Keshava Aditya form is a part of Dwadasa Adityas, situated at Rajghat, Varanasi. Varanasi is home to 12 Aditya temples which are dedicated to Lord Surya.
Legend
Keshava Aditya temple has a religious story behind it. it is about a day when Lord Surya noticed Lord Vishnu [Adi Keshava] worshipping Shiv Ling while rambling around the sky. he saw a rare view, when Adi Keshava being the Preserver and guardian of men, protects the order of things and worshipping the other lord.
out of curiosity, he asked Lord Vishnu, why does he worship Lord Shiva. when the entire world regards Lord Vishnu as Antaratma, the latter should be worshipped.
To his question lord, Vishnu gently stated that in Kashi Kshetra Lord Shiva is the supreme Lord and he should be worshipped by everyone. he told him about the importance of worshipping Lord Shiva. Lord Vishnu extensively enlightens the objectives of Linga Pooja in Kashi. it is believed that still one can see Lord Vishnu’s feet marks there.
A devotee who performs Abhishek of a Shiv Ling and consumes the water as prasad gets the Punya of taking bath in all religious Teerths [sacred pond]. In Sanatan Dharm, it is considered a boon to visit all the religious teerths which are Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya (Haridwar), Kasi (Varanasi), and Kanchi (Kanchipuram), Avantika (Ujjain), and Dvaravati (Dwarka). Varanasi is one out of them.
Lord Vishnu advised Lord Surya to worship Lord Shiva in Ling form in Kashi, mentioned in Kashi Khand, Chapter 51. Lord Surya firmly agreed with Lord Vishnu and regarded him by accepting him as a guru for providing such religious knowledge, since then Lord Surya is known as ” Keshava Aditya”.
It is written in Kashi Khand that any devotee who takes bath in Padodak Teerth (Koop) and worships Keshava Aditya gets rid of all sins. Magh month (Jan 21-Feb 20) on any Saptami day [7th day] is considered to be an important period during a month for worshipping Keshava Aditya.
