Lolark Kund

Sunk deep below the crowded lanes of Bhadaini, a short climb up from Tulsi Ghat, Lolark Kund is one of the very oldest sacred spots in the whole of Kashi — a place pilgrims have visited continuously for the better part of two thousand years.

• It is not a temple you look up at but a stepwell you descend into: a rectangular masonry tank roughly 15 metres deep, reached by three long flights of stone steps that funnel down towards a square of still green water.
• The name Lolark means "the trembling sun" — a poetic reference to the quivering reflection of Surya, the sun god, dancing on the surface far below.
• In the Hindu imagination Lolark is the foremost of the twelve Aditya (sun) shrines that once ringed the city, and the small Lolarkeshwar Mahadev temple stands on a raised platform just to the south of the tank.
• The structure you see today is old and layered.
• Epigraphic evidence and two copper-plate inscriptions link its present form to the Gahadavala kings who ruled Kashi between roughly 1089 and 1197 CE and bathed here, though the site itself is far older, and later patrons — Queen Ahilyabai Holkar and the royal house of Cooch Behar among them — added repairs and endowments.
• For most of the year the kund is quiet, shaded and almost secret: a hidden well of cool air and worn stone that few tourists find, best appreciated in the soft light of early morning when the sun first touches the water.
• Once a year, however, the calm gives way to an extraordinary human tide.
• On Lolark Shashthi — the sixth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada (usually late August or September) — tens of thousands of childless couples descend the steps before dawn, bathe together in the tank, and then give up forever one fruit or vegetable, leaving it and a set of clothes behind as an offering to Surya in the hope of a child.
• A dense, colourful bazaar of flowers, bangles and toys springs up in the surrounding lanes, and the wait for the three sacred dips can stretch across a full day and night.
• For the vegetarian traveller, this whole corner of Banaras is a joy: the old city around Tulsi Ghat, Shivala and nearby Assi Ghat is overwhelmingly satvik and pure-vegetarian by tradition, so eating well without meat, fish or egg is effortless here.
• A five-minute walk brings you to Assi Ghat's cluster of gentle pure-veg cafes — the Ayurvedic, largely vegan Aum Cafe and the wood-fired Pizzeria Vaatika Cafe among them — while classic Banarasi vegetarian thalis, chaat and sweets are never far away.
• Round off a dawn visit with a kulhad of thick malaiyo in winter or a saffron lassi, and the day feels complete.