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Sankat Mochan Temple in Varanasi

Sankat Mochan Temple in Varanasi

About Sankat Mochan of Varanasi :

‘Sankat’ translates to ‘danger’ and ‘Mochan’ meaning ‘remover,’ thus the SankatMochan Temple is dedicated to the Lord Hanuman who is considered to be the remover of dangers of devotees.

The temple is located in southern part of Varanasi. It was built by Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya who is also credited to have planned Banaras Hindu University and Birla temples. One more feather to his cap is that he was a great freedom fighter of Indian National Movement.

Uniqueness of temple one can notice themselves once entered to temple. There is abundance of monkeys. You can see squeaking, shrieking, snatching, mimicking and fighting monkeys either among themselves or with devotees. On Hanuman Jayanti which comes in month of April one big procession is taken out. Devotees in disguise of Lord Hanuman perform all the acts related to legends of Lord Hanuman. Devotees offer laddoos as Prasad and sindoor (vermilion) to the Lord. It is said that once Lord Hanuman rubbed all sindoor on his body after seeing that Lady Sita put sindoor on head to get love of Lord Rama. Since then vermilion is offered to Lord Hanuman as an offering.

Another unique thing, besides mimicking monkeys is that this temple has Lord Hanuman sitting before Lord Rama, in the same form as he is said to have done throughout his life for Lord Rama as devotion to him.

Myth behind Sankat Mochan Temple :

It is said that Great Hindi poet and composer of Ram charita manasa, Tulsi dasa saw Lord Hanuman in his dreams and inspiration to write Rama charita manasa. In 1982, Veer Bhadra Mishra, former Head of the department of Civil Engineering, BHU and the high priest of Sankat Mochan established the Sankat Mochan Foundation by support of US, Switzerland and foreign donations of compatriots. The serving high priest of Sankat Mochan Temple and Foundation is Vishwabhar Nath Mishra.

One sad chapter to temple history also exists there. On 7th March, 2007 terrorists explode the temple at the time of aarti when there were a huge number of devotees. Though the perpetrator has been brought to justice, it reminds all that there is no religion of violence. Since then, there is a permanent security cover provided to temple.

What myths say about Lord Hanumana :

It is said that Lord Hanuman was the son of Lord Pawan, translates to wind and Lady Anjana. Lord Hanuman is a symbol of selfless service to supreme Lord and celibacy with great virtues. Devotees believe that Lord Hanuman is pleased with little ritual and worship. He is also said to be eliminator of fear from world. Like several other gods of Indian culture Lord Hanuman too have many names, Vayuputra, Pawansut, Pingalaksh, Bajarang bali and so on

Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh :

The Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh is a unique feature of temple traditions. It is organized after Hanuman Jayanti and all seasoned artiste perform in this festival. Another unique thing is that not a single penny is charged from or charged by anyone, either devotees or performers. Some dates this tradition to 80 years and some to 90 years old. Every artiste invited perform here as an offering to Master Musician Lord Hanuman- to seek his blessings. It is said the artiste give their presence to the court of Lord Hanuman. Many of musical careers said to have soared high after performing at the temple. Ustad Bismillah Khan, the great Shehnai exponent and Bharat Ratna awardee used to perform here daily. There are six overnight concerts and dance performances. Even singers from South India and Carnatic music exponents, Bharat natyam, Mohiniattam dancers are seen here at the festival. Apart from classical, there are devotional and folk performances. Another unique feature in this age of cultural riots is intermingling of religious faiths that can be seen in performances of Muslim artists. The artists like Pt. Jasraj, Ghulam Ali, Pt. Rajan Sajan Mishra, Pt. Vishwa mohan Bhatt, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Anup Jalota have performed here. The gathering present here is testimony to its popularity. People are so lost during performances that they often take a nap and awakened by their friends at next performance. This years’ Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh begins on April 26, 2016.

Opening Time of Sankat Mochan Temple :

Sankat Mochan Temple opens at 4 AM in morning and closes at 10 PM in night.

Aarti Time :

Aarti at Sankat Mochan Temple is performed at 4 AM called Prabhat Aarti and at 9 PM at night.

Location of Sankat Mochan Temple :

Sankat Mochan Temple is located at 3 kms distance from BHU and 11 kms from Varanasi Cantt Railway Station. On the Way to BHU Sankat Mochan way is clearly written on Board indicating the direction. If not seen you can ask an auto driver and can easily reach the temple.

Way to SankatMochan Temple of Varanasi :

Sankat Mochan Temple is located at 3 kms distance from BHU and 11 kms from Varanasi Cantt Railway Station. On the Way to BHU Sankat Mochan way is clearly written on Board indicating the direction. If not seen you can ask an auto driver and can easily reach the temple.

Value of Sankat Mochan Temple in traditions :

Lord Hanuman is the most beloved god of devotees as he does not require tough ritualistic practices and saves his devotees from all the problems. The devotees offer their prayers to Lord to get relieved of all worldly complexities which are beyond human comprehension. People believe Lord himself comes to the rescue of his devotees. If all prosperity is with you, you can get immense satisfaction by offering god as gods are super-humans presented in human form but close to emotions and forgiving to all the sins of ordinary human lives. Generally Saturday and Tuesdays are considered to be the days of Lord. Devotees come in large numbers to temple on both days in comparison to other days. People chant Sundera kand, Hanuman Mantra, Hanuman Chalisa, Hanuman Aarti, Hanuman ashtaka and Bajarang Baan before Lord Hanuman. It is believed that Lord Hanuman will save you from adverse effects of Planet Saturn if it is creeping in your zodiac. He also saves you from Rahu, another astrological adversity which spoils peoples’ career. Worshipping Lord Hanuman gives you all the prosperity pleasure and peace.

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