Beside the Ganga at Mir Ghat in Varanasi, close to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, stands the shrine of Vishalakshi — the wide-eyed Goddess — worshipped as one of the eighteen Maha Shakti Peethas named in Adi Shankaracharya's stotram, "Varanasyam Vishalakshi." In the tradition of the Peethas, an ornament and part of Sati's form fell here, and the Devi keeps watch over the holiest of cities as its guardian Mother, with Kala Bhairava as its fierce protector.
Where Shiva reigns as Vishwanath, the Lord of the Universe, Vishalakshi abides as his Shakti, so that Kashi is revered as the abode of both. She is worshipped with special devotion on Kajali Tij and through Navaratri.
For pilgrims to Kashi, darshan of Vishalakshi completes the worship of the Divine Mother alongside the great Jyotirlinga, uniting Shiva and Shakti in the eternal city.
