Mysterious Temple of Kashi is more tilted than Pisa Tower
                     MYSTERIOUS TEMPLE OF 
KASHI IS MOC RE TILTED 
THAN PISA TOWER
About the Ratneshwar Mahadev 
Temple
• Ratneshwar temple near Manikarnika Ghat, is 
also called Kashi Karvat. It means a temple in 
Kashi, which leans ( karvat) to one side.
Source: timesofindia.com
WHERE IT IS SITUATED?
• On the Ganga Ghat in Varanasi, where all the 
temples are built upwards, the Ratneshwar 
temple is built under the Manikarnika Ghat. 
• Being under the Ghat, this temple remains 
submerged in the waters of the Ganges for 
more than six months of the year.
Source: timesofindia.com
HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE
• The story behind its tilted nature is quite 
interesting. 
• There is a legend surrounding the origin of this 
temple, which states that it was built by a 
certain servant of Raja Man Singh for his 
mother, named Ratna Bai. 
Source: dailyhunt.com
POPULAR STORY BEHIND THE 
TEMPLE
• Once the temple was built, the man proudly 
declared that he had paid the debt to his 
mother. 
• Much to his shock, as soon as these words 
escaped his lips, the temple started tilting 
backwards (north-west) to show that the debt 
to one’s mother can never be paid. 
• The sanctum sanctorum of this shrine remains 
under Ganga water for most of the year.
Source: timesofindia.com
HOW THE NAME OF TEMPLE WAS 
GIVEN?
• According to local people, many temples and 
kinds were built in Varanasi by Queen 
Ahilyabai Holkar. 
• During her reign, her maid Ratna Bai 
expressed her desire to build a Shiva temple in 
front of Manikarnika Ghat and got this temple 
constructed. 
• The name of this temple was named 
Ratneshwar only after that maid.
Source: impulsiveinfo.com
MYSTERY
• This temple has been tilted side by side for 
hundreds of years. 
• There are many types of dental stories about 
this temple. 
• But even today it is a matter of mystery how 
this weighed temple made of stones has 
remained crooked and stood for hundreds of 
years.
Source: dailyhunt.com
COMPARED WITH Italy’s famous 
Leaning Tower of Pisa
• Reportedly, Ratneshwar Mahadev Temple has a 
higher tilt than Italy’s famous Leaning Tower of 
Pisa or the Torre Pendente di Pisa built in 1173. 
• As the story behind the tilted nature of this 
Italian monument goes, the ground to its one 
side had started sinking under the weight of 
the stones after its construction.
Source: britannica.com
What is Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa
• The Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply the Tower 
of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell 
tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of 
Pisa, known worldwide for its nearly four-
degree lean, the result of an unstable 
foundation. 
Source: timesofindia.com
Leaning Tower of Pisa Vs. Ratneshwar 
Mahadev Temple
• Interestingly, the Leaning Tower of Pisa leans 
at 4 degrees, which is less in comparison to 
the 9 degree tilt of the Ratneshwar Mahadev 
Temple. Yet, this Leaning Temple of Varanasi 
has been lost in anonymity in India
Source: dailyhunt.com
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