Vishalakshi (Kashi)

Vishalakshi at Mir Ghat in Varanasi is regarded in tradition as the peeth where the earring or the eye of Sati fell, the dual wording reflecting differences between sources. The goddess is Vishalakshi, the one with wide eyes, and the Bhairava is Kala Bhairav, the fierce guardian who is widely known as the protector of Kashi. The Daksha yajna story is the shared mythic background.

Kashi is the city of Shiva, and it is natural that the Shakti of Shiva is found here as Vishalakshi, and also as Annapurna and Vishwanatha's companion shrines. The Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana praises the city at length and mentions Vishalakshi among its goddesses, although readers should avoid giving verse details without checking an edition. The idea that the goddess of the city has wide, all-seeing eyes suits a place where liberation at death is believed to be granted by Shiva's own teaching.

The ghat setting means this shrine is part of the Ganga riverfront of Varanasi, interwoven with old lanes and the south Indian communities who have lived in Kashi for generations and maintained devotion to Vishalakshi. Another Varanasi shrine, associated with the goddess Varahi and discussed under Panchsagar, appears in some lists, which means the city has more than one claim in the Shakta count. As elsewhere, the Tantra Chudamani and the Pithanirnaya differ in their attributions.