Bharat Mata Mandir (Mother India Temple) is one of the more unusual religious buildings in Varanasi and in India. Inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936 during the independence movement, it contains no statues of gods — instead, the sanctum holds a large marble relief map of undivided India, complete with mountains, rivers, and plains, built to an accurate topographic scale. Devotion is directed to the nation itself.
The temple sits near the Banaras Hindu University campus and is a four-story building. Higher floors contain images of Indian freedom fighters, poets, and saints from different religious traditions. It is a secular-nationalist site in a deeply religious city — an interesting counterpoint to the temple and ghat culture that dominates Varanasi. Entry is free.