Varanasi · Uttar Pradesh
Sri Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple — Durga Kund area, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Sri Sankat Mochan Hanuman = 'reliever-of-troubles' (an epithet of Hanuman); founded by Goswami Tulsidas (1532-1623); per tradition, the composition site of the famous Hanuman Chalisa; the principal Hanuman tirtha of Kashi
अन्य नाम: Sankat Mochan Temple · Sankat Mochan Hanuman · Varanasi Hanuman tirtha · Tulsidas-established Hanuman temple
इस मन्दिर की विशेषता
Sri Hanuman (south-facing murti); the special prasad is besan laddu + ramnami (Rama-namavali cloth); related tirthas: Tulsi Manas Mandir (700 m northeast; built 1964); Tulsi Ghat (1.5 km southeast; Tulsidas's Ganga ghat)
A south-facing Hanuman murti; per tradition, Tulsidas had Hanuman's darshan at this very spot
सम्प्रदाय: Vaishnava Hanuman-Rama bhakti (Tulsidas tradition); the Tulsi Akhada tradition; administered by the Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF; founded 1982); the hereditary Mahant lineage (the Mishra family, 13 generations); current Mahant: Sri Vishwambhar Nath Mishra (Professor of Electronics Engineering, IIT(BHU); pakhawaj player; SMF President); former Mahant: Sri Veer Bhadra Mishra (1939-2013; Professor of Civil Engineering, IIT(BHU); UNEP Global 500 1992; TIME 'Hero of the Planet' 1999)
Goswami Tulsidas (1532-1623; the composer of the Tulsi-adaptation of the Valmiki Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas) during his Kashi residence received Hanuman's darshan at this site; on that very spot he established the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple. Per tradition, the Hanuman Chalisa (the 40-verse Hanuman-stuti) was composed at the temple; per Tulsidas's Kashi-era composition tradition.
7 March 2006 (Tuesday) evening ~18:20 IST — during Sankat Mochan aarti, a pressure-cooker IED placed under a tree in the temple courtyard exploded remotely; ~10 devotees killed, ~40 injured (at the Sankat Mochan site alone). The same evening's Varanasi serial blasts had ~28 dead + 100+ injured (including Cantt railway station). Suspected: Lashkar-e-Taiba / HuJI (investigation). A permanent police post has been deployed at the temple since.
The temple's annual classical music-and-dance festival; in the Hanuman Jayanti period (April) for 5-6 nights. Traditional start year 1923 (single-source Tribune India; began as a local one-day programme by pakhawaj player Pt. Amar Nath Mishra); Tribune-2025 news says 'Sri Hanuman Chalisa — 102 years completed' (single-source flag). Free entry; artists perform free (as an offering to Hanuman). Modernised and internationalised under Veer Bhadra Mishra; the current organiser is Vishwambhar Nath Mishra (himself a pakhawaj player).
Mahant Veer Bhadra Mishra (1939-13 March 2013) — became Mahant at age 14; Professor and former Head of Civil Engineering at IIT(BHU) Varanasi; founded the Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF) in 1982 for Ganga conservation; UNEP Global 500 (1992); TIME 'Hero of the Planet' (1999); Gangaikkaavalan (2006). Died 13 March 2013; cremated at Tulsi Ghat.
Current Mahant Sri Vishwambhar Nath Mishra (son of Veer Bhadra Mishra); Professor of Electronics Engineering at IIT(BHU); SMF President; a trained pakhawaj player and musician; the chief organiser of the Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh. (The earlier-incorrect 'Vishwanath Mishra' is corrected to the true name 'Vishwambhar Nath Mishra'.)
04:30 (source disagreement also gives 05:00) से 22:00 (Tuesday/Saturday open until 24:00) तक · मध्याह्न विश्राम 12:00-15:00 (secondary source)
वस्त्र-संहिता: Modest traditional attire recommended; shorts/sleeveless to be avoided; advisory level only (flag because of the absence of a codified rule)
फोटोग्राफी: Sanctum photography forbidden; on entry phones/cameras/electronics/bags/footwear must be deposited at lockers
विशेष नियम: Sanctum photography forbidden; mobile/camera/electronics must be deposited at lockers; Tuesdays + Saturdays very heavy (open till late night 24:00); permanent police post + strict security since the 2006 bombing
Darshan of the south-facing Hanuman murti.
Laddu + Rama-namavali cloth from temple shops; the traditional offering.
The Tulsidas-composed 40-verse Hanuman Chalisa; the temple's central recitation tradition.
A 5-6 night classical music-and-dance festival; free entry; artists perform free (as an offering to Hanuman).
The annual peak utsava.
Tulsi Ghat (1.5 km; Ganga ghat) + Tulsi Manas Mandir (700 m; built 1964; the Ramcharitmanas-composition memorial).
The annual peak utsava
World-renowned classical music-and-dance festival; free entry; artists perform free; Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia and many other renowned musicians are regular artists
Open till late night 24:00; Hanuman's central days
Central to Tulsi Ghat + Tulsi Manas Mandir; partial observance at Sankat Mochan
A special day for the Hanuman-Rama-dasa form
The Tulsidas-established temple; central to the Hanuman-darshan-Tulsidas narrative; a Kashi-Tulsidas tri-tirtha-centre darshan sankalpa tirtha
स्रोत: Wikipedia + Kashi.gov.in + Tirthayatra multi-source
Recitation of the 40-verse Hanuman Chalisa; per tradition composed at this tirtha; a world-renowned-Hanuman-stuti sankalpa tirtha
स्रोत: Wikipedia + tradition
5-6 night world-renowned classical music-and-dance festival; free entry; Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia among the renowned artists; a music sankalpa tirtha
स्रोत: Wikipedia + Incredible India + Tribune India multi-source
The annual peak utsava; Tuesday + Saturday weekly crowd days
स्रोत: Drikpanchang + Vedantu multi-source
Hanuman's central days; open till late night 24:00; a weekly-vrata sankalpa tirtha
स्रोत: Multiple sources consensus
The Kashi-Tulsidas-period tri-tirtha darshan; memorials of the Hanuman Chalisa + Ramcharitmanas composition sites
स्रोत: Wikipedia + Kashi.gov.in multi-source
The 1982-founded Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF) — a Ganga-conservation NGO; an environmental-service sankalpa
स्रोत: Wikipedia + Down To Earth + India Water Portal
Tulsidas-Ramcharitmanas-composition-site memorial; the centre of the Tulsi tri-tirtha cluster
Tulsidas's Kashi-residence ghat; the Veer Bhadra Mishra cremation site; centre of the Tulsi tri-tirtha cluster
The tirtha region centre; a Durga-Shakta tirtha
BHU founded 1916 by Madan Mohan Malaviya; the BHU campus Vishwanath Temple was dedicated in 1966
A 12 Jyotirlinga; the central Shiva tirtha of Kashi
The Buddha's first-sermon site; a Buddhist tirtha
The main tirtha — founded by Tulsidas; per tradition, the Hanuman-Chalisa composition site; the centre of the Tulsidas-Kashi tri-tirtha cluster
3 मंदिर
The principal Hanuman station of the Kashi pilgrimage
5 मंदिर
Among the North-India principal Hanuman-tirtha group; the Tulsidas-established centre
4 मंदिर