Omkareshwar Temple

There's a temple in Varanasi that carries the spiritual weight of one of India's most sacred Jyotirlingas — without actually being that Jyotirlinga. Omkareshwar Temple on Koyala Bazar Road is a replica of the original Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga in Madhya Pradesh, which sits on an island in the Narmada River in the form of the sacred Om symbol. According to Hindu legend, Vindhya — the deity controlling the Vindhyachal mountain range — worshipped Shiva to absolve himself of sins. He created a sacred geometrical diagram (yantra) and a Lingam made of sand and clay. Shiva was so pleased that he appeared in two forms: Omkareshwar and Amaleshwar. Since the mud mound appeared in the shape of Om, the island became known as Omkareshwar. The original temple was built by the Paramara Kings of Malwa in the 11th century, destroyed by Mahmud Ghazni in the 13th century, and rebuilt by the Holkar rulers in the 18th century (started by Gautama Bai Holkar, completed by Devi Ahilyabai Holkar). The Varanasi replica allows devotees to receive the same spiritual merit (punya) as visiting the original — a theological convenience that Varanasi specializes in. The temple also has shrines for Parvati and Ganapati, and the Koyala Bazar area is a working-class neighborhood where the temple serves as a spiritual anchor for locals who may never make the journey to Madhya Pradesh.