01Sudarshan and Shashikala
The Devi Bhagavata Purana tells of Sudarshan, an exiled prince devoted to the Devi, and Shashikala, daughter of Subahu, king of Kashi, who chose him over the kings gathered for her swayamvara. Subahu married them quietly, and the angry kings, led by Yudhajit, came to fight. Sudarshan prayed to the Devi, and she appeared riding a lion and destroyed the attacking army. Subahu begged her to stay and guard Kashi for ever, and she agreed to dwell here as Durga. In the Kashi Khanda she is the Durga of the city’s south.
02Rani Bhabani’s temple
Rani Bhabani, the widowed zamindar of Natore, one of the largest estates of 18th-century Bengal, spent much of her wealth on Kashi, building temples, ghats and rest houses. This temple, with its multi-tiered Nagara shikhara painted in red ochre, and the stepped tank beside it are her work. Monkeys once filled the courtyard, and older guidebooks call it the Monkey Temple. In Navaratri and on Tuesdays and Saturdays of Shravan the crowd runs out into the street, and the Durga Kund fair in Shravan is one of the old festivals of Banaras.
The life of this place
- 18th centuryRani Bhabani of Natore builds the temple and the tank.
Durga Kund is in south Varanasi, a short walk from Sankat Mochan and the Tulsi Manas Mandir.
