The Archaeological Investigation of India has been ordered by the Allahabad High Court to conduct a scientific investigation of a structure inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi that Hindu petitioners allege is a "Shivling."In October of last year, the Varanasi district court rejected the petitioners' request for the study.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should study the structure in a "scientific" manner, the high court ruled in its ruling issued today.
Authorities at the Gyanvapi mosque have denied that the building is a Shivling, or relic, of Lord Shiva. They said that the building is a component of a fountain in the "wazu khana," where worshippers wash themselves before reciting the namaz.
The building was discovered earlier this year during a video scan conducted at the Gyanvapi mosque compound at the direction of a lower court in response to a request by five Hindu women for 365-day access to a shrine inside the mosque complex for praying.
In order to determine the age of the "shivling," four out of the five petitioners asked for a scientific inquiry, including carbon dating. The mosque, according to the women, is home to old Hindu deity and goddess statues. The mosque committee had questioned the viability of the request for daily worship of Hindu gods, whose idols are situated on one of the mosque's exterior walls.
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