The Remover of Troubles
Sankat Mochan — "Reliever of Distress" — is Kashi's beloved Hanuman temple, set near the Assi quarter. Tradition associates its founding with Goswami Tulsidas, the 16th-century poet of the Ramcharitmanas, who is said to have established the shrine where Hanuman revealed himself to him. Whatever its exact antiquity, the temple is one of the city's most loved — a place where Banaras brings its troubles and leaves lighter.
Devotion Here
Tuesdays and Saturdays fill the temple; the air smells of marigold and the besan laddus offered to Hanuman and distributed as prasad. Devotees recite the Hanuman Chalisa — Tulsidas's own forty verses — under the trees of the courtyard; students before exams, families in difficulty, travellers before journeys all come to the Remover of Troubles.
Visiting
- Free darshan; busiest Tuesday/Saturday and on Hanuman Jayanti.
- Located near Assi — combine with Assi Ghat, Tulsi Manas Mandir and Durga Kund.
- The temple is known for its musical traditions — classical performances at its annual festival draw maestros.
- Monkeys are part of the precinct; keep food and spectacles secured.
Etiquette
Modest dress; phones away inside the sanctum; prasad with both hands. The temple asks little and gives much — arrive with your trouble, leave with laddus.