Tulsi Manas Mandir

Tulsi Manas Mandir, also called Sri Satyanarayana Tulsi Manas Mandir, is a Rama temple in the Durgakund area of Varanasi, close to the Durga Temple. It is named after Goswami Tulsidas, who is believed to have composed the Ramcharitmanas near this spot in the 16th century. The Thakur Das Sureka family of Howrah built it in 1964, and Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, then President of India, opened it.

The white marble, shikhara-style building is set in landscaped gardens. Its walls carry verses of the epic in chaupai, doha, chhand and soratha metres, along with images of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman, and the second floor has scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Statues on themes from the epics line a pond, with Shiva on the east side and Tulsidas on the west, and a museum keeps rare manuscripts. During Sawan (July-August) the temple stages puppet shows of the Rama story.