Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Kolkata
दक्षिणेश्वर काली मंदिर, कोलकाता
📍 Dakshineswar, Kolkata, West Bengal
On the eastern bank of the Hooghly, Dakshineswar's nine-spired temple of Maa Bhavatarini is where Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa lived and worshipped. It is one of Bengal's most beloved shrines.
हुगली तट पर नौ शिखरों वाला माँ भवतारिणी का मंदिर — जहाँ श्री रामकृष्ण परमहंस ने साधना की।
इतिहास History
Rani Rashmoni, a philanthropist of Calcutta, built the temple, and it was consecrated in 1855. The main shrine, in the Bengali nava-ratna style with nine spires, faces a courtyard lined with twelve Shiva temples along the river, beside a temple of Radha-Krishna.
Sri Ramakrishna served here as priest and lived in the temple grounds for some thirty years. His room is preserved, and it was here that the young Narendranath, later Swami Vivekananda, came to him.
कथा The legend
The Rani was preparing for a pilgrimage to Kashi when, the story goes, the Divine Mother appeared to her in a dream and asked to be worshipped on the banks of the Ganga instead. So the Rani built her a temple here.
दर्शनीय Don’t miss
- Maa Bhavatarini, standing on Shiva upon a silver thousand-petalled lotus
- The twelve Shiva temples along the river ghat
- Sri Ramakrishna's room and the Panchavati where he meditated
- A boat across the Hooghly to Belur Math, headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission
उत्सव Festivals
मंदिर दर्शन Temple story
The secrets of Dakshineswar Kali, from our YouTube series.
▶ Watch all 18 Temple Stories on YouTubePhoto: Knath · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons