Dakshineswar Kali Temple
Dakshineswar Kali Temple (Bengali: দক্ষিনেশ্বর কালী মন্দির Dokkhineshshôr Kali Mondir, Sanskrit: दक्षिणेश्वर काली मन्दिर) is a Hindu temple located in Dakshineswar near Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, an aspect of Kali, meaning, 'She who liberates Her devotees from the ocean of existence i.e. Saṃsāra'. The temple was built by Rani Rashmoni, a philanthropist and a devotee of Kali in 1855. The temple is famous for its association with Ramakrishna, a mystic of 19th Century Bengal.
The temple compound, apart from the nine-spired main temple, contains a large courtyard surrounding the temple, with rooms along the boundary walls. There are twelve shrines dedicated to Shiva—Kali's companion—along the riverfront, a temple to Radha-Krishna, a bathing ghat on the river, a shrine dedicated to Rani Rashmoni. 'Nahavat-Khana', the chamber in the northwestern corner just beyond the last of the Shiva temples, is where Ramakrishna spent a considerable part of his life.
History
The name of the idol of Kali worshiped in the temple is Bhavatarini. Shown here, is a picture of the deity adorned with priceless jewelleries and other accessories.
The Dakshineswar Kali Temple was founded around the middle of the 19th Century by Rani Rashmoni. She belonged to Kaivarta caste and was well known for her philanthropic activities. In the year 1847, Rashmoni, prepared to go upon a long pilgrimage to the sacred Hindu city of Kashi to express her devotions to the Divine Mother. Rani was to travel in twenty four boats, carrying relatives, servants and supplies. According to traditional accounts, the night before the pilgrimage began, Rashmoni had a vision of the Divine Mother, in the form of the goddess Kali in a dream and reportedly said,
There is no need to go to Banaras. Install my statue in a beautiful temple on the banks of the Ganges river and arrange for my worship there. Then I shall manifest myself in the image and accept worship at that place
Profoundly affected by the dream, Rani immediately looked for and purchased a 20-acred plot in the village of Dakshineswar. The large temple complex was built between 1847 and 1855. The 20-acre (81,000 m2) plot was bought from an Englishman, John Hastie and was then popularly known as Saheban Bagicha, partly old Muslim burial ground shaped like a tortoise, considered befitting for the worship of Shakti according to Tantra traditions, it took eight years and nine hundred thousand rupees to complete the construction, and finally the idol of Goddess Kali was installed on the Snana Yatra day on 31 May 1855, amid festivities at the temple formally known as Sri Sri Jagadishwari Mahakali, with Ramkumar Chhattopadhyay as the head priest; soon his younger brother Gadai or Gadadhar (later known as Ramakrishna) moved in and so did nephew Hriday to assist him. On 31 May 1855 more than 1 lakh Brahmins were invited from different parts of the country to grace the auspicious occasion amidst the controversy of the Rani being in no position to own a temple and to offer Brahmins to feed since she was belonged to the low cast of Shudra.
The next year, Ramkumar Chhattopadhyay died, the position was given to Ramakrishna, along with his wife Sarada Devi, who stayed in the south side of the Nahabat (music room), in a small room on the ground floor, which now a shrine dedicated to her.
From then until his death 30 years later in 1886, Ramakrishna was responsible for bringing much in the way of both fame and pilgrims to the temple.
Rani Rashmoni lived only for five years and nine months after the inauguration of the temple. She seriously fell ill in 1861. Realizing that her death was near she decided to handover the property she purchased in Dinajput (now in Bangladesh) as a legacy for the maintenance of the temple to the temple trust. She accomplished her task on 18 February 1861 and passed away on the next day
Architecture
Built in the traditional 'Nava-ratna' or nine spires style of Bengal architecture, the three-storeyed south-facing temple has nine spires distributed in upper two storeys, and stands on a high platform with a flight of stairs, overall it measures 46 feet (14 m) square and rises over 100 feet (30 m) high.
The garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) houses an idol of goddess Kali idol, known as Bhavataraini, standing on the chest of a lying Shiva, and the two idols are placed on a thousand-petaled lotus made of silver.
Close to the main temple are the row of twelve identical Shiva temples built facing the east in the typical ‘Aat Chala’ Bengal architecture, they are built on either side of the ghat on the Hoogly river. To the North east of the Temple Complex is the Vishnu Temple or the Radha Kanta’s Temple. A flight of steps lead to the columned verandah and into the temple where a silver throne rests with a 211⁄2-inch (550 mm) idol of Lord Krishna and a 16-inch (410 mm) idol of Radha.
About Dakshineswar Temple
The construction of the temple started in 1847. Queen Rasmani the renowned queen of Janbazar, had founded this temple. It is believed that she was instructed by Goddess Kali in her dream to construct this temple.
The construction work was completed in 1855. It cost an estimated Rs. 9 lakhs of which, Rs. 2 lakhs was spent on the day of inauguration. The temple and its adjoining areas stand on 25 acres of land. Queen Rasmani purchased the required land from some Mr. Hasti. Dakshineswar temple is dedicated to goddess Kali. The temple, in conventional Nava-ratna style, measures 46 feet square and rises over 100 feet high. It is one of the largest temples of Kolkata.
The main attraction of the temple is that the Ganga (Hooghly river) flows beside the temple. The 12- spired temple with its enormous courtyard is surrounded by 12 other temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is a world famous place of pilgrimage and it was here that the famous religious thinker Rama Krishna Paramahamsa achieved his spiritual vision and preached the unity of all religions. He was an worshipper at this temple and he used to live in the temple premises. His room is open to the visitor. The temple is a large elongated building standing on a high platform with a flight of stairs. The three-storeyed south-facing temple has nine spires distributed in upper two storeys. The roof of the spires is beautifully ridged resembling Pirhas. A narrow covered verandah serves the purpose of an audience-chamber attached to the sanctum where the goddess Dakshina Kali stands on the breast of Shiva. There is a long spacious Natmandir (Dancing hall) in front of the temple. There are other subsidiary shrines on this temple compound.
The colossal kali temple is known to be one of the rare temples of Indian origin, having world renowned fame.
The construction work was completed in 1855. It cost an estimated Rs. 9 lakhs of which, Rs. 2 lakhs was spent on the day of inauguration. The temple and its adjoining areas stand on 25 acres of land. Queen Rasmani purchased the required land from some Mr. Hasti. Dakshineswar temple is dedicated to goddess Kali. The temple, in conventional Nava-ratna style, measures 46 feet square and rises over 100 feet high. It is one of the largest temples of Kolkata.
The main attraction of the temple is that the Ganga (Hooghly river) flows beside the temple. The 12- spired temple with its enormous courtyard is surrounded by 12 other temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is a world famous place of pilgrimage and it was here that the famous religious thinker Rama Krishna Paramahamsa achieved his spiritual vision and preached the unity of all religions. He was an worshipper at this temple and he used to live in the temple premises. His room is open to the visitor. The temple is a large elongated building standing on a high platform with a flight of stairs. The three-storeyed south-facing temple has nine spires distributed in upper two storeys. The roof of the spires is beautifully ridged resembling Pirhas. A narrow covered verandah serves the purpose of an audience-chamber attached to the sanctum where the goddess Dakshina Kali stands on the breast of Shiva. There is a long spacious Natmandir (Dancing hall) in front of the temple. There are other subsidiary shrines on this temple compound.
The colossal kali temple is known to be one of the rare temples of Indian origin, having world renowned fame.
Location
Dakshineswar Kali Temple is situated about 20 km north of Kolkata, alongside the Vivekananda Bridge.
