https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Alamgir_MosqueAlamgir Mosque - Revision history2026-07-31T01:12:10ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Alamgir_Mosque&diff=467473&oldid=prevNdizzy4glo at 21:43, 10 March 20262026-03-10T21:43:34Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2017}}<br />
{{Infobox religious building<br />
| building_name = Alamgir Mosque<br/>{{small|(Aurangzeb's Mosque)}}<br />
| native_name = आलमगीर मस्जिद<br />
| native_name_lang = bn<br />
| image = Alamgir Mosque by the Ganges ghats, Varanasi.jpg<br />
| image_upright = 1.4<br />
| caption = The mosque in 2009<br />
| map_type = India Uttar Pradesh<br />
| map_size = 250 <br />
| map_relief = 1<br />
| map_caption = Location of the mosque in [[Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
| location = [[Varanasi]], [[Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
| country = [[India]]<br />
| coordinates = {{coord|25.31534|83.01781|format=dms|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}<br />
| religious_affiliation = [[Islam]]<br />
| consecration_year =<br />
| status = [[Mosque]]<br />
| functional_status = Active<br />
| heritage_designation =<br />
| leadership = <br />
| architect = <br />
| architecture_type = {{nowrap|[[Mosque architecture]]}}<br />
| architecture_style = {{ubl|[[Indo-Islamic architecture|Indo-Islamic]]|[[Hindu architecture|Hindu]]}}<br />
| founded_by = [[Aurangzeb]]<br />
| year_completed = 1670s<br />
| capacity =<br />
| length =<br />
| width =<br />
| width_nave =<br />
| height_max =<br />
| dome_quantity = Many<!-- You can help b adding exact number. Thanks. --><br />
| dome_height_outer =<br />
| dome_height_inner =<br />
| dome_dia_outer =<br />
| dome_dia_inner =<br />
| minaret_quantity = Two {{small|(since removed)}}<br />
| minaret_height = <br />
| materials =<br />
}}<br />
The '''Alamgir Mosque''', also known as the '''Aurangzeb's Mosque''' ({{langx|hi|आलमगीर मस्जिद}}), is a [[mosque]] in [[Varanasi]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], India.{{Sfn|Crowther|Raj|Wheeler|1984|p=}} The site was originally an ancient [[Hindu temple]] known as '''Bindu Madhav Temple''', originally dedicated to [[Vishnu]]. The temple was destroyed in 1673 by [[Muslims|Muslim]] [[Mughal Empire|Mughal Emperor]] [[Aurangzeb]] who built the mosque on the ruins of the temple.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-30 |title=Varanasi Guru {{!}} Book Heritage Walks & Boat Rides In Kashi |url=https://www.varanasiguru.com/ |access-date=2026-01-19 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-04-08 |title=Controversy arises as BJP MLA Neelkanth Tiwari cleans Alamgir mosque in Varanasi |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/controversy-arises-as-bjp-mla-cleans-alamgir-mosque-in-varanasi-/articleshow/120092719.cms |access-date=2026-02-10 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-06-01 |title=Another plea seeking 'puja' rights at Kashi Madhav temple filed |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/amid-gyanvapi-row-plea-for-puja-in-another-kashi-mosque/articleshow/91927483.cms |access-date=2026-02-10 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> The mosque is located at a prominent site above the Panchaganga Ghat. The ghat has broad steps that go down to the [[Ganges]].{{Sfn|Hussain|1999|p=70}}<br />
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== Overview ==<br />
Aurangzeb conquered Varanasi in 1669 and constructed a mosque named Alamagir Mosque, in the name of his own honorary title "Alamgir", which he had adopted after becoming the emperor of the Mughal empire.<ref name="TempleRazedMosqueBuilt">{{cite book|author=Davenport Adams, W. H.|year=1888|title=India Pictorial and Descriptive|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.venugopal.317/page/n120/mode/1up |publisher=T. Nelson and Sons|page=138}}</ref><br />
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The [[minaret]]s could not withstand the test of time and in the 19th century, an English scholar [[James Prinsep]] had to restore them. In 1948 one of the minarets collapsed killing a few people around the time of the floods. Later the government pulled down the other minaret, for security reasons.{{Sfn|Kumar|2003|p=90}}{{Sfn|Betts|McCulloch|2013|p=213}}<br />
