KALIGHAT KALI TEMPLE
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Kalighat Kali Temple is dedicated to Maa Kali. It is one of the 4 main Shakti Peethas in India. The other three are Kamakshya, Tara Devi & Bimala. Kalighat was a Ghat (landing stage) sacred to Kali on the old course of the Hooghly River (Bhāgirathi) in the city of Calcutta. The name Calcutta is said to have been derived from the word Kalighat. The river over a period of time has moved away from the temple. The temple is now on the banks of a small canal called Adi Ganga which connects to the Hooghly.
Goddess Kali is regarded as the most compound goddess of the Hindu pantheon. Usually depicted in a horrendous form, Kali is the destroyer as well as the liberator. Goddess Kali, in her wrothful form, is worshipped by thousand of devotees, who come all the way from distant parts of India and the World. The temple attracts a major portion of visitors to Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal.Kalighat Temple is a significant religious place for the followers of Hinduism. As per the legends, the different body parts of Sati fell on the earth at the time of self-sacrifice. It is believed that the right toe of Sati fell here and subsequently; the temple was erected to commemorate the Goddess. Goddess Kalika is the presiding deity in the Kalighat Temple.
Temple History
The Kalighat kali temple in its present form is about 200 years old, although it has been referred to in Mansar Bhasan composed in the 15th century, and in Kavi Kankan Chandi of the 17th century. Only two types of coins of Chandragupta II, who incorporated Vanga in the Gupta Empire, are known from Bengal. His Archer type coins, which became the most popular type of coinage with the Gupta rulers after Kumaragupta I, have been found in Kalighat. This is evidence of the antiquity of the place.
The original temple was a small hut. A small temple was constructed by King Manasingha in the early Sixteenth century. The present temple was erected under the patronage of the Sabarna Roy Chowdhury family of Banisha. It was completed in 1809. The Haldar family claims to be the original owners of the temple property. But this was disputed by the Chowdhrys of Banisha. In the nineteen sixties a committee was formed for the administrative management of the temple with representation from the Government and the Haldar family. The responsibility of conducting the worship rests with the Haldars and their heirs, generally known as sebadas.
