Photo and the history of Dakshineshwar Kali Maa

[Guest guest]

Dakshineshwar Temple has an aura about itself. The aura pertains to

 

its association with the greatest saint of Bengal�Sri Ramakrishna

 

Paramhansa. Dedicated to Goddess Kali, this temple is situated to the north of

Calcutta, a place where the god man lived for most part of his life. It is here

that the great master, as Swami Vivekananda called him, had had the pious

darshan of the Divine Mother and developed an unprecedented relationship with

her. The temple became famous because the Mother really appeared from the idol

and gave her choicest devotee the sublime darshan. The enigmatic temple was

built by Rani Rashmoni in 1847. The temple comprises of three parts. Of these,

the smallest of all chambers is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The more beautiful

shrine adjacent to it houses the renowned idol of the Goddess Kali.

Structurally, the temple is set on a platform in a vast courtyard, which is

encircled by a band of blood-red paint.

The whitewashed main Kali temple is the ornamental variation of the typical

Bengali hut design. The roof is curved and the second story is capped by nine

chhatris, each with a beehive cupola, in the navaratan (“nine-jeweledâ€)

style. Ramakrishna’s former room serves as a reminiscence of his life and

philosophy. Opposite to this building, along the riverbanks, are situated five

identical temples.

Ramakrishna died in 1886 at the age of fifty. The temple of Kali, where many of

his ecstatic trances occurred, continues to attract pilgrims from all over

India and the world. He was a messenger of the Ultimate Divinity for the

mankind and his experience with the divinity can be still realized in the Kali

temple of Dakshineshwar.

LEGEND

The unfathomable mystery of the Dakshineshwar temple idol can be unfolded with

the story of the wealthy devout widow, Rani Rashmoni. In 1847, she was

preparing to go for a pilgrimage to Benaras (present-day Varanasi) to offer her

prayers to Goddess Kali. Rani Rashmoni had made all the arrangements of the

pilgrimage. Her convoy consisted of an entire range of twenty-four boats used

for carrying the relatives, helpers and goods.

The night before her departure, Rani Rashmoni had an intriguing dream, wherein

the Divine Mother appeared and commanded that the devout lady need not go to

Benaras. Instead, she should build a temple for the Mother at the banks of the

Ganges and install a statue therein.

The Rani, gratified because of the divine darshan, promptly began constructing

the temple in 1847. The temple complex, which was ready by 1855, had Goddess

Kali as the main deity. There were also the temples of Shiva and Radha-Krishna.

The patroness engaged an elderly scholar as the head priest of the temple.

However, as fate would have it, the aged priest died within a year of taking

the responsibility and his younger brother, Ramakrishna moved in. Thus, the

great seer stepped into the Kali temple and brought along the fame that

continues even today.

The temple echoes with the experiences of Ramakrishna. The revered sage

worshipped the deity of Kali so devotedly that the Divine Goddess appeared

before him in physical form. Not once, but the Goddess continued to appear

before her ardent devotee for years. From the beginning of his priesthood,

while worshipping before the statue of Kali, Ramakrishna experienced an intense

form of love, known as the Maha-bhava in Hinduism. He lost all consciousness of

the external world and went into a spiritual trance. Consequently, he was soon

relieved from the priest’s responsibility but allowed to continue living

within the temple compound. Much of Ramakrishna’s philosophy is associated

with his experiences at the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple.

 

Arnav

[Guest guest]

Namaste

Mahashay.. Thank you very much for such a detailed description

of Dakhineswer Ma Kali and history of the temple.

 

May Kali Ma shower her blessings to one and all.

 

JAI MAA KALI...

 

 

 

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