Durga Temple

The Durga Temple at Durga Kund is a red sandstone shrine among the places to visit in Varanasi. This guide covers timings, history, festivals and visiting tips.

The Durga Temple, also called Durga Mandir or the Monkey Temple, stands next to the Durga Kund tank in the Bhelupur area of southern Varanasi. Wikipedia says the Bengali queen Rani Bhabani of Natore built it in the 18th century. Tradition holds that the goddess's image was not made by hands but appeared on its own. The temple is built in the North Indian Nagara style, painted in red and ochre, and has many small spires joined together with carved stone.

Incredible India describes a shikhara with five segments said to represent the five elements and notes idols of Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kali in the complex. The tank beside the temple was once linked to the Ganges. The nickname comes from the many monkeys in the surrounding area, so keep food out of sight and hold bags close. The temple is crowded during Navratri and Durga Puja and on Nag Panchami. Incredible India gives the timings as 5 am to 12 noon and 4 pm to 9 pm.

No entry fee is stated on the pages we read. It lies a short distance from the Sankat Mochan Temple and the Tulsi Manas Temple, so it is easy to visit as part of a south Varanasi circuit.