The eight Bhairavs of Kashi
Kashi is guarded not by one Bhairava but by a ring of them. The Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana (chapter 72 in G. V. Tagare's translation) says that eight Bhairavas are stationed in the eight quarters to protect the city, and names them as Ruru, Chanda, Asitanga, Kapali, Krodhana, Unmatta, Samhara and Bhishana. It calls them dispellers of great fear who should always be worshipped in Kashi. The local tradition retold by writers on the city is that the Goddess created them, together with nine Shaktis, after she had slain the demon Durga.
A sketch, not to scale. Shrines whose coordinates could not be found are not on the map.
Kaal Bhairav himself is not one of the eight. He is their chief and the Kotwal of the whole city, and the pilgrimage to the eight, the Ashta Bhairav Yatra, traditionally ends with his darshan at Bhaironath. Most of the eight are small images inside or beside larger temples, and several are easy to miss unless one goes looking for them. The places below follow two written accounts of the yatra and the map listings for each shrine; the two accounts differ on where Unmatta Bhairav is, and both places are given.
Ruru Bhairav
Hanuman Ghat, near Harishchandra Ghat (house B 4/16)
Named first in the Kashi Khanda list. A small shrine in the lanes above the river beside Hanuman Ghat and Harishchandra Ghat (the map listing files it under Kedar Ghat, Bangali Tola); one account places it just outside Karnataka Ghat. The image is of black stone and shows Bhairava riding a dog. A second image of Ruru Bhairav, together with Anand Bhairav, is kept in the Narsingeshwar temple close by (B 4/19).
Get directions in Google MapsChanda Bhairav
Durga Mandir, Durga Kund (house B 27/2)
Inside the well-known red Durga temple beside Durga Kund in the south of the city. The small black stone image stands next to the shrine of Kali and is wrapped in black cloth; two Bhairava images are seen there and the smaller is Chanda Bhairav. This is the easiest of the eight to reach, as the temple is a city landmark.
Get directions in Google MapsAsitanga Bhairav
Mrityunjay Mahadev temple complex, Daranagar (house K 52/39)
A small shrine in the Mahamrityunjay temple complex at Daranagar, near Vriddhakaleshwar, to the right of the Dhanvantari well whose water devotees drink for health. It is the closest of the eight to Kaal Bhairav, about half a kilometre to the north, a few minutes' walk from the Maidagin crossing.
Get directions in Google MapsKapali Bhairav (Laat Bhairav)
Laat Bhairav, Kazzakpura, Alaipur (Jalalipura)
Known to everyone as Laat Bhairav, on a raised terrace near the railway crossing on the north-eastern edge of the old city, about two kilometres from Kaal Bhairav. The Kapal Mochan tank, where tradition says the skull of Brahma fell from Bhairava's hand, lies beside it. The laat is the stump of an old stone pillar cased in metal.
Get directions in Google MapsKrodhana Bhairav (Adi Bhairav)
Kamakhya Devi temple, Kamachha (house B 31/126)
Set in the side wall of the Kamakhya Devi temple at Kamachha, in the Bhelupur part of the city. One has to go round to the side and look in to see the image, so casual visitors usually miss it. He is also called Adi Bhairav. The Batuk Bhairav temple is a short walk away.
Get directions in Google MapsUnmatta Bhairav
Deora (Devra) village on the Panchkroshi road; also worshipped as an image in the Batuk Bhairav temple, Kamachha
Sources differ. Moksh Bhumi and Bharatkosh place the shrine in Deora village on the Panchkroshi pilgrim road, well outside the city (given as about 10 km by one source and 15 to 16 km by another). The yatra described by Inditales visits instead a small image of Unmatta Bhairav beside Batuk Bhairav at Kamachha, and notes the village shrine as the other one. A plan of the Kaal Bhairav temple also marks an Unmatta Bhairava among its own subsidiary images. No coordinates are given because the village shrine could not be fixed on a map with confidence.
Bhishana Bhairav (Bhoot Bhairav)
Bhoot Bhairav, Kashipura, near Jyeshtheshwar (house K 63/28)
Popularly called Bhoot Bhairav, in the Kashipura lanes off Nakhas Road near Bulanala, about half a kilometre west of Kaal Bhairav and not far from the Maidagin crossing. It is reached from Saptasagar or Kashipura. Matthew Sherring, writing in 1868, gives its proper name as Vishama Bhairava and notes that only the head of the image is visible, the rest being covered by a cloth, and that he is worshipped for deliverance from spirits.
Get directions in Google MapsSamhara Bhairav
Patan Darwaza, Gai Ghat (house A 1/82)
Near Patan Darwaza above Gai Ghat, in the northern stretch of the riverfront, about 700 metres east of Kaal Bhairav. It can be approached from the Machhodari side by rickshaw or up the steps from Gai Ghat. On the yatra he is visited towards the end, as the Bhairava who destroys the pilgrim's accumulated sins.
Get directions in Google Maps
Where the information comes from: wisdomlib.org, inditales.com, mokshbhumi.com, secretkashi.in, bharatdiscovery.org, archive.org, culturalheritageofvaranasi.com, google.com, google.com, google.com, google.com, google.com, google.com, google.com