5/5 RAMARAMAN J. 3 years ago on Google
The
famous
temple Kalighat
Kali
Temple dedicated
to
the
goddess Kali is
situated
in
Kalighat.
This
is
one
of
the
51 Shakti
Peethas.
The
right
toe
of Dakshayani Sati is
said
to
have
fallen
here.
The Shakti here
is
known
as Dakshina
Kalika,
while
the Bhairava is Nakulesh.
Considered
as
one
of
the
Holiest
of
the
Holies
in
terms
of
Hindu Shakta Pilgrimage
Centres,
(Shiva
and
Durga/Kali/Shakti
worshippers)
it
sees
the
footfall
of
thousands
of
devotees
everyday.
However,
Tuesdays
and
Saturdays
are
considered
very
auspicious,
and
the
crowd
increases
a
hundred
folds
on
these
two
days.
The
special
days
when
the
Goddess
receives
even
more
pilgrims
is
during
the Vipad
Tarini
Vrat,
and
when
the
Goddess
is
worshipped
as Ratantika and Falaaharini Kali.
The
Medieval Bhuiyan,
Raja
Basanta
Ray,
uncle
of Pratapaditya and
the
King
of
Jessore,
(now
in Bangladesh)
probably
built
the
first
Temple
here.
This
temple
was
situated
on
the
banks
of
river Adi
Ganga.
The
Temple
Complex
is
laid
out
in
the
following
manner.
The natmandir,
a
hall
attached
to
the Garbh
Griha sanctum
sanctorum is
in
the
southern
wing
while
Shiva's
temple
is
situated
in
the
north-eastern
wing.
There
is
a
temple
dedicated
to Radha
Krishna built
in
1843
by
a zamindar of
Bhaowali.
The
Kalighat
temple
in
its
present
form
is
only
about
200
years
old,
although
it
has
been
referred
to
in Mansar
Bhasan composed
in
the
15th
century,
and
in Kavi
Kankan
Mukunda
Das' Chandi
Mangal of
the
17th
century.
Mention
of
the
Kali
temple
is
also
found
in Lalmohon
Bidyanidhis's
"Sambanda
Nirnoy".
The
image
of Kali in
this
temple
is
unique.
It
does
not
follow
the
pattern
of
other
Kali
images
in
Bengal.
The
present
idol
of
touchstone
was
created
by
two
saints
-- Atmaram
Brahmachari and Brahmananda
Giri.
However,
the
image
here
is
older
than
what
meets
the
eye.
Originally
thought
to
have
been
worshipped
and
created
by
the
Hindu
All-Father Brahma,
there
are
accounts
from
antiquity,
which
say
that
there
was
a
mound
or stupa here,
which
was
called
as Brahma'r
Dhipi. And
the
image
of
the
Kali
here
was
present
on
the
Dhipi
or
the
mound,
being
worshipped
regularly.
Hundreds
of
years
before
Brahmananda
GIri
and
Atmaram
Brahmachari
even
reached
this
place.
Presently,
the
mother
goddess
has
three
huge
eyes,
a
long
protruding
tongue
and
four
hands
all
of
which
are
made
of
gold.
The
hands
of
the
goddess
was
originally
made
out
of
silver,
and
had
been
donated
by
Gokulchandra
Ghoshal,
the
Diwan
of
the
East
India
Company,
who
had
been
appointed
to
the
post
right
after
the
Battle
of
Plassey.
which
had
been
later
replaced
by
gold
hands
donated
by
a
man
named
Kalicharan
Mullick.
The
crown
on
the
Devi's
head
had
been
donated
by
Ramnarayan
Sarkar
of
Beleghata.
The
iconic
golden
tongue
had
been
donated
by
Raja
Indrachandra
Shingho
of
Paikpara,
and
the
Garland
of
heads
that
the
goddess
wears
had
been
donated
by
the
Maharaja
of
Patiala.
Nepal's
former
Army
Chief
had
donated
the
Umbrella
on
top
of
the
goddess'
head.
Out
of
the
four
hands,
the
top
left
hand
holds
a
Kharga
or
a
Scimitar,
the
bottom
left
holds
a
severed
head
of
the
Asura
King Shumbha,
while
the
top
right
hand
she
shows
the
Abhay
Mudra,
and
the
bottom
right
hands
she
shows
the
Varada
Mudra.
Whilst
the
Scimitar
signifies
Divine
Knowledge,
the
severed
head
of
the
Asura
signifies
the
human
Ego
which
has
to
be
slain
by
the
Divine
Knowledge
to
attain
Moksha
or
one's
goal
in
life.
The
Abhay
Mudra
signifies
that
the
Goddess
is
always
there
with
her
devotees,
protecting
them
from
harm,
while
the
Varada
Mudra
shows
the
benevolence
and
the
soft-heartedness
of
the
Devi,
showering
her
devotees
with
divine
and
material
blessings.
