Aarti performed at the Gyanwapi....earlier known as the temple of Adivisheshwar which was demolished by Aurangzeb. Members of a Hindu priests' family started praying at a cellar in the basement of Varanasi's Gyanvapi after a district court yesterday ordered the administration to unseal the premises, 30 years after it was sealed on the orders of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The mosque has four cellars in its basement. One of them was in the possession of a family of priests that used to live there. Somnath Vyas, a member of Vyas family, offered prayers in the cellar before it was sealed in 1993. The Archaeological Survey of India, which conducted a survey of the premises, has shared its report that concluded that a large Hindu temple existed on the site before the mosque was built. The Hindu temple dedicated to Adi Visheshwar Mahadev was demolished by Aurangzeb and a mosque was built on top of it.
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