Digging History : Hindu, Jain Temples Destroyed by Aurangzeb

On On April 9, 1669, Aurangzeb ordered the governors of all the provinces to demolish the schools and temples of the infidels and strongly put down their teachings and religious practices. (Masir-i-Alamgiri, (translated by Jadunath Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Calcutta, 1947, p. 81)

The celebration of some religious festivals was stopped. The Holi ceased to be celebrated by imperial orders issued on 20 November 1606. (Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, Oxford: London, 1940, p. 149)

• Ajmer: A royal messenger was sent to demolish the temple of Malarina (now in Jaipur but probably then included in the imperial district of Ajmer) in May 1669. (Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, Oxford: London, 1940, p. 141) Several Hindus were reported to be carrying on public worship of idols in a temple in the neighbourhood of Ajmer. On June 23, 1694 the Governor of Ajmer was ordered to destroy the Temple and stop the public celebration of idol worship there. (Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, Oxford: London, 1940, p. 149)
• Ahmadabad: The Temple of Chintaman, situated close to Sarashpur, and built by Sitadas jeweller, was converted into a mosque named Quwat-ul-islam by order of Prince Aurangzeb, in 1645. (Mirat-i-Ahmadi, p. 232) He slaughtered a cow in the temple. (The Bombay Gazetteer, volume I, part I, p. 280)
• Aurangabad: On April 3, 1694, Aurengzeb learnt from a secret news writer of Delhi that in Jaisinghpura Bairagis used to worship idols, and that the Censor on hearing of it had gone there, arrested Sri Krishna Bairagi and took away 15 idols from to his house. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, p. 285)
• Bijapur: Middle of 1678, Hamid-ud-din Khan Bahadur who had been deputed to destroy the temple of Bijapur and build a mosque. (Masir-i-Alamgiri, (translated by Jadunath Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Calcutta, 1947, p. 396)
• Bundelkhand: While passing through Udaipur in Bundelkhand (about 1681) Aurangzeb is said to have ordered the Shiva Temple there to be demolished. The orders were however modified, and the temple was converted into a mosque. (Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, Oxford: London, 1940, p. 147)
• Chittor: Aurangzeb went to look at Chittor and by his order the 63 Temples of the place were destroyed. (Masir-i-Alamgiri, (translated by Jadunath Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Calcutta, 1947, p. 189)
• Decca: In every pargana officers have come from the thanas with orders from the presence for the destruction of idols. A letter preserved in the Yasho-Madhav Temple of Dhamrai in the Dacca district, dated 27 June 1672. (JM Ray, Bengali History of Dacca, Part I. p. 389)
• Dwarka: Aurangzeb stopped the public worship at the Hindu temple of Dwarka. (Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, Oxford: London, 1940, p. 148)
• Gujarat: “The temple of Somnath was demolished early in my reign and idol worship (there) put down. It is not known what the state of things there is at present. If the idolaters have again taken to the worship of images at the place, then destroy the temple in such a way that no trace of the building may be left, and also expel them (the worshippers) from the place.” – Letter of Aurangzeb in the last decade of his reign. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, p. 289)

November 20, 1665 as it has come to His Majesty’s knowledge that some inhabitants of the mahals appertaining to the province of Gujarat have (again) built the temples which had been demolished by imperial order before his accession……Therefore His Majesty orders that…… The formerly demolished and recently restored temples should be pulled down.” (Farman given in Mirat, p. 273)

In 1696-97 orders were issued for the destruction of the major temples at Sorath (Saurashtra) in Gujarat. (Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, Oxford: London, 1940, p. 147)

• Gonda-Soron: Aurangzeb partially destroyed the Sitaramji Temple at Soron; one of his officers slew the priests, broke the image and defiled the sanctuary at Devi Patan in Gonda. (Crooke’s NWP, p. 112)
• Jodhpur: On May 25, 1679, Khan-i-Jahan Bahadur returned from Jodhpur after demolishing its temples and bringing with himself several cart-loads of idols. Aurengzeb ordered that the idols which were mostly of gold, silver, brass, copper or stone and adorned with jewels, should be cast in the quadrangle of the court and under the steps of the Jama Mosque for being trodden upon. (Masir-i-Alamgiri, (translated by Jadunath Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Calcutta, 1947, p. 175)
• Cooch Bihar: December 19, 1661, Mir Jumla entered the city of Cooch Bihar, which had been evacuated by its king and people and appointed Sayyid Md. Sadiq to be chief judge, with directions to destroy all the Hindu temples and to erect mosques in their stead. The general himself with a battle axe broke the image of Narayan. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, p. 281)

Mir Jumla made war on the Raja of Cooch Bihar, the Mughals destroyed many temples during the course of their operations. Idols were broken, and some of the temples were converted into mosques. (Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, Oxford: London, 1940, p. 137)

