From The Latest Issue: The Untold Story Of How Bengali Pilgrims Shaped Kashi’s Temple Landscape

Varanasi is a mysterious city. It celebrates both death and life, the sacred and the profane. If you listen carefully, the city will whisper tales of its past: of kings and conquerors, scholars and sinners, builders and demolishers. This is the story of some of those builders: devotees from distant Bengal who sailed up the Ganges over two centuries ago, each determined to add their bit to Kashi's sacred geography.

Late one muggy August afternoon, I was returning to my hotel after meeting a friend at Banaras Hindu University. Perched on a cycle rickshaw crawling through the impossibly crowded Bhelupur-Durgakund Road, I spotted a towering ochre-painted temple shikhara. I hopped off to explore.

I entered through an intricately carved doorway into a square courtyard where a Durga Temple, built in the North Indian Nagara style, sat on a high platform at the centre. Its towering shikhara rose above the sanctum, surrounded by smaller spires. An ochre-painted sabha mandapa with gold-trimmed columns stood nearby, topped by a pyramidal roof. Beside it lay Durga Kund, a sacred pond with steps for ritual dips.

I sat on the verandah across from the mandapa, trying to absorb what I'd just seen. A quick Google search revealed something unexpected: the story of Rani Bhabani, who built this temple in 1760. It turned out that many Bengali pilgrims, some of them wealthy and influential, journeyed to Varanasi over the centuries and left their mark on this holy city's landscape.

Bengal's Queen

Rani Bhabani has a near-mythical presence in Varanasi, especially among its Bengali inhabitants. In the mid-18th century, this widow from Natore (in Bengal) inherited her late husband's vast zamindari. She ruled during tumultuous times of wars, shifting powers, and famine, yet earned renown for her generous and enlightened governance. At some point, she made her way to Kashi. Some say she fled Bengal to protect her daughter from a predatory Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah; others believe she came to perform her husband's shradh rites in the holy city, donating 365 houses to Brahmins as part of the ritual, one house each day of the year.

Rani Bhabani found Varanasi's temples in a state of disrepair, many having been destroyed or neglected during the Mughal era. She financed restorations and new constructions. For instance, she renovated the ancient Kardameshwar Mahadev Temple and improved the famed Panchakroshi pilgrimage route that encircles the city, clearing the road, planting shade trees, and building dharamshalas for pilgrims along the way. In 1760 she built the Durga Temple and established another landmark: the Tara Bari in the Bengali Tola neighbourhood.

Dodging bikes, hawkers, and the odd bull, I wove through Bengali Tola’s narrow galis to reach Tara Bari. A red gate with yellow Devanagari script marks the entrance to the Tara and Kali temples. Inside, a quiet courtyard opens up, lined with a haveli-style temple featuring saffron pillars and white floral motifs. Two open pavilions house the idols of Tara and Kali. Portraits of Rani Bhabani and her husband honour the Bengali queen who built this sacred space in Varanasi.

Of Princes And Merchants

I walked about a kilometre east from Durga Temple to Lolark Kund, an ancient stepwell. A group of young boys splashed and laughed in its waters, seemingly unaware of the site's profound religious significance. Next to the kund is the Lolarkeshwar Mahadev temple. I approached a priest sitting on a wooden stool at the temple entrance.

"What is this pond?" I inquired.

The priest, who greeted me warmly moments ago, suddenly looked angry.

"This is not a pond or a well," he corrected me sternly. "It is a kund. Understand?" I nodded, chastened, and he continued more gently, "The waters of Lolark Kund carry immense powers. Many diseases have been cured by bathing here and worshipping Lord Lolark (Surya, the Sun God). Baanjh (childless) women bathe in these waters and are blessed with offspring."

Legend has it that in the early 1600s, Raja Lakshmi Narayan of Cooch Behar was cured of leprosy after drinking water from Lolark Kund while on pilgrimage in Kashi. In gratitude, he rebuilt the stepwell with stone, burying a gold coin under each one as an offering. Over 200 years later, his descendant Raja Shivendra Narayan restored the kund again, leaving behind a marble plaque marking Cooch Behar’s connection. He was in Varanasi to fulfil his father's wish of building a grand Kali temple.

In 1836, Raja Harendra Narayan of Cooch Behar, a devout Shakta, came to Varanasi to spend his final years. He acquired a large plot in the Sonarpura neighbourhood and began building a Thakurbari (temple) to house a Kali idol. When he died in 1839, the temple was unfinished, and his son Shivendra completed the project. The result was the grand Cooch Behar Kali Bari, consecrated on Akshay Tritiya in 1846. The temple’s most striking feature is its gateway on Sonarpura Road, crowned by a Mughal-style naubatkhana (drum house), where musicians once played during royal visits. Beyond it lies an overgrown lawn leading to a two-storey residence, the hawakhana. Beside it stands the temple, enshrining two idols—Karunamayi Kali and Dayamayi Kali.

I arrived during the morning aarti. A servitor rang brass bells in sync with recorded dhak beats as a few devotees stood in silent prayer. I quietly joined them.

Bengali princes and merchants alike left their mark on Kashi. In a quiet lane of Bengali Tola stands a Shiva temple built by wealthy trader Ramdulal De. It's now known by the nicknames of his two sons: the Chhatu Babu and Latu Babu Temple. Its yellow and saffron arch bears the inscription “Ramdulaleshwar Shivay Namah.”

Ramdulal De (1752–1825) made his fortune through maritime trade, working with early American firms in British Calcutta. With part of his wealth, he commissioned this temple in 1810. Inside, the ochre shrine tapers upward into a shikhara cloaked in moss. What truly stands out is the massive black stone shivalinga, one of the largest in Varanasi. A marble plaque confirms its name—Ramdulaleshwar Mahadev—and the year of completion.

That evening, I floated down the Ganga, and thought of those devoted souls from Bengal who gave a piece of themselves to this eternal city.

FAQs

Q1. Which are the most famous Bengali temples in Kashi?
Prominent shrines include the Durga Mandir (Bengali Tola), the Radha Govind Temple, and Kali Bari temples established by Bengali patrons.

Q2. Why did Bengali pilgrims and royalty visit Kashi?
Kashi (Varanasi) has long been considered one of Hinduism’s holiest cities, drawing Bengali pilgrims for spiritual merit, cultural patronage, and connections to saints and scholars.

Q3. Are these temples still active today?
Yes, many Bengali temples in Kashi continue to hold daily rituals, and Bengali festivals like Durga Puja are celebrated with devotion in the city.

Q4. What role did Bengali royals play in Kashi’s temple history?
Several Bengali zamindars and royals funded the construction of shrines, ghats, and rest houses for pilgrims, leaving a lasting architectural legacy.

Q5. Can visitors explore these temples in Varanasi today?
Absolutely. Many temples are located in the Bengali Tola area and are open to devotees and travellers interested in Bengal’s cultural footprint in Kashi.

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