Devi temple : Dakshineswar Kali Temple

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The temple was constructed in 1847 by Rani Rasmani, widow of Raj

Chandra Das ( A wealthy landlord from Calcutta ) Ramakrishna remarked

that the Rani was one of the eight companions of the Divine Mother.

Rani Rasmani was a great devotee of Kali, and among her many other

noble qualities was a genuine sympathy for the poor.

 

It took her eight years at great expense to complete the Kali Temple

compound which also included a Vishnu Temple and a 12 Shive temple.

It is said that she spend 50,000 rupees for land, 160,000 rupees for

building an embankment along the river; 900,00 rupees for the Kali

Temple complex, and 226,000 rupees for property used as endowment for

the maintenance of the temple

 

The story goes as this : In 1847 she decided to go on a pilgrimage to

Kashi to perform a special pooja to Vishwanath Shiva and to

Annapurna. There was no railway between Calcutta and Kashi, so the

Rani make the journey by boat. Her first stop over night was at

Dakshineswar. That night Kali appeared in Rani's dream and

instructed

her to install her ( Kali ) image by the bank of the river ganga, and

to arrange for the daily worship and food offerings. Kali said that

she will manifest herself in the image and accept all worship.

 

The next morning the Rani gave order to cancel the pilgrimage. The

search for a suitable thus began to built a Kali Temple. The Rani

fouond a 20 acre plot of land in the village of Dakshineswar on the

eastern bank of Ganges. The ground had the shape of the back of

tortoise. Part of this land belong to an Englishman, while the

remaining part consisted of an abandoned Muslim burial ground,

associated with the memory of a Mohammedan holy man. Such a burial

ground, according to the Tantras, is very suitable for the

installation of Shakti and her Sadhana.

 

When the temple construction neared completion, the Rani constructed

a sculptor to make the Kali image. The sculptor carved a beautiful ,

black image of Kalil in basalt and used white Italian marble for the

form of Shiva. Once Kali was completed to the satisfaction of the

Rani, the statue was safely packed into a box.

 

Time went by and still the Rani had not fixed a date for the temple

consecration. One night, she had a dream, wherein Ma Kali appeared

and said, "How long will you keep me confined this way? I feel

suffocated. Install me as soon as possible". When the box which

stored the image was opened, workers found the statue of Kali moist

with perspiration.

 

The Rani quickly fixed the installation ceremony of Ma Kali on the

day of the snana-yaatra.

 

 

 

OM ParaShaktiye Namaha