VARANASI: Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, the counsel for the Hindu side, stated that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has made a “conclusive finding” and stated that there existed a large Hindu Temple prior to construction of the existing structure, a day after the Varanasi district court ruled that the ASI survey report on the Gyanvapi mosque complex will be given to litigants on both sides. According to the ASI, a sizable Hindu temple predated the building of the current building. This is the ASI’s definitive conclusion, Vishnu Shankar Jain told the local media. He noted that according to the ASI, several inscriptions on both the pre-existing and present structure were discovered during the survey. “The current survey resulted in the recording of 34 inscriptions and the taking of 32 stamped pages. In actuality, these are inscriptions that were previously present on a Hindu temple’s stone that were utilised again throughout the building and restoration of the current building. They have inscriptions written in Telugu, Kannada, Grantha, and Devanagari scripts. The repurposing of older inscriptions within the structure implies that the previous structures were demolished and their components were used for the building and restoration of the current structure. These inscriptions contain three names of deities, including Janardana, Rudra, and Umeshwara,” the counsel stated. Vishnu Shankar Jain provided further information, stating that the ASI has stated that the pillars and plasters utilised in the current building were examined methodically and scientifically in order to build Sahan and expand the mosque. “Plasters and pillars from earlier temples were repurposed with minimal alterations. A close examination of the plasters and pillars in the corridors reveals that they were originally a part of an earlier Hindu temple, which was dismantled to make room for them in the current building. The Vyala figures that were carved on either side of the lotus medallion were also dismantled, and floral patterns were added to the area once the corners’ stone mass was removed.
Two comparable plasters that are still in their original locations on the north and south walls of the western chamber attest to this observation. “In response to a court’s directive, the ASI surveyed the Gyanvapi grounds to ascertain whether the mosque was built over an earlier Hindu temple structure. Last month, the ASI sent its survey results in a sealed cover to the district court.
