JESHORESHWARI TEMPLE
JESSORE, (EAST) BENGAL
NOW BANGLADESH
“FAMOUS TEMPLES OF BENGAL”
SARASIJ MAJUMDER
PM
Modi visited the TEMPLE on 27th March, 2021, offered prayers to Jeshoreshwari Kali at the Temple
(Ishwaripur, Satkhira), and placed Crown on the head of Mother as asymbolic gesture. Crown was made of
SILVER, and plated with GOLD. The name 'Jeshoreshwari' means 'Goddess of
Jessore' in ‘SANSKRIT’ language.
The
crown is now reported stolen.
The
High Commission of India in Bangladesh has expressed "deep concern… take action against the perpetrators,….” in a TWITTER HANDLE.
Local police officials said on the matter, 'We are investigating the CCTV
footage of the temple to identify the thief'.
MYTHOLOGY:
The
temple is considered one of the 51 ‘SHAKTI PEETHS’, where hand of “SATI”—Consort
of Lord Shiva had fallen. The 51 Shakti Peethas were created when Lord Vishnu cut the
body of Sati into 51 pieces with his Sudarshan Chakra to save the world from
Shiva's destructive dance. Each piece fell on to the earth at a different
locations and became a sacred Shakti Peetha. The 51 Shakti Peethas are
considered holy places and are pilgrimage sites for Hindus. Each Shakti
Peetha is said to represent a different aspect of the goddess Shakti.
The
Bengal region (SUBE BANGLA) has the most of the Shakti Peethas.
These are all important religious sites for all
Hindus. 49 'Saktipeeths’ are located in INDIA.
A
famous Hindu temple honouring the goddess Kali in Bangladesh is called
Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple. "Jeshoreshwari" means "Goddess of Jessore"
in Sanskrit. The temple is in Satkhira Ishwaripur, which is a Shyamnagar
upazila. Jeshoreshwari is one of the 51 Peethas of Sati. The location of Sati's
palm fell here, which symbolizes Jeshoreshwari.
LEGEND:
It is
said that a Brahman by the name of Anari served as the founder of the temple.
For Jeshoreshwari Peetha, he founded a structure with one hundred doors. Later,
during Lakshman Sen and Pratapaditya's takes over, it underwent renovations.
It was
believed that Maharaja Pratapaditya's father, Vikrmaditya and one of his
associates, Basanta Roy, secretly loaded Sultan's immense wealth on boats and buried
them to this area, which was a FOREST, during the extreme anarchy in Gaur. The fame
of the forest-covered site gradually spread.
It
is a proverb that the newly established state was named Jessore because of the
prosperity of this area by taking away the fame of Gaur. Then Pratapaditya
established his new capital in 1590 near present town Ishwaripur. Legend has it that Pratapaditya
found this temple at a confluence of the Jamuna and Ichamati rivers when he saw
smoke rising from a distance while building a new capital city. Another view is
that the king saw a line of miraculous light coming out of the jungle here and
falling on a rock in the shape of a human's palm. He got closer and discovered
that the ray was coming from a stone shaped like a human palm.
Pratapaditya
afterwards began to worship Kali and renovated this temple as Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple. It was given the
nickname "Goddess of Jessore" because of Jessore.. It was the most
outstanding achievement of King Pratapaditya's life. The new capital city
renowned by the king was Jeshoreshwari Puri. From then on, the name of this
village was Jeshoreshwari Pur. But now it is called Ishwaripur. From the time
of King Pratapaditya, his Mantraguru and Dewan Chattopadhyay family is the male
servant and PRIEST of this temple.
TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE:
A
big rectangular covered platform known as NATMONDIR was built close to the main
temple, from which the goddess's visage can be visible.. It fell apart after
1971. Only the pillars are visible now. The statue in the temple is a unique
creation of sculptural art of the local Chanda nation of South Bengal. The
temple is housing a terrifying Karalvbadana made of hard stone and a beautiful
Kali idol. Only the face of the mother figure established on the temple.
WORSHIP:
Regardless
of sectarian divides, pilgrims from all over the world travel to the temple.
The priest conducts worship every Saturday and Tuesday at noