Aurangzeb

In Mathura, we were at the birthplace of Lord Krishna. What we saw was a huge mosque ! It was heavily barricaded with barbed wire and high fences, and soldiers swarmed everywhere. Beside it was a temple of sorts. We were told that the actual birthplace was under the mosque, which had been built after the original temple had been destroyed.

In Kasi, the Vishvanath Temple too had a mosque beside it, towering above the temple gopuram. The fortifications, barbed wire and soldiers were present here as well. The Nandi was facing the mosque. Our guide explained that the original Shiva Lingam was located where the mosque stands now. The present temple was rebuilt next to the original site.

At Ayothya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, it was even worse. The mosque which used to stand at the spot where Lord Rama was born had also been demolished. It was a barren area and the army fortifications were most severe. We had to pass through at least 5 checkpoints, and walk through a cagelike walkway over nearly a kilometre, to see idols of Lord Rama installed in a tent.

It was during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who was such a passionate Muslim (was he ?) that he decided to demolish many Hindu Temples, foremost among them being the three temples at Kasi, Mathura and Ayothya. He built Mosques in the spots where the temples used to stand. In hindsight, he has done more disservice to Islam than anything else.

On returning , I read up a little on the atrocities of Aurangzeb (as well as other Mughal Emperors). It was frightening, what some of these barbarians did in the name of Islam. Unfortunately his follies still stand, as a sore reminder of what a misguided person in power can do to discredit a great religion.