Kalighat : Kalipuja : History of Kalighat Temple

According to a scripture called "Pithamala's Nigamatantra" the vast bow shaped land stretching from Dakshineshwer to Bahulapur i.e. Behala is the Kalikhetra or
realm of Kali. The core triangular region, approximately 1 krosha have Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva on the three inner corners and Devi Kalika at its center. Nakuleshwar Bhairava and Ganges remains side by side at this shrine. Austerity of the region parallels that of Kashi (Venaras).

All forms of Hindu Mother Goddess like Bhairavi, Bagala, Bidya, Matangi, Kamala, Brahmi, Maheshwari and Chandi will always exist at this location. Living beings whoever will breath its last at this location will be relieved of all sin. In the second century AD Ptolemy's India has a reference of a place called Kaligrama. Nearly 2000 years back another writing called Bhabishya Purana also refers to a Kali temple near Gobindapur village at the bank of Ganges.

Kalighata might have been situated as early as the time of the Guptas,as coins of the time was unearthed from the location. At the end of the Buddhist suprimacy at Bengal Tantric sects became active. During the time waterways was the common trading routes. For this purpose river Adiganga (old course of Ganges), touching Kalikhetra was an important route to Bay of Bengal. These traders used to offer pujas to the various temples situated at both the banks, among these that of Kali was most important to them.

Amidst the dense forest the bank from which vehicles deport and arrive was termed gradually as "Ghat" or dock. The river as Kaliganga and the region came to be known as Kalighat. Kalighat was at that time a small hut like structure with a furious idol of Kali in it and a dense jungle around. The present Dakshina Kali idol in touchstone might have been a creation of two saints called Brahmananda Giri and Atmaram Giri. It was they who discovered fossils of fingers of Devi Sati's feet from the pond called Kalikunda.

This discovery made Kalighat as one of the 51 shrines or Pithas of worshippers of Shakti or mother goddess, where sections of Sati's body was throw at the time of Tandava. Those fingers (according to some only one finger) were still preserved in a silver box under the idol, at the north-east corner. Saborno Chaudhuries of Borisha reconstructed the temple to its present form. It was under Raja Santosh Roy chaudhuri of Saborno Chaudhuri lineage that present day temple construction was started around end of 1798.

In its early days, after death of Brahmananda and Atmaram Giri, the "Mohonto" system (main disciples among the saints chosen as Priest) was practiced at Kalighat. During the time of such a disciple, Bhubaneswar Giri the first change occurs. He kept a woman called Yogamaya as his companion or Bhairavi as called according to Shakta traditions.Yogamaya died at an early age shortly after giving birth to a daughter called Uma. As Uma attained the age of marriage Bhubeneswar gets divine instruction to give marriage of Uma and to continue worship by her husband as the mother goddess is no longer willing to get offerings from the hands of ascetic priests.

From then onwards all sebayats (people who make their living out of worshipping) of Kalighat are married. At the same time another miracle occurred. A person called Bhabanidas Chakraborty in search of his Kali worshipper father came to Kalighat. On Bhubaneswar he settled there marrying Uma and became the first married priest of Kalighat following the Divine instruction.

Bhabanidas was himself a Vaishnava and in course of time established his family idol of Vasudeva on the west side of the main temple. One day he had a dream that the Mother is willing to have a decoration of sandalwood paste or what is known as "Tilaka" (commonly used by Vaishnavas or worshippers of Vishnu). In the next moment at the temple he found the idol to have an unfinished decoration of sandalwood paste and the residue paste in the container with marks of vermilion in it and rest spilled on the entire room. The Vashudeva idol was painted with both sandalwood paste and vermilion.

Bhabanidas put "Tilaka" on the forehead of Kali realising the divine massage that both Kali and Krishna are the same spirit.This ends the long drawn rivalry between the Vaishnava cult and Sakti cult. From then onwards Kali has been decorated with Tilaka in her forehead. Kalighat celebrate another novel ritual from then onwards. At the very day of Shyamapuja, Alaxmi (negative) was driven away like West Bengali Hindu rituals and Dipawali was conducted with welcoming of Goddess Laxmi. But here no idol or any symbol of Laxmi was worshipped. Instead the Mother goddess herself was worshipped as Laxmi, as she is believed to be the expression of entire 33 crores of Hindu gods and goddess.

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