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Kashi · काशी
The leaning Ratneshwar Mahadev temple at the water's edge, seen from the Ganga, Varanasi
HinduTemple

Ratneshwar Mahadev — the Leaning Templeरत्नेश्वर महादेव — झुका हुआ मंदिर

  • TimingsNo regular darshan; the sanctum is under water most of the year. Seen from the ghat steps or a boat
  • EntryNo ticket reported
  • Time needed10–15 min (from a boat or the steps)
  • Best timeFrom a boat at dawn; in the dry months before the monsoon, when low water shows more of the temple

A carved sandstone Shiva temple at the water's edge between Manikarnika and Scindia ghats, leaning by about nine degrees, more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

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Visit at a glance

Timings and fees are not confirmed from an official source; check before you go.

Good to know

  • Best seen from the river: every Dashashwamedh–Panchganga boat ride passes it, or look down from the steps of Scindia Ghat.
  • It stands beside Manikarnika, the cremation ghat. Photograph the temple, but keep pyres and mourners out of the frame.
  • Some guides call it 'Kashi Karvat', but that name belongs to a different temple in the old city.
Read the full story

It stands so low that the Ganga covers its sanctum for most of the year and in the monsoon rises up the shikhara, so worship here is rare. City revenue records date it to 1825–1830; photographs from the 1860s show it still upright.

Who built it is disputed. Priests tell of a servant of Raja Man Singh who raised it for his mother, Ratna Bai, and boasted that he had repaid his debt to her; since a mother's debt can never be repaid, the temple tilted, and it is also called Matri-rin Mahadev. Another telling makes Ratna Bai a maid of Ahilyabai Holkar who named the temple after herself, while others credit Queen Baija Bai of Gwalior or the Amethi royal family.

Sources: Wikipedia — Ratneshwar Mahadev temple (coordinates; nine-degree lean; builder accounts; revenue records 1825–1830) · Live History India — The 'Leaning Temple of Varanasi' (12 Jul 2021) · Varanasi Guru — Ratneshwar Mahadev, the leaning temple of Kashi · The Logical Indian — Fact check: Ratneshwar temple leans more than the Tower of Pisa

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