The Durga Kund temple is situated in Kabir Nagar in Banaras city. It has two very prominent temples in its vicinity that are the Sankat Mochan Mandir, a temple made to worship lord Hanuman and The Tulsi Manas temple where saint Tulsi Das wrote the Tulsi Das Ramayana, which was his version or takes on the Valmiki Ramayana. It is said that the original scriptures reside in the temple. The translation took place in the 16th century so that the masses could understand it. Durga Kund is the temple for the worship of the Sherun Wali mat-a. It was made after Durga saved Kashi Naresh as she fought a battle during the Svayamvar of his daughter. The temple was built to honor the Goddess. The temple is painted red in color and has a water Kund where worshippers can bathe, this is holy water for the pilgrims. The temple was constructed in the 18th century and seeks the blessing of the Goddess Durga to protect the city. The temple is open from 8 am to 9 pm at night and has a steady stream of worshippers, the entry to the temple is free.
The Sankat Mochan Mandir is dedicated to Lord Hanuman and one can see many monkeys roaming around the temple area, the outside area is littered with shops and small tarp’s selling flowers to Pooja samagri. It is also built by Sri Goswami Tulsi Das ji and it is said here he had the vision of Hanuman while he was writing the Ramcharitra Manas. The scripture is written in Avidhi and carries new stories of the journey of Lord Rama. As it were Tulsi Das added a new flavor to an old epic. There is a music festival also performed in the temple called the Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samahro where devotees come and worship and sing hymns to the glory of the lord. The Tempel was built in the sixteenth century and stands tall as one of the pride of Banaras.
