News India-Times

Kalighat is believed to be the location where Sati's right toe fell.

Goddess Kali is one of Bengal's main deities. She is regarded as both a destroyer and a savior and is depicted in a fearful form. Despite her scary form, Kali is worshiped in almost every home in Bengal because she is believed to bestow harmony on worshipers.

The temple has attracted many interesting legends. One such is that a devotee once saw a ray of light coming from the Bhagirathi river-bed and discovered that it emanated from a piece of stone carved in the form of a human toe.

He also found a svayambhu lingam of Nakuleshwar Bhairav nearby, and began worshiping Goddess Kaali in the midst of a thick jungle.

The Kalighat temple in its present form is about 200 years old, but its actual date of foundation is unclear as it has been referred to both in Mansar Bhasan composed in the 15th century, and in Kavi Kankan Chandi of the 17th century.

The original temple was a small hut. King Manasingha, during early 16th century, constructed a small temple. The present temple, however, was built under the patronage of the Sabarna Roy Chowdhury family of Banisha.

This family is also said to have built the Chitreswari Kaali temple in Chitpur, West Bengal. It is believed that there was a pathway through the jungle between Chitpur and Kalighat, and this pathway, according to some records, became the Chitpur road of modern day Kolkata.

The Kalighat temple was completed in the year 1809. Another family, the Haldars of Kolkata, claim to be the original owners of the temple property. But the Chowdhurys of Banisha dispute this claim.

Labels: Goddess Kali, Hindu, Kalighat, religion, religious, temples

# posted by PressMart Team @ 1:41 AM