Allahabad High Court held in May that a scientific survey could be conducted of an oval-shaped object found on the mosque premises. The object was found in May 2022 during another survey of the mosque premises ordered by a civil court in Varanasi.

Earlier, the Hindu litigants claimed that the object was a shivling, a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva. The caretaker committee of the mosque claimed the object was a defunct fountainhead in the wazu khana.

Also read: Gyanvapi mosque case: ASI’s report to be made available to both parties, says court

Also read: Gyanvapi case: SC declines to stay HC order permitting ASI survey of mosque complex