• Cuttack-Midnapore: “Order issued on ail faujdars of thanas, civil officers, agents of jagirdars, from Katak to Medinipur on the frontier of Orissa – The imperial paymaster Asad Khan has sent a letter written by order of the Aurangzeb, to say, that the Aurengzeb learning from the news-letters of the province of Orissa that at the village of Tilkuti in Medinipur a Temple has been (newly) built, has issued his august mandate for its destruction and the destruction of all temples built anywhere in this province by the worthless infidels. Therefore, you are commanded with extreme urgency that immediately on the receipt of this letter you should destroy the above mentioned temples. Every idol-house built during the last 10 or 12 years, whether with brick or day, should be demolished without delay. Also, do not allow the crushed Hindus and despicable infidels to repair their old temples. Reports of the destruction of Temples should be sent to the Court under the seal of the qazis and attested by pious Shaikhs.” (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, pp. 283–44)
• Khandela: Darab Khan was sent with a strong force to punish the Rajputs of Khandela and demolish the great temple of that place. (Masir-i-Alamgiri, (translated by Jadunath Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Calcutta, 1947, p. 171)

Aurangzeb attacked the place on March 8, 1679 and pulled down the Temples of Khandela and Sanula and all other Temples in the neighbourhood. (Masir-i-Alamgiri, (translated by Jadunath Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Calcutta, 1947, p. 173)

In Rajputana itself, even before the death of Jaswant gave him any pretext for interference, he had pulled down the great temples of Khandela and Sanula and all other temples. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, p. 338)

• Sawai Madhopur: Salih Bahadur, mace-bearer, was sent to pull down the Temple of Malarna in May 1669. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, p. 282)
• Mathura: Aurangzeb learning that in the temple of Keshav Rai at Mathura there was a stone railing presented by Dara Shukoh, remarked, “In the Muslim faith it is a sin even to look at a temple, and this Dara had restored a railing in a temple! This fact is not creditable to the Muhammadans. Remove the railing.” By his order Abdun Nabi Khan (the faujdar of Mathura) removed it on October 14, 1666. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, pp. 281-82)

Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the temple at Mathura known as the Dehra of Keshav Rai in January 1670. His officers accomplished it in a short lime. A grand mosque was built on its site at a vast expenditure. The idols, large and small, set with costly jewels, which had been set up in the temple, were brought to Agra and buried under the steps of the mosque of Jahanara, to be trodden upon continually. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, pp. 282-83)

“On the birthday of Krishna, a vast gathering of Hindu men and women takes place at Govardhan on the Jamuna opposite Mathura. Murshid Ali Khan Turkman, painting his forehead and wearing a dhoti like a Hindu, used to walk up and down in the crowd. Whenever he saw a woman whose beauty filled even the Moon with envy, he snatched her away like a wolf pouncing upon a flock, and placing her in the boat which his men had kept ready on the bank, he sped to Agra. The Hindu (for shame) never divulged what had happened to his daughter. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, pp. 292)

• Maharashtra: Aurangzeb urged the appointment of an officer on special duty in order to destroy the Hindu temples in Maharashtra. (Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, Oxford: London, 1940, p. 148)
• Pandharpur: (January 1, 1705) Aurangzeb, summoning Muhammad Khalil and Khidmat Rai, the darogha of hatchet-men…… Ordered them to demolish the temple of Pandharpur, and to take the butchers of the camp there and slaughter cows in the temple…… It was done. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, pp. 286)
• Palamu: In 1661, Aurangzeb in his zeal to uphold, what he considered to be the law of Islam, sent orders to his Viceroy of Bihar, Daud Khan, to conquer Palamau. In the military operations that followed, many temples were destroyed. (Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, Oxford: London, 1940, p. 137)
• Satara: “The village of Satara near Aurangabad was my hunting-ground. Here on the top of a hill stood a Temple with an image of Khande Rai. By God’s grace I demolished it, and forbade the temple dancers (murlis) to ply their shameful trade.” (Letter of Aurangzeb to Bidar Bahkt in Kalimat-i-Tayyibat)
• Ujjain: News came from Malwa that Wazir Khan had sent Gada Beg, a slave, with 400 troopers, to destroy all Temples around Ujjain on April 7, 1670. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, pp. 283)
• Udaipur-Mewar: January 1680: The grand temple in front of the Maharana’s mansion (at Udaipur) – one of the wonderful buildings of the age, which had cost the infidels much money – was destroyed and its images broken. (Masir-i-Alamgiri, (translated by Jadunath Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Calcutta, 1947, p. 186) Aurangzeb went to view the lake Udaisagar and ordered all the three temples on its bank to be pulled down. Masir-i-Alamgiri, (translated by Jadunath Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Calcutta, 1947, p. 188) Hasan Ali Khan reported that 172 other temples in the environs of Udaipur had been demolished. Masir-i-Alamgiri, (translated by Jadunath Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Calcutta, 1947, p. 189)
• August 2, 1680: Temple of Someshwar in western Mewar ordered to be destroyed. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, pp. 285)
• August 10, 1680: Abu Turab returned to Court and reported that he had pulled down 66 Temples in Amber. Masir-i-Alamgiri, (translated by Jadunath Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Calcutta, 1947, p. 194)
• Vadnagar: In 1693, Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of the Hateshwar Temple at Vadnagar. (Mirat ul Memalik, p. 346)
• Varanasi: News came to Court that according to the Aurangzeb’s command, his officers had demolished the Temple of Vishwanath at Benares on September 2, 1669. (Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, SC Sarkar: Calcutta, 1928, pp. 282)
• In August 1669, Gyanvapi Visvanath temple at Benares was demolished. The presiding priest of the temple was just in time to remove the idols from the temple and to throw them into a neighbouring well which thus became a centre of pious interest over after. The temple of Gopi Nath in Benares was also destroyed about the same time. (Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, Oxford: London, 1940, p. 141)