आगमे विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

(“well of knowledge”) A well that is the
sole part of the original Vishvanath
temple in the city of Benares. The temple’s name refers to the god Shiva in his
form as Vishvanath, “Lord of the
Universe,” and was one of the most
sacred Hindu sites in medieval India. In
1669 the armies of the Moghul emperor
267
Gyan Vapi
Aurangzeb razed the temple and built a
mosque in its place. Although the temple’s destruction is usually portrayed as
an act of Muslim iconoclasm, according
to Gyan Vapi’s account, Aurangzeb may
have also intended it as a political message to punish local rebellion. According
to local legend, the image of Shiva as
Vishvanath was thrown into the well to
protect it from desecration, and it
remains there to this day.