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The mosque is architecturally a blend of [[Indo-Islamic architecture|Indo-Islamic]] and [[Hindu architecture|Hindu]] architecture.{{Sfn|Kumar|2003|p=90}} The mosque has high domes and minarets.{{Sfn|Shetty|2014|p=73}}{{Sfn|Betts|McCulloch|2013|p=213}} Two of its minarets were damaged; one minaret collapsed killing a few people and the other was officially brought down owing to stability concerns.{{Sfn|Betts|McCulloch|2013|p=213}} The Panchaganga Ghat where the mosque is situated is where five streams are said to join. In October lamps are lighted on top of a bamboo staff as a mark of guidance to the ancestors.{{Sfn|Shetty|2014|p=73}}<br />
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== Gallery ==<br />
<gallery><br />
Aurangzeb Mosque, Varanasi.JPG|Exterior view<br />
Interior of Alamgir Mosque, Varanasi, India - October 2014.jpg|Interior view<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
{{stack|{{portal|India|Islam}}}}<br />
* [[Islam in India]]<br />
* [[List of mosques in India]]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
===Bibliography===<br />
{{refbegin}}<br />
*{{cite book|last1= Betts |first1=Vanessa |last2= McCulloch |first2=Victoria |title=India – The North: Forts, Palaces, the Himalaya Dream Trip|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y-pUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA213|date=27 September 2013|publisher=Footprint Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-907263-74-3}}<br />
*{{cite book|last1= Crowther |first1=Geoff | author-link = Geoff Crowther |last2= Raj |first2=Prakash A. |last3= Wheeler |first3=Tony |title=India, a Travel Survival Kit|url=https://archive.org/details/indiatravelsurvi00crow|url-access= registration |year=1984|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-0-908086-54-2 }}<br />
*{{cite book|last1= Dunlop |first1=Fiona |last2= Sykes |first2=Carol |first3=Felicity|last3=Jackson|title=Fodor's Exploring India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AnLWgVtbJpoC|year=2001|publisher=Fodor's Travel Publications|isbn=978-0-679-00707-4}}<br />
*{{cite book|last= Hussain |first=Ansar |title=Rediscovery of India, The: A New Subcontinent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRpFol4AnO0C&pg=PA342|date=1 January 1999|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-1595-6}}<br />
*{{cite book|last= Kumar |first=Brajesh |title=Pilgrimage Centres of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qqei_Wo1qXwC&pg=PA90|year=2003|publisher=Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd.|isbn=978-81-7182-185-3}}<br />
*{{cite book|last= Shetty |first=Rekha |title=Innovation Sutra: The Secret of Good Business and a Good Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6JQAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT73|date=1 May 2014|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-93-5118-696-0}}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* {{cite book|last= Vit-Suzan |first=Dr Ilan |title=Architectural Heritage Revisited: A Holistic Engagement of its Tangible and Intangible Constituents|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TKv8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PR11|date=28 March 2014|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4724-2064-0}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
{{Commons category-inline}}<br />
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{{Varanasi}}<br />
{{Mosques in India}}<br />
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[[Category:17th-century mosques in India]]<br />
[[Category:Mosque buildings with domes in India]]<br />
[[Category:Mosque buildings with minarets in India]]<br />
[[Category:Mosques completed in the 1670s]]<br />
[[Category:Mosques in Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures converted into mosques]]<br />
[[Category:Religion in Varanasi]]<br />
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Varanasi]]</div>Ndizzy4glo