Dakshineswar Kali Temple

The temple was built in 1855 by Rani Rashmoni, a Zamindar, philanthropist and a devotee of Kali.Dakshineswar Kali Temple is a Hindu navaratna temple located at Dakshineswar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, a form of Parashakti Adya Kali. The temple is known for its association with Ramakrishna and Ma Sarada Devi, mystics of 19th Century Bengal. The main temple was inspired by Navaratna style Radhakanta temple, built by Ramnath Mondal of Tollygunge.There are twelve shrines dedicated to Shiva—Kali's consort—along the riverfront, a temple to Radha-Krishna, a bathing ghat on the river, a shrine dedicated to Rani Rashmoni. History of this place: Rani Rashmoni was a Mahishya by 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 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 30,000-acre plot in the village of Dakshineswar. The large temple complex was built between 1847 and 1855.She bought the 20 acre from Englishman,Jake 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. The idol of Goddess Kali was installed on the Snana Yatra day on 31 May 1855 amid festivities at the temple formerly known as Sri Sri Jagadishwari Kali, with Ramkumar Chhattopadhyay as the head priest. Arrival of Ramkrishna Dev: Gadadhar Chhattopadhyay started coming with his big brother Ramkumar Chhattopadhyay.On 31 May 1855 more than 1 lakh (one hundred thousand) Brahmins were invited from different parts of the country to grace the auspicious occasion. The next year the head priest Ramkumar Chhattopadhyay died and his brother took his place. Gadhadhar Chhattopadhyay as known as Ramkrishna Dev with his wife Sarada Devi stayed in the Nahabat (music room) in a small room on the ground floor, which is now a shrine dedicated to her.Ramakrishnana was responsible for bringing much in the way of both fame and pilgrims to the temple. Rani Rashmoni lived for only five years and nine months after the inauguration of the temple. After her death, her sons-in-law took to celebrating Durga Puja in their respective premises. Architecture: Built in the navaratna or nine spires style of Bengal architecture, the three-storeyed south-facing temple has nine spires distributed in the upper two storeys, and stands on a high platform with a flight of stairs. The garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) houses an idol of goddess Kali, known as Bhavatarini, standing on the chest of a supine Shiva, and the two idols are placed on a thousand-petaled lotus throne 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 Hooghly river. To the North east of the Temple Complex is the Vishnu Temple or the Radha Kanta Temple. 📌TIMINGS: Monday 6am–12:30pm 3:00 pm–8:30pm Tuesday 6am–12:30pm 3:00 pm–8:30pm Wednesday 6am–12:30pm 3:00pm–8:30pm Thursday 6am–12:30pm 3:00pm–8:30pm Friday 6am–12:30pm 3:00pm–8:30pm Saturday 6am–12:30pm 3:00pm–8:30pm Sunday 6am–12:30pm 3:00 pm–8:30pm Aarti timings: In summer: Mangala Aarti – 4:00 AM Bhog Aarti – 12:00 PM Sandhya Aarti – 7:00 PM In winter: Mangala Aarti – 5:00 AM Bhog Aarti -12:00 PM Sandhya Aarti – 6:30 PM #ShareWithPindle #pindlegem #Guidebook