Sankata Devi Temple

Tucked into the tangle of stone lanes above Sindhia Ghat in Varanasi's Chowk quarter, the Sankata Devi Temple is one of Kashi's most quietly beloved goddess shrines.

• It is dedicated to Sankata Devi, revered as the 'goddess of remedy' or the remover of sankat — danger, distress and troubles of every kind.
• The central sanctum holds a tall, roughly four-to-five-foot silver-masked image of the four-armed goddess, flanked in the traditional arrangement by Hanuman and Bhairava, with divine gatekeepers (dvarapalas) at the threshold.
• Unusually for a Devi shrine, devotees are permitted to touch the feet of the goddess, a gesture of intimacy that lends the darshan an especially tender, personal quality.
• A large stone lion, the goddess's mount, stands guard within the compound, and a spreading banyan shelters small images of Ganesha and Hanuman beside a Shivalinga.
• Local tradition ties the shrine to the Pandavas, who are said to have worshipped Sankata Devi during their forest exile and lingered at Kashi in her care.
• The temple in its present form is generally attributed to the 18th century and the patronage of the ruling house of Baroda, built around the time the adjoining Sankata Ghat took shape on the riverfront.
• What most sets the compound apart is its ring of nine subsidiary shrines to the Navagraha — the nine celestial 'planets' of Hindu astrology, from Surya (Sun) and Chandra (Moon) to Shani (Saturn) and the shadow-nodes Rahu and Ketu.
• Pilgrims move deliberately from one to the next, offering prayers to soothe an afflicted horoscope, making this a rare single spot in the old city for a complete graha-shanti circuit.
• The temple is busiest and most rewarding on Fridays and through the nine nights of Navratri, when a special puja is offered and the courtyard fills with lamplight, marigold and song; the eighth day of Navratri is held sacred to the goddess.
• Entry is free, and the shrine keeps long hours from before dawn until late evening, so an early-morning visit rewards you with cool quiet, unhurried darshan and the resonant clang of temple bells drifting over the ghats.
• For vegetarian travellers, this corner of Varanasi could hardly be more welcoming: the old city is overwhelmingly satvik, and the lanes fanning out toward Godowlia and Dashashwamedh are lined with legendary pure-vegetarian eateries.
• Within a short walk you can stand at Kashi Chat Bhandar for its famous tomato-and-tamarind tamatar chaat and palak-patta chaat, sip a thick clay-cup lassi at Ksheer Sagar, or share crisp bhelpuri and dahi-vada at Deena Chaat Bhandar — all strictly meat-free, egg-free and alcohol-free, in keeping with the deeply vegetarian character of Kashi's temple neighbourhoods.