Two verses on Gyanvapi

Today, we find inspiration from two synthetic verses about the Gyānvāpī Temple in Kāśī. These verses are stylized and inspired by the Kāśī Khanda, a large section of 100 chapters embedded within the Skanda Purāna praising the spiritual supremacy of Vārānasi. Below we imagine the magnificence of the Gyānvāpī Temple during the height of its splendor that once was and once again will be. May it be the will of Bhagavān Viśveśvara!

 गङ्गातीरनिभूतशैवलनिभं काश्याः प्रकाशं शिवं

ज्ञानाख्यस्य विशालवाप्युदितरत्नाभोगगर्भान्तरम् ।

नन्दीस्थाणुकृते नताः प्रथयते यत्सात्त्विकं तेजसा

तच्चित्रं प्रतिवीक्षितं हृदि ममाभाति त्रयीदीपवत् ॥

विश्वेशस्य पुरातनप्रभमिहोद्द्योतं प्रशान्ताम्बुधेः
काञ्चित्संवत्सरसारवह्निशिखया ध्यानान्तराले स्थितम् ।
यत्रोन्मेषतरङ्गमालिजलवद्भक्तिप्रभा जृष्णुता
तत्तेजो मम चेतसि प्रतिपदं देदीप्यते ध्यानवत् ॥

On the banks of Gaṅgā, where Kāśī shines with the quiet hue of moss and morning light,
rests the deep, gem-filled radiance of the vast Jñāna-vāpī, hidden in its sacred womb.
Before steadfast Nandi, those who bow perceive its gentle, sattvic flame;
and that vision, glimpsed again, glows in my heart like the lamp of the threefold Veda.

Here dawns the ancient brilliance of Viśveśvara, rising like a calm ocean of light,
standing in the inner sanctum of meditation, steady as the refined flame of years.
Where devotion shimmers in bright, wave-like ripples, vibrant and unbroken,
that radiance burns in my heart at every step, as in deep, unwavering contemplation.

|| oṁ namaḥ śivāya ||