Hi Mr. Pabitra, IF what you wrote is true then the whole history which we have read regarding Aurangzeb needs a drastic change. What you have written shows that Aurangzeb was not a fanatic but had respect for all religion and in fact was a true man. It is right that when a temple has been despoiled by the mahants and pujaris and pandits then it can not be considered as temple. Only confirmation of the incident is required from our knowledgeable friends of India Royalty. Thanks and regards, CA Avinash Haldia ----- Original Message ----- From: "pabitra saha" <pksaha000@yahoo.co.uk> To: "royalty" <INDIA-ROYALTY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: 19/03/ 2008 10:37 AM Subject: [INDIA-ROYALTY] Aurangzeb of Delhi I was recently given this detail. Can anyone confirm this? "One of the greatest charges against Aurangzeb is of the demolition of Vishwanath Temple in Banaras (Varanasi). That was a fact, but Dr. Pande unravelled the reason for it. "While Aurangzeb was passing near Varanasi on his way to Bengal, the Hindu Rajas in his retinue requested that if the halt was made for a day, their Ranis may go to Varanasi, have a dip in the Ganges and pay their homage to Lord Vishwanath. Aurangzeb readily agreed. "Army pickets were posted on the five mile route to Varanasi. The Ranis made journey on the palkis (palanquins). They took their dip in the Ganges and went to the Vishwanath Temple to pay their homage. After offering puja (worship) all the Ranis returned except one, the Maharani of Kutch. A thorough search was made of the temple precincts but the Rani was to be found nowhere. "When Aurangzeb came to know of this, he was very much enraged. He sent his senior officers to search for the Rani. Ultimately they found that statue of Ganesh which was fixed in the wall was a moveable one. When the statue was moved, they saw a flight of stairs that led to the basement. To their horror they found the missing Rani dishonoured and crying deprived of all her ornaments. The basement was just beneath Lord Vishwanath's seat." The Rajas demanded salutary action, and "Aurangzeb ordered that as the sacred precincts have been despoiled, Lord Vishwanath may be moved to some other place, the temple be razed to the ground and the Mahant (head priest) be arrested and punished." ( Pande, Bishma Narain, Islam and Indian Culture, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna, 1987)." with best wishes, pks --------------------------------- Rise to the challenge for Sport Relief with Yahoo! for Good ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to INDIA-ROYALTY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message