At the heart of Varanasi, between Dashaswamedh Ghat and Godaulia to the south and west and Manikarnika Ghat on the river to the north, lies the old city (or Vishwanatha Khanda), a maze of ramshackle alleys. The whole area rewards exploration, with shrines and lingams tucked into every corner and buzzing with the activity of pilgrims, pandas and stalls selling offerings to the faithful. Watch for cow jams in the narrow lanes and if you get lost head for the river.

 

Approached through labyrinthine alleys and the Vishwanatha Gali (or Lane), the temple complex of Vishwanatha or Visheshwara , the "Lord of All", is popularly known as the Golden Temple , due to the massive gold plating on its shikhara (spire). Hidden behind a wall, the opulent complex is closed to non-Hindus, who have to make do with glimpses from adjacent buildings.

Vishwanatha's history has been fraught. Sacked by successive Muslim rulers, the temple was repeatedly rebuilt, until the grand edifice begun in 1585 by Todar Mal, a courtier of the tolerant Moghul Akbar, was finally destroyed by Aurangzeb. Its simple white domes tower over the Jnana Vapi ("Wisdom Well"), immediately north, housed in an open arcaded hall built in 1828, where Shiva cooled his lingam after the construction of Vishwanatha. Adjacent to the temple, guarded by armed police to protect it from Hindu fanatics, stands the Jnana Vapi Mosque , also known as the Great Mosque of Aurangzeb. Slightly north, across the main road, the thirteenth-century Razia's Mosque stands atop the ruins of a still earlier Vishwanatha temple, destroyed under the Sultanate.

Close by, the temple of Annapurna Bhavani is dedicated to Shakti, the divine female energy. Manifest in many forms, including the awesome Kali and Durga with their weapons and gruesome garlands of skulls, here she is seen as the provider of sustenance and carries instead a cooking pot. A subsidiary shrine, open for just three days a year, houses a solid gold representation of Annapurna. Nearby is a stunning image, faced in silver against a black surround, of Shani or Saturn. Anyone whose fortunes fall under his shadow is stricken with bad luck - a fate devotees try to escape by worshipping here on Saturdays.