Gyanvapi mosque & other monuments were studied by James Prinsep. He lived in Varanasi over 1820s – 1830s. His sketches & notes suggest the current "Wuzu tank" was built from a mandapa.
Prinsep is remembered for methodically deciphering the Brahmi script of Ashoka edicts. (🧵)
James Prinsep sketches suggest there were a lot more temple ruins near Gyanvapi mosque in 1820s than today. Comparing the cover page above and the one below, we can see (1) desecrated Nandi, (2) pillar part, (3) desecrated statue, (4) bricked door and two tombs in his sketch.
Prinsep made measurements from the ruins he saw. He then drew the floor plan of the original temple destroyed by Aurangzeb, and where exactly the mosque sits over the original floor plan. Here is his sketch. The red line below is his outline of Gyanvapi mosque.
Here is the satellite image of the Gyanvapi mosque, the "Wuzu tank" in front, and rebuilt temple complex.
Now let us rotate the James Prinsep floor plan 90 degrees to directionally align it, then overlay on top of the Gyanvapi mosque.
Remarkably, Prinsep drawing fits exactly. The temple walls form the western face. The "Wuzu tank" is exactly where the Prinsep's eastern mandapa is.
Similar floor plan, 4-entrances big Hindu temple ruins are found elsewhere in India. Example: Siddheshwar temple, Omkareshwar (Mandhata).
GPS: 22°14'45"N 76°09'22"E
Comparing Prinsep's drawing and satellite map:
1⃣"Wuzu tank" was the east entrance mandapa
2⃣Nandi would be facing towards the garbhagriya (sanctum). So, surviving old Nandis should be looking at the mosque center.
3⃣The destroyed temple must have been impressive.
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