Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple

Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple is dedicated to Hanuman. The temple was established by famous Hindu preacher and poet saint Sri Goswami Tulsidas in the early 16th century and is situated on the banks of the Assi River. The deity was named This temple has a lot of monkeys inside the premises and therefore one has to be careful.

Sankat Mochan Temple, in its present form, was constructed by the educationist and freedom fighter Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya (the founder of BHU) in the early 1900s. The Hanuman Jayanti (birthday of the Lord Hanuman) is celebrated every year by organizing a special Shobha Yatra (a parade) from Durga temple (Durga Kund) to the Sankat Mochan Temple

In the temple, offerings to Lord Hanuman (called Prasad) are sold like the special sweet "besan ke ladoo", which the devotees relish; the idol is also decked with a pleasant marigold flower garland as well. This temple has the unique distinction of having Lord Hanuman facing his Lord, Rama, whom he worshipped with steadfast and selfless devotion.

It is believed that the temple has been built on the very spot where Tulsidas had a vision of Hanuman.  Tulsidas was the author of the Ramacharitamanasa, which is the greatest version of lord Ram story written in Avadhi (Different from Valmiki’s Ramayana in Sanskrit). Tradition promises that regular visitors to the temple will gain the special favor of Lord Hanuman. Every Tuesday and Saturday, thousands of people queue up in front of the temple to offer prayers to Lord Hanuman. According to Vedic Astrology, Hanuman saves human beings from the anger of the planet Shani (Saturn), and especially people who have an ill-placed Saturn in their horoscopes visit this temple for astrological remedies. This is supposed to be the most effective way for appeasing Shani. While it is suggested that Hanuman did not hesitate to engulf in his mouth the sun, the lord of all planets, which humbled all the gods and angels, making them worship him for the Sun's release. Some astrologers believe that worshiping Hanuman can neutralize the ill-effect of Mangal (Mars) and practically any planet that has an ill effect on human life.

The temple still continues to be attended by thousands of Rama and Hanuman devotees who chant Hanuman Chalisa and Sundarkand (provided in the form of a booklet in the temple for free). Sankat Mochan temple is near the Banaras Hindu University and is thronged by a large number of students.

After the terrorist incident of 2006 at the temple, security has been strengthened by setting up a permanent police post inside the temple.

The temple is managed by the Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF) established in 1982 by Veer Bhadra Mishra, the Mahant (Chief priest) of the temple, Mishra was formerly Head of the Civil Engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi and was awarded United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) for his initiative on Clean Ganga Program.