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Varanasi guide

Sant Ravidas Janmasthan, Seer Govardhanpur: History and Visitor Guide

The Shri Guru Ravidas Janmasthan at Seer Govardhanpur, Varanasi, is the temple built at the place honoured as the birthplace of Sant Ravidas, the Bhakti poet-saint. The district administration describes it as built “at Seergoverdhan area, near the B.H.U.” This guide keeps apart what historians document, what tradition holds, what sources dispute and what we could not find, and it gives Ravidas Jayanti dates only from official lists.

The Janmasthan at a glance

From the sources listed at the end of this page, read on 16 October 2026.

  • Name: Shri Guru Ravidas Janm Sthan Mandir, in the wording of the Varanasi district site
  • Where: Seer Govardhanpur (spelt Seergoverdhan or Seer Govardhan on official pages), Varanasi
  • Birthplace: honoured by devotees as Sant Ravidas’s birthplace; Britannica calls this a popular belief
  • Built: foundation stone laid on 14 June 1965 and construction completed in 1994, according to Ronki Ram’s 2009 academic study
  • Festival: Guru Ravidas’s birth anniversary, celebrated on Magh Purnima
  • 2027 date: 20 February 2027 in the Government of India’s restricted-holiday list (DoPT memorandum of 16 July 2026); the Uttar Pradesh list for 2027 was not yet found
  • Timings: no official notice found, so none are given here
  • From Hotel Vinayak Plaza: about 4.2 km by road, a ride rather than a walk

Where the Janmasthan is

The Varanasi district site says: “This grand temple is built at Seergoverdhan area, near the B.H.U. which is the birth place of Saint Ravidasji.” The Kashi portal of Varanasi Smart City lists the temple in Hindi as श्री गुरु रविदास जन्म स्थान मंदिर, on Sant Ravidas Mandir Road, Seer Govardhan Dafi, Varanasi 221011.

The Janmasthan is not Sant Ravidas Ghat. The Kashi portal lists that ghat separately, as a ghat on the river where Sant Ravidas “used to stay”; the same page also says he was “born here”, one more sign that the birthplace is a matter of tradition. If a driver or a map offers you the ghat, ask for the temple at Seer Govardhanpur instead.

Sant Ravidas: what is documented and what is tradition

Sant Ravidas (also written Raidas or Ravidass) is honoured across northern India as a poet-saint of the Bhakti movement. Encyclopaedia Britannica is plain about the limits of the record: “Little is known with certainty about Ravidas’s life.”

What the reference works say

Britannica describes Ravidas as a mystic and poet of the northern Indian bhakti movement, thought to have been a contemporary of Kabir. It says he was born near Varanasi, possibly in a village commonly identified as Seer Govardhanpur or in an area called Mandua Dih. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says he followed his family’s profession of tanning hides and making shoes. In Britannica’s account, his hymns, called banis, show devotion to a formless God and reject ritual-based practice and caste hierarchy, and they describe Begampura, a city free of kings, taxes, sorrow and caste-based discrimination.

His dates: sources differ

No single date for his birth or death is agreed; the estimates run from the 14th to the 16th century. Britannica gives “flourished 14th century?”, with a question mark, and a band of 1401 to 1600 in its quick facts. All India Radio called him a 14th-century saint in 2026, and the Kashi portal calls him a 15th to 16th century poet. The anniversary count used by the Prime Minister’s Office, the 647th in 2024, points to a birth year in the 1370s. We give the range and leave the dispute open.

His verses in the Guru Granth Sahib

According to The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism (Punjabi University, Patiala), forty of his hymns are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture, set in sixteen ragas. Britannica says “some 40” poems attributed to him are there. Britannica adds that 140 further compositions, called amrit banis, are collected in Amrit Bani Guru Ravidass, the holy book used by the Ravidassia religion.

Mirabai and Ravidas: a tradition, still debated

A tradition counts Mirabai, the Rajput princess and poet, among Ravidas’s followers, and The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism repeats it. Scholars are not agreed. The scholar Ronki Ram, writing in the Journal of Punjab Studies (2009), notes that “different scholars hold different views” on whether she was his disciple. Britannica’s article on Mira Bai does not mention Ravidas.

How the temple came to be

This section follows one peer-reviewed study, Ronki Ram’s 2009 paper in the Journal of Punjab Studies, which also draws on the Dera’s own publications. Where other sources give different dates, we say so.

Identifying the birthplace

Ronki Ram writes that the Sants of Dera Sachkhand Ballan, a Ravidassia centre near Jalandhar in Punjab, traced the birthplace of Ravidas to a location in Seer Goverdhanpur, on the outskirts of Varanasi. Britannica describes the place as “popularly believed to be his birthplace”. The identification is a matter of faith and tradition rather than a recorded birth.

Foundation in 1965, completion in 1994

According to Ronki Ram, Sant Hari Dass of Dera Ballan laid the foundation stone on 14 June 1965, devotees in India and abroad contributed towards the building, and construction was completed in 1994. A January 2026 ETV Bharat report says the idol of Sant Ravidas was installed at a congregation on 22 February 1974; other accounts give different dates for the early stages, so we do not fix one.

The gate, and the gold as sources describe it

Ronki Ram records that K. R. Narayanan, then President of India, opened the monumental entry gate on 16 July 1998. The Varanasi district site says the temple “is known as the second Golden Temple of Kashi” and that more than 200 kg of gold is present there; we have not confirmed this figure with the temple. Ronki Ram also mentions a community dining hall, whose second storey was paid for by devotees in England, and a gold palanquin carried in procession from Dera Ballan to the temple, arriving on 20 February 2008.

The statue, the park and the planned museum

On 23 February 2024, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, a new statue of Sant Ravidas was unveiled in the adjoining Ravidas Park, development works around the Janmasthan were opened, and a foundation stone was laid for a Sant Ravidas Museum and the beautification of the park. We could not confirm whether the museum is open.

Who runs the temple

We have not had confirmation from the temple itself, and reports name the managing trust differently. The Statesman (29 January 2026) called it the Shri Guru Ravidas Janm Sthan Public Charitable Trust, while ETV Bharat (29 January 2026) called it the Guru Sant Ravidas Janmasthan Trust. Both reports describe the head of Dera Sachkhand Ballan arriving for the festival, and Ronki Ram describes building the temple as one of Dera Ballan’s major contributions. Because the names differ and the temple has not confirmed them, we give management only as reported.

Ravidas Jayanti at Seer Govardhanpur

Guru Ravidas’s birth anniversary is celebrated on Magh Purnima, the full moon of the month of Magh, as All India Radio and ETV Bharat both report. Britannica says his hymns are recited at the Janmasthan and his birth anniversary is celebrated there as a religious occasion. Government holiday lists gave the day as 12 February 2025 and 1 February 2026.

What was reported in 2026

These are press reports from January 2026, not official figures:

  • ETV Bharat (29 January 2026) described a 15-day event, with devotees from Punjab, Haryana, other states and abroad, more than 150 tents and more than half a dozen langars (community kitchens), two of them run by the temple trust. It said the number of devotees was expected to be in the millions.
  • The Statesman (29 January 2026) reported that the programmes ran from 30 January to 1 February, and that a Varanasi Commissionerate Traffic Police advisory put diversions in force from 8:00 AM on 30 January to midnight on 1 February, with no vehicles allowed from Bhagwanpur Mor towards the temple.
  • Ronki Ram wrote in 2009 that the birth anniversary attracts millions of devotees every year, and that special trains have run from Jalandhar to Varanasi for it.

Ravidas Jayanti 2027

The Government of India’s restricted-holiday list for 2027, for central government offices in Delhi (DoPT office memorandum of 16 July 2026, circulated by the Department of Posts on 8 September 2026), gives Guru Ravi Das’s Birthday as Saturday, 20 February 2027. We have not found the Uttar Pradesh government’s 2027 holiday list, the temple’s programme for 2027 or any traffic plan for that year. Check those closer to the date; the 2026 traffic advisory is not a guide to 2027.

Visiting respectfully

We have not been able to confirm the temple’s darshan hours, entry rules or photography rules, so this guide gives none. The points below are general advice for any place of worship. They are not rules published by the temple.

  • Follow any notice at the gate and any instruction from the volunteers and temple staff, including on dress, head covering, shoes and photography.
  • Ask before you photograph people or rituals.
  • If you eat at a langar, take only what you will finish.
  • On festival days, expect large crowds and traffic diversions, as were reported in 2026, and keep children and older family members close.

From Hotel Vinayak Plaza

The Janmasthan is about 4.2 km by road from the hotel (Google Maps, 5 October 2026). It is a ride, not a walk. Reception is staffed 24×7 and can book an auto or cab for you. For the hotel’s location, see our hotel on Sankat Mochan Road or staying for BHU, and see the rooms.

Call or WhatsApp +91 91992 67480 (enquiries). Phone calls are answered 24×7. Address: Sankat Mochan Rd, near Sankat Mochan Temple, Saket Nagar Colony, Sankata Mochan Leprosy, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221010. You can also contact the hotel by email.

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Questions about the Sant Ravidas Janmasthan

Where is the Sant Ravidas Janmasthan in Varanasi?

At Seer Govardhanpur. The Varanasi district site describes it as built “at Seergoverdhan area, near the B.H.U.”, and the Kashi portal gives Sant Ravidas Mandir Road, Seer Govardhan Dafi, Varanasi 221011. It is a different place from Sant Ravidas Ghat on the riverfront.

Was Sant Ravidas really born at Seer Govardhanpur?

Devotees honour Seer Govardhanpur as his birthplace, and the district site states it. Britannica calls it a popular belief and says he was born near Varanasi, possibly at Seer Govardhanpur or Mandua Dih. Little about his life is known with certainty.

When was the temple built?

According to Ronki Ram’s 2009 study, Sant Hari Dass of Dera Sachkhand Ballan laid the foundation stone on 14 June 1965, and construction was completed in 1994. The entry gate was opened on 16 July 1998.

When is Ravidas Jayanti in 2027?

The Government of India’s 2027 restricted-holiday list (DoPT memorandum of 16 July 2026) gives Guru Ravi Das’s Birthday as Saturday, 20 February 2027. We have not yet found the Uttar Pradesh list or the temple’s programme for 2027.

Why does the district site call it the second Golden Temple of Kashi?

That is how the Varanasi district site describes it, saying more than 200 kg of gold is present at the temple. We have not confirmed this figure with the temple.

What are the temple timings?

We found no official notice of darshan hours, so we give none. Please confirm timings locally before you go, especially on festival days.

Sources and last checked

Official and academic sources, read on 16 October 2026 (Britannica and the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism are reference works; Ronki Ram is a peer-reviewed study):

Dated news reports, used only for the 2026 festival and labelled in the text: ETV Bharat, 29 January 2026; The Statesman, 29 January 2026. Other places in the city are in our guide to tourist places in Varanasi, our Kashi Darshan page and the Varanasi guide. If something here is out of date, please tell us.