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This holy temple of Sankat Mochan Hanuman was founded by Tulsidas who wrote the famous Hindu epic Ramayana. Sankat Mochan temple is one of the sacred temples of Varanasi. It is located in the southern part of Varanasi, near the Banaras Hindu University. It is dedicated to the Hindu God, Hanuman.

The temple as it is today has undergone many repairs throughout its life. Ever since under the rule of Lalitaditya repairs were undertaken by Zain-ul-Abideen after the temple got damaged in an earthquake. The repairs were also carried out during the Governorship of Sheikh Mohi-ud-Din. Maharaja Gulab Singh, a Dogra ruler, is credited for the stone steps that form a part of the passage to the shrine. In 1925, the electrification of the temple was done.

The common belief among millions of people in India and Indians abroad is that if devotees visit this holy Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple and offer Holy Pooja regularly, then their wishes and desires get fulfilled and get the relief from all types of Sankat i.e. obstacles and hindrances on the way of progress, prosperity or day-to-day life. At the temple every Tuesday and Saturday thousands of people stands in huge queue in front of temple to offer prayer to Lord Hanuman.

As per the Vedic Astrology, Hanuman saves and rescues human being from the evil effect of planet Saturn and even from the odd events in ones' life. People having ill -placed Saturn in their particular horoscope should offer Pooja or visit to this holy Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple to get to know about the astrological remedy and to remove their distress.

The word "Sankat Mochan" is the meaning of divine that helps in removing sufferings i. e. Lord Hanuman. Devotees put "Sindoor" on the statue of Lord Hanuman and even offer "laddoos" as prashad. The "Sindoor", of the statue of Lord Hanuman is put on the foreheads of devotees as scared tilak.

Devotees visiting here recite hymns of "Hanuman Chalisa ", "Kishkindha" and "Sundar Kand" as a due part of their prayers. As per the Vedic Astrology, Lord Hanuman even defends and liberates human beings from the wicked effects of 'Shani'. All those people who have ill-placed Saturn in their horoscope can usually offer homage at this temple to get relief from the distress. In the earlier times, the temple was very small in its size. Later, the temple's complex was more extended attributable to the kind donations made by the devotees.


Lord Hanuman is the Powerful Avtar of Pavanputra who is worshipped in India as the rescuer of any distress that a person is facing. Lord Hanuman is the son of wind-god and Anjana Devi and an Avtar of Lord Shiva. The Lord is satisfied with a very little prayer and Puja. Lord Hanuman is immortal. This great Karma Yogi Lord Hanuman is an exceptional Brahmachari and is the symbol for diserlessness and Bhakti. He is also the symbol of courage, power and winner with the never-ending Bhakti for Lord Rama, Lakshman and Sita Devi in his soul.

Lord Hanuman was the living embodiment for the power of Ram-Nam. Even Lord Rama said that all will honour and worship you like myself. Sri Hanuman has many names like Mahavira, Bajrangabali, Pavanputra, Pavankumar, etc.

In the early phase of its establishment, it was a very small temple. In due course of time, the Mahants collected and donated funds to upgrade the structure. Presently it is fairly big.

The `Pratah Arati` or the one which is called the dawn offering is carried on every morning at 5 am. There is also a `Sandhya Arati` in the evening offering at around 8:30pm. Evening at 10 pm the `Rathri Arati` is carried on and then the gates are closed. And on Tuesdays and Saturdays, ceremonies are held. In this ceremony `Akant Nama Sangeerthanam` of Lord Hanumana especially `Kishkindha` and `Sundera Kand` are recited. Even special prayers are held during the dawn of Kartik Krishna Chathurdhashi. Again on Chaitra Full Moon day, the temple celebrates its Annual Festival. To provide solace to the disturbed souls in the universe various discourses based on Ramayana are carried out.

Celebration of the birthday of Hindu God Hanuman, the festival takes place annually at the ancient Sankat Mochan Temple in Varanasi. Classical Indian music and drama performances are carrried on all night and into the following morning.

Maestros from all around India usually play for free for this special occasion. Programs are organized over 5 days and are rehearsed extensively by the performers during the year leading up to the event. The temple is also known to have the most monkeys of any shrine in the city so don't be alarmed if the patron next to you is not entirely human.


Annapurna Temple - The Annapurna Temple is very much near to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. This is a very much sacred temple of Devi Annapurna, believed as the "Godess of Fooding".

Mritunjay Mahadev Temple - Mritunjay Mahadev Temple lies on the route of Daranagar to Kalbhairav temple. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Just besides Mritunjay temple there is a well of much religious importance and purity , whose water is said to be mixture of several underground streams and good for eliminating several diseases.

Kalbhairav Temple - Kalbhairav Temple is a very ancient temple of Varanasi near by the Head Post Office, VishesharGanj. God KalBhairav is believed to be the “Catwalk of Varanasi", and is believed that without his permission no one can stay in Kashi.

Sankatha Temple - Sankatha Temple is the important temple dedicated to “Godess of Remedy” near the Sindhia Ghat of Devi Sankatha. Inside the temple premises there exists a huge statue of a Lion. Also there are even nine temples of nine planets nearby to this Sankata temple.

Bharat Mata Temple - In the year 1936, the Bharat Mata Temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi and embibes one perfect relief maps of India carved out of marble. The Temple was gifted through the nationalists Babu Shiv Prasad Gupta (Barat Ratana) and Shri Durga Prasad Khatri, leading numismatists and antiquarians.

Nearby tourist places to Sankat Mochan Temple Lucknow Shimla Varnasi

There are good accommodation facilities near the temple for the devotees to rest and stay. It provides every possible facility for the devotees.

1. Through air -in Varanasi flights are easily available and serve as the quickest and comfortable way to get to Varanasi city. As the city is well- connected by regular service of flights with some major cities like Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), Kolkata (Calcutta), Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Jaipur, Khajuraho, Katmandu. The Airport at Babatpur is just 22 kilometer away from the city.


2. Through railways -One can get to Varanasi city as it is connected by super fast trains to Delhi and even all the major cities across the country like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Lucknow, Allahabad, Patna, Jaipur, Gorakhpur and Khajuraho.
• Rajdhani Exp ( Hawrah - Mughal Sarai - New Delhi)
• Toofan Exp ( Howrah - Mughal Sarai - Delhi)
• North East Superfast Exp ( Delhi - Mughal Sarai Guwahati)
• Magadh Exp ( Delhi - Mughal Sarai Patna)
• Mahanagari Exp ( Varanasi - Mumbai )
• Pawan Exp ( Varanasi - Mumbai )
• Sabarmati Exp ( Varanasi - Ahmedabad)
• Ganga Kaveri Exp ( Varanasi - Chennai)
• Poorwa Exp (Howrah - Varanasi - Delhi) Himgiri Exp (Jammu - Varanasi - Howrah)
• Sealdah Exp (Varanasi - Jammu Tawi).


3. By Road the other means of reaching Varanasi is by road and a good network of roads connects to all major towns of Uttar Pradesh and other neighboring areas. Regular bus services can be availed from Varanasi to Jaunpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Faizabad and Gorakhpur. One can also go to all the major cities by road.
4. People visiting the temple may come at Varanasi and hire a cab, auto or a rickshaw to visit the temple. It remains open throughout the year.