Raja Man Singh started rebuilding the temple during Akbar's reign. Raja Todar Mal furthered the reconstruction of the temple in 1585.

In the seventeenth century, during the rule of Jahangir, Vir Singh Deo completed the construction of the earlier temple. In 1669, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the temple and built the Gyanvapi Mosque in its place. The remains of the erstwhile temple can be seen in the foundation, the columns, and the rear part of the mosque.

In 1742, the Maratha ruler Malhar Rao Holkar devised a plan to demolish the mosque and reconstruct the Vishweshwar temple at the site. However, his plan did not materialise, partly because of the intervention of the Nawab of Awadh, who was given control of the territory. In 1750, the Maharaja of Jaipur commissioned a survey of the land around the site with the objective of purchasing land to rebuild the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which in turn failed.

In 1785, at the behest of Governor General Warren Hastings, Collector Mohammed Ibrahim constructed a Naubatkhana in front of the temple. In 1780, Malhar Rao's daughter-in-law, Ahilyabai Holkar, built the present temple adjacent to the mosque. In 1828, Baiza Bai, widow of the Maratha ruler Daulat Rao Scindhia of Gwalior State, built a low-roofed colonnade with over 40 pillars in the Gyan Vapi precinct. During 1833–1840, at the boundary of Gyanvapi Well, the ghats (steps by the riverside) and other nearby temples were constructed.

Many noble families from various ancestral kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent, and their predecessor states, made generous contributions to the operation of the temple. In 1835, Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire, at the behest of his wife, Maharani Datar Kaur, donated 1 tonne of gold for plating the temple's dome. In 1841, Raghuji Bhonsle III of Nagpur donated silver to the temple.

The temple was managed by a hereditary group of pandits or mahants. After the death of Mahant Devi Dutt, a dispute arose among his successors. In 1900, his brother-in-law, Pandit Visheshwar Dayal Tewari, filed a lawsuit, which resulted in him being declared the head priest.

Since 1983, the temple has been managed by a board of trustees set up by the government of Uttar Pradesh. The Puja of the Maa Shringar Gauri Temple, on the western side of the disputed Gyanvapi Mosque, was restricted after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, due to the ensuing deadly riots that followed the demolition of the mosque. In August 2021, five Hindu women petitioned a local court in Varanasi to be allowed to pray at the Maa Shringar Gauri Temple.

After 239 years, the Kumbhabhishekham (consecration ceremony) of the temple was held on 5 July 2018, which was conducted by Nattukottai Nagarathar, a mercantile community of Tamil Nadu.

The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 to make it easier to travel between the temple and the Ganges River and to create more space to prevent crowding. On 13 December 2021, Modi inaugurated the corridor with a sacred ceremony. A press release by the government said that around 1,400 residents and businesses within the corridor's area were relocated elsewhere and compensated. It also said that more than 40 ruined, centuries-old temples were found and rebuilt, including the Gangeshwar Mahadev temple, the Manokameshwar Mahadev temple, the Jauvinayak temple, and the Shri Kumbha Mahadev temple.

In February 2022, the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was gold-plated after an anonymous donor from South India donated 60 kg of gold to the temple. Flowers from the temple are recycled into incense by the biomaterials startup Phool.co.

As of August 2023, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust reported that 10 crore (100 million) tourists had visited the temple since the inauguration of the corridor in December 2021.

The temple complex consists of a series of smaller shrines located in a small lane called the Vishwanatha Gali, near the river. The linga of the main deity at the shrine is 60 centimetres (24 in) tall and 90 centimetres (35 in) in circumference, housed in a silver altar. The main temple is a quadrangle, and there are shrines to other gods all around it. There are small temples for Kala Bhairava, Kartikeya, Avimukteshwara, Vishnu, Ganesha, Shani, Shiva, and Parvati in the complex.

There is a small well in the temple called the Jnana Vapi, also spelled Gyan Vapi (the wisdom well). The Jnana Vapi is located to the north of the main temple, and during the invasion by the Mughals, the jyotirlinga was hidden in the well to protect it. It is said that the main priest of the temple jumped in the well with the lingam in order to protect the jyotirlinga from invaders.

There is a Sabha Griha (congregation hall) leading to the inner Garbha Griha (sanctum sanctorum). The jyotirlinga is enshrined in the sanctuary and placed on a silver platform. The structure of the temple is composed of three parts. The first consists of a 15.5-meter-high spire on the temple; the second is a gold dome; and the third is the gold spire within the sanctuary bearing a flag and a trident.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is popularly known as the Golden Temple, due to the gold plating of its spire. One tonne of gold donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been used in the gold plating, as well as in three domes, each made up of pure gold, donated in 1835.

The temple receives around 3,000 visitors every day. On certain occasions, the numbers reach 1,000,000 or more.

The Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor was constructed between Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Manikarnika Ghat along the Ganges River, providing various amenities for pilgrims.

Located on the banks of the holy river Ganges, Varanasi is regarded as among the holiest of the Hindu cities. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is widely recognised as one of the most important places of worship in the Hindu religion, because the it holds the jyotirlinga of Shiva Vishveshwara, or Vishvanath.

A visit to the temple and a bath in the Ganges is one of many methods believed to lead one on a path to moksha (liberation). Thus, Hindus from all over the world try to visit the place at least once in their lifetime. There is also a tradition that one should give up at least one desire after a pilgrimage to the temple, and the pilgrimage would also include a visit to the temple at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu in South India, to which people take water samples of the Ganges to perform prayer there and bring back sand from near that temple.

Because of the immense popularity and holiness of Kashi Vishwanath Temple, hundreds of temples across India have been built in the same architectural style. Many legends tell of the true devotee achieving freedom from death and saṃsāra (aimlessness) by the worship of Shiva, Shiva's devotees upon death being directly taken to his abode on Mount Kailash by his messengers and not to judgement by Yama. There is a popular belief that Shiva himself blows the mantra of salvation into the ears of people who die naturally at the Vishwanath temple.

It is one of the shrines of the Vaippu Sthalams sung by Tamil Saivite Nayanar Sambandar.

Phalgun Shukla Ekadashi is celebrated as Rangabhari Ekadashi, that is, a festival of colours. According to tradition, before Holi, Baba Vishwanath comes back to Kashi after having a cow in the form of Mother Bhagwati. The temple complex echoes with the beating of dozens of damroos (two-sided drums). This tradition has been performed for over 200 years. On Vasant Panchami, Baba's Tilak is performed. There is Shivaratri's marriage, and Rangbhari Ekadashi marks Parvati leaving with her husband Shiva. These traditions have been carried out by the erstwhile Mahant family of the temple for over a century.

These rituals of Baba's marriage ceremony are performed at the residence of Kulpati Tiwari, the erstwhile Mahant of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Redzone. The seven rituals of Saptarishi Aarti were performed by Baba Vishwanath. According to the Puranas, Kashi is beloved by the Saptarishi; so, according to the tradition, the devotees of the Saptarishi Aarti perform the rituals of marriage. The seven archaks under the leadership of Pradhan Archak Pandit Shashibhushan Tripathi (Guddu Maharaj) completed the marriage in Vedic rituals. Mangala Aarti is performed at 3:30 am, Bhog Aarti at 12:00 pm, Saptarishi Aarti at 7:30 pm and Shringar Aarti at 11:00 pm.

The Yadav community of Kashi associated with Chandravanshi Gop Seva Samiti and Shree Krishna Yadav Mahasabha have been performing jalabhishek on a shivling, traditionally for 90 years, starting in 1932.

There are transportation options for getting to Benaras by air, land, and water. Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport is located roughly 22 kilometres from the city centre and approximately 25 km from the temple complex. There are two railway stations in the city, namely Varanasi Cantonment Station and Kashi Railway Station.

The city has two bus terminals: one located at the Cantonment (Cantt) and another at Golgadda, commonly referred to as Kashi Depot. The Cantonment terminal manages buses for both depots. The urban transportation system comprises many types of vehicles, including two-wheelers (34%), autos (20%), cycles (16%), pedestrians (14%), four-wheelers (6%), cycle rickshaws (6%), and other miscellaneous vehicles (4%).

There are various dharmshalas, rented guest rooms, and other hotels and lodges available nearby at various prices, including a guest house run by the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust.

• Shri Vishwanath Mandir
• Vishalakshi Temple
• Mrityunjay Mahadev Mandir
• Ratneshwar Mahadev temple
• List of Hindu temples in Varanasi
• Nandmahar Dham
• Mata Mawai Dham
• Shree Kashi Karvat Mandir

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• Media related to Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Wikimedia Commons
• Kashi Vishwanath Temple Website
• Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir, Varanasi