Vishalakshi Temple

विशालाक्षी मंदिर

Vishalakshi · Vishalakshi Devi

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh · Shakta tradition

It is the seventeenth seat in the Ashtadasa Shakti Peetha Stotram.

The story begins: “The Devi Bhagavata Purana opens the story with Sati's birth.”

Read the story
Directions

At the gate

Darshan hours
  • 6:00 am – 10:00 pm · Darshan
Walking and access
The temple is in the old city, where Incredible India suggests walking, autorickshaws or cycle rickshaws for the last stretch. We have not yet found reliable information on wheelchair access.
Getting there
Train: Varanasi Junction (BSB)Air: Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (VNS)

Not yet confirmed: dress code, phone rules, entry for visitors of other faiths. Ask at the temple office or enquiry counter — and if you know, tell us. hello@aalayakatha.com

Full visiting details

Sthala purana

The story of this place

2 accounts are recorded. Each is told separately, in the words of its own tradition — they are never merged.

Family note: this story includes violence or death.
Told in: The Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, ch. 30

The face of Gauri in Kashi

The Devi Bhagavata Purana opens the story with Sati's birth. She is born by the Devi's favour as the daughter of the Prajapati Daksha, and Daksha gives her to Shiva. The trouble starts with a garland. The sage Durvasa gives Daksha a garland blessed by the goddess, and the episode ends with Daksha reviling Shiva. Sati burns herself in a fire of yoga, keeping faith with her husband.

Shiva destroys Daksha's sacrifice. Then he takes Sati's body on his neck and wanders from country to country. To stop him, Vishnu cuts the body to pieces with his arrows. Wherever a piece falls, the Purana says, the goddess has a seat.

The Purana then lists the seats, and for Kashi it says: "The face of Gauri fell in Kashi; She is well known there by the name Vishalakshi." The name fits the part. Vishalakshi means the goddess with wide eyes, and in this account it is her face that Kashi holds.

The Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana, which maps the shrines of the city, does not tell the story of the fall, but it places her. Vishalakshi, "the great bestower of cherished things", is established by the Visala Tirtha. A devotee who bathes in that tirtha and bows to her gains riches and glory. The text prescribes worship with incense, lamps and garlands, and a night vigil near her on a lunar day of Bhadrapada. It also places another goddess, Vishvabhuja, an aspect of Gauri, in front of her.

The episode explains the goddess's name and why her shrine is counted as a Shakti Peetha in a city otherwise known first as Shiva's.

Told differently elsewhere. This account does not agree with “The jewel from Sati's ear”, given on this page too. We tell each as its own tradition tells it, and do not choose between them.

Where this account comes from

  • Purana: Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, ch. 30, tr. Swami Vijnanananda sacred-texts.com
  • Purana: Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda, Uttarardha, ch. 70 ('Establishment of the Deities'), vv. 4–6, 10–17, 22 wisdomlib.org
Told in: The Pithanirnaya list of the Shakti Peethas; the Kashi Official Web Portal (district administration)

The jewel from Sati's ear

A second account keeps the same frame — Sati's death, Shiva's wandering, Vishnu dividing the body — but names a different part for Varanasi. The Pithanirnaya list of the peethas says the kundala, Sati's earring, fell here, and names the goddess Vishalakshi and her Bhairava Kalabhairava. The Varanasi district's portal says it was the gem of Sati's right ear, and that this is why the goddess is also called Manikarni Devi. The two accounts disagree with the Devi Bhagavata Purana, which names the face.

Read this account

The frame is the same one the Devi Bhagavata Purana tells. Sati dies in her father Daksha's sacrifice after he reviles Shiva. Shiva carries her body until Vishnu divides it, and the places where the pieces fall become seats of the goddess.

Where the accounts part is the piece. The Pithanirnaya, a list of the Shakti Peethas that gives the limb, the goddess and the Bhairava for each, sets Varanasi down as the place where the kundala fell — the earring. The goddess it names is Vishalakshi and her Bhairava is Kalabhairava.

The Varanasi district administration's Kashi portal gives a closer version of the same idea. It was the gem of Sati's right ear that fell here, the portal says, and that gem gives the goddess her other name: Manikarni Devi, she of the jewelled ear. The portal records that she is worshipped in the main sanctum as Vishalakshi, and that Bhairava is worshipped there as Kaal Bhairav — the same pairing the Pithanirnaya gives.

The Devi Bhagavata Purana, by contrast, names the face. The two accounts are kept side by side here rather than merged. Each is a full tradition with its own text behind it, and neither account argues against the other; they simply give different answers.

The earring account explains the goddess's second name, Manikarni. It also explains why the temple keeps a Bhairava, Kala Bhairava, with the goddess in the sanctum: every seat in the Pithanirnaya's list is paired with a Bhairava who guards it.

Told differently elsewhere. This account does not agree with “The face of Gauri in Kashi”, given on this page too. We tell each as its own tradition tells it, and do not choose between them.

Where this account comes from

  • Agama: Pīṭhanirṇaya (Shakti Peetha list), v.30 — Varanasi: the kundala (earring); Devi Viśālākṣī, Bhairava Kālabhairava. English rendering as published by Green Message. greenmesg.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Kashi Official Web Portal (District Administration Varanasi), 'Vishalakshi Devi Temple' kashi.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

In one minute

Why Vishalakshi Temple matters

Each line says who it comes from and how settled it is. What the labels mean

  1. The Devi Bhagavata Purana names Kashi as the place where the face of Gauri fell, and the goddess there as Vishalakshi.

    Source for: The Devi Bhagavata Purana names Kashi as the place where the face of Gauri fell,
    • Purana: Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, ch. 30 — 'The face of Gauri fell in Kashi; She is well known there by the name Vishalakshi', tr. Swami Vijnanananda sacred-texts.com

  2. The Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana gives her a shrine by the Visala Tirtha and promises riches and glory to those who bathe there and bow to her.

    Source for: The Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana gives her a shrine by the Visala Tirtha an
    • Purana: Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda, Uttarardha, ch. 70 ('Establishment of the Deities'), vv. 4–5 wisdomlib.org

  3. It is the seventeenth seat in the Ashtadasa Shakti Peetha Stotram.

    Source for: It is the seventeenth seat in the Ashtadasa Shakti Peetha Stotram.
    • Hymn: Aṣṭādaśa Śakti Pīṭha Stotram, line beginning 'Vārāṇasyāṃ Viśālākṣī'. Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara; attribution unverified. hindupedia.com · seen 2026-10-09

  4. The temple stands in the lanes behind Meer Ghat, close to Kashi Vishwanath and Manikarnika Ghat, and devotees often visit it together with the city's major Shiva shrines.

    2 sources for: The temple stands in the lanes behind Meer Ghat, close to Kashi Vishwanath and M
    • Government: Kashi Official Web Portal (District Administration Varanasi), 'Vishalakshi Devi Temple' kashi.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Government: Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India), 'Vishalakshi Temple' incredibleindia.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

Shilpa

When you visit, look for…

Architectural style not yet identified

No published architectural study of the building has been found yet. The building is commonly reported to have been rebuilt and maintained by the Nattukottai Nagarathar community of Tamil Nadu, with South Indian features; we have not yet traced that account to a dated source, so it is not given as fact here.

  • Sanctum

    Vishalakshi and Kala Bhairava in the sanctum

    The goddess as Vishalakshi in the main sanctum, with Bhairava worshipped alongside her as Kaal Bhairav, per the Kashi portal.

  • Detail

    Vishvabhuja Gauri

    The Kashi Khanda places Vishvabhuja, an aspect of Gauri, in front of Vishalakshi. Ask locally which image in front of the sanctum is identified with her; no source we have found confirms one.

Yatra

Plan your visit

Darshan times

DarshanFrom the Kashi district portal. Incredible India gives 05:30–12:00 and 16:00–21:00 instead; confirm at the temple.6:00 am – 10:00 pm

Confirm on the day. Times change on festival days and without notice. These times are not from the temple’s own notice.

Before you go

  • No dress code or entry rules have been confirmed for this temple yet. Traditional, modest clothing is always the safe choice; ask at the entrance.

Walking, steps and access

The temple is in the old city, where Incredible India suggests walking, autorickshaws or cycle rickshaws for the last stretch. We have not yet found reliable information on wheelchair access.

Crowds: Navratri brings larger gatherings; early mornings and evenings are suggested for a quieter darshan.

Getting there

  • By air: Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (VNS)About 25 km, per Incredible India; taxis and app cabs are available.
  • By train: Varanasi Junction (BSB)Autorickshaws or taxis to the old city (Incredible India).
  • On foot: Meer Ghat, old cityThe Kashi portal gives the address as Lahauri Tola, near Meer Ghat. In the old city lanes, walking or a cycle rickshaw is easiest (Incredible India).

Routes are general guidance and not yet checked against an official source.

PIN 221001 (not yet checked with India Post)

The order of darshan

No published source gives the order in which to visit the shrines here, so we have not invented one. Follow the queue and the temple staff.

Festivals

  • Navratri

    Navratri is marked with special rituals and larger gatherings, per Incredible India.

  • Night vigil in Bhadrapada

    Bhadrapada

    The Kashi Khanda prescribes a night vigil near Vishalakshi on a lunar day of Bhadrapada. Whether and how this is kept at the temple today has not been confirmed.

Itihasa

Through time

Two registers, kept apart on purpose: what the Puranas tell, and what the historical record shows. They answer different questions and we do not force them to agree.

In the Puranas and tradition

  1. A part of Sati's body falls at Kashi

    The Devi Bhagavata Purana names the face; the Pithanirnaya and the Kashi portal name the earring or its gem. None of them says in which yuga this happened.

    2 sources for: A part of Sati's body falls at Kashi
    • Purana: Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, ch. 30, tr. Swami Vijnanananda sacred-texts.com
    • Agama: Pīṭhanirṇaya (Shakti Peetha list), v.30, English rendering as published by Green Message greenmesg.org · seen 2026-10-09

  2. Vishalakshi established at the Visala Tirtha

    The Kashi Khanda, in its chapter on the establishment of the deities of Kashi, places Vishalakshi by the Visala Tirtha and prescribes her worship.

    Source for: Vishalakshi established at the Visala Tirtha
    • Purana: Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda, Uttarardha, ch. 70, vv. 4–6 wisdomlib.org

In the historical record

No dated history of this temple has been sourced yet — no inscription, survey or study we can cite.

Around here

Worth the detour

  • Temple

    Kashi Vishwanath

    The Jyotirlinga shrine of Varanasi, a short walk away; devotees often visit the two together.

  • Temple

    Annapurna Devi Temple

    Another goddess temple in the same lanes, listed as nearby by Incredible India.

  • Ghat

    Manikarnika Ghat

    The ghat on the Ganga near the temple, listed as nearby by Incredible India.

Sources

Where this page comes from

  • Purana: Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, ch. 30, tr. Swami Vijnanananda sacred-texts.com
  • Purana: Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, ch. 38 — 'Vishalakshi dwells in Avimukta', tr. Swami Vijnanananda sacred-texts.com
  • Purana: Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda, Uttarardha, ch. 70 ('Establishment of the Deities') wisdomlib.org
  • Agama: Pīṭhanirṇaya (Shakti Peetha list), v.30, English rendering as published by Green Message greenmesg.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Hymn: Aṣṭādaśa Śakti Pīṭha Stotram. Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara; attribution unverified. hindupedia.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Kashi Official Web Portal (District Administration Varanasi), 'Vishalakshi Devi Temple' kashi.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India), 'Vishalakshi Temple' incredibleindia.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

Cite this page

Aalaya Katha Foundation, “Vishalakshi Temple”, Aalaya Katha, version last reviewed 2026-10-09. https://www.aalayakatha.com/temple/vishalakshi-varanasi (accessed ).

Last reviewed 2026-10-09. How we label sources and confidence