Ratneshwar Mahadev temple

It was built by Aman Dev The temple is elegantly constructed in the classical style with a Nagara Shikhara and Samvarna mandapa.{{Cite web |last=iasmania |date=2016-01-12 |title=Temples Styles in North India (Nagara Style) Iasmania - Civil Services Preparation Online ! UPSC & IAS Study Material |url=https://iasmania.com/temples-styles-in-india/ |access-date=2022-05-21 |website=Iasmania - Civil Services Preparation Online ! UPSC & IAS Study Material |language=en-US}} The site of the temple is very unusual. Unlike all other temples in Varanasi on the banks of Ganga, the temple is built at a very low level. In fact, the water level can reach the shikhara part of the temple.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7uEV0Xpd54 Kashi Vishwanath JyotirLinga Temple Darshan in Varanasi - Part 1, at 8:28]

It is constructed at a very low spot; the builder must have known that its garbhagriha would be underwater for much of the year. In spite of much of the temple being underwater during most of the year, it is well preserved, except for the lean that can be noted in 20th century photos.

A number of online posts have falsely stated that the temple is 74 m high, however the actual height is estimated to be somewhere around 13 m [https://thelogicalindian.com/fact-check/ratneshwar-temple-leaning-tower-pisa-varanasi-lean-22847 Fact Check: Varanasi's Ratneshwar Temple Leans More Than Tower Of Pisa? - The Logical Indian]

The Temple is also known as Kashi Karvat (Kashi is the ancient name for Varanasi and karvat means leaning in Hindi). The actual time of construction is unknown. However, the priests claim that it was built by an unnamed servant of Raja Man Singh for his mother Ratna Bai about 500 years ago.{{cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/leaning-temple-of-varanasi-beats-the-leaning-tower-of-pisa-this-is-how/as77548716.cms |title=Leaning Temple of Varanasi beats the Leaning Tower of Pisa, this is how {{!}} Times of India Travel |website=timesofindia.indiatimes.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815070710/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/leaning-temple-of-varanasi-beats-the-leaning-tower-of-pisa-this-is-how/as77548716.cms |archive-date=2020-08-15}} According to the revenue records, it was constructed from 1825 to 1830. However, according to Dr. Ratnesh Varma of District Cultural Committee, it was constructed by the Amethi royal family.[https://www.bhaskar.com/news/UP-VAR-myths-of-ratneshwar-mahadev-temple-varanasi-5274569-PHO.html किसके श्राप से टेढ़ा हुआ था यह मंदिर, भरा रहता है कीचड़, पढ़ें 5 MYTHS, dainikbhaskar.com | 14 March 2016] James Prinsep, who was an assay master at the Banaras Mint from 1820 to 1830,{{Cite web |title=James Prinsep {{!}} English antiquarian {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Prinsep |access-date=2022-05-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}} created a series of drawings, one of which includes the Ratneshwar Mahadev temple. He commented that when the temple entrance was underwater, the priest used to dive in the water to conduct worship.

Some sources claim that was built by Queen Baija Bai of Gwalior in the 19th century.{{Cite web | url=https://www.varanasiguru.com/ratneshwar-mahadev-temple/ | title=Ratneshwar Mahadev - the Leaning Temple of Kashi | date=6 October 2020 }} According to another story, it was built by a female servant of Ahilya Bai of Indore, named Ratna Bai. Ahilya Bai cursed it to lean because her servant had named it after herself.

Photographs from 1860s do not show the building leaning. Modern photographs show a lean of about nine degrees. The building is likely leaning due to waterlogged foundation. A lightning strike in 2015 caused slight damage to some of the elements of the shikhara.

The temple in Manikarnika Ghat is located in front to the Tarkeshwar Mahadev Mandir{{Cite web |date=2020-09-05 |title=Manikarnika Ghat - The Burning Ghat of Varanasi |url=https://www.varanasiguru.com/manikarnika-ghat/ |access-date=2022-05-21 |website=Varanasi Guru |language=en-US}} built in 1795 by Ahilyabai Holkar,{{Cite web |title=The Varanasi Heritage Dossier/Manikarnika Ghat - Wikiversity |url=https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/The_Varanasi_Heritage_Dossier/Manikarnika_Ghat |access-date=2022-05-21 |website=en.wikiversity.org |language=en}} where Lord Shiva is said to recite the Taraka Mantra (salvation mantra). Between the two temple is a spot that was termed as the holiest spot in Banaras by James Prinsep in 1832.{{Citation |last=Prinsep |first=James |title=English: "Benares, A Brahmin placing a garland on the holiest spot in the sacred city" - (aka: Varanasi) |date=2011-04-25 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benares_A_Brahmin_placing_a_garland_on_the_holiest_spot_in_the_sacred_city_by_James_Prinsep_1832.jpg |access-date=2022-05-21}} An 1865 photograph terms one of the temples as the Vishnupad temple. It is likely the Ganesh temple with the Charan Paduka of Lord Vishnu near it (only distinguished individuals can be cremated at the spot).{{Cite book |last=Parry |first=Jonathan P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r10f4uwzcosC&dq=charan+paduka+manikarnika&pg=PA50 |title=Death in Banaras |date=1994-07-07 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-46625-7 |language=en}} The same spot is said to have been the site of a Sati in a 1903 print.{{Citation |last=Library |first=Boston Public |title=Local Accession Number: 06_11_003882 |date=2013-09-25 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Suttee%22_pillar_where_Hindu_widows_were_burned,_Benares,_India_(14671460675).jpg |access-date=2022-05-21}}

File:Munikurnuka Ghat Benares from the river by James Prinsep 1832.jpg|{{center|Manikarnika Ghat Benares from the river by James Prinsep, 1832. Tarakeshwar temple on the left.}}.

File:Benares A Brahmin placing a garland on the holiest spot in the sacred city by James Prinsep 1832.jpg|{{center|A Brahmin placing a garland on the holiest spot in the sacred city by James Prinsep 1832. Tarakeshwar temple on the left and Baba Mashan Nath temple in the center.}}.

File:Vishnu Pud and Other Temples near the Burning Gat, Benares, Photo by Samuel Bourne.jpg|{{center| Vishnu Pud and Other Temples near the Burning Gat, Benares. Acquired by King Edward VII when Prince of Wales, 1865. The ghats are apparently under construction.}}

File:"Suttee" pillar where Hindu widows were burned, Benares, India (14671460675).jpg|{{center|"Suttee" pillar, 1903 Stereograph}}.

File:Banaras, 1953 (9224068841).jpg|{{center|1953}}

File:Submerged Shiva temple 02.jpg|{{center|Submerged temple, 2011. Taken from an angle that does not show the lean.}}

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• Shree Ratneshwar Mahadev Temple, Karachi
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• Shree Kashi Karvat Mandir

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Category:Shiva temples in Varanasi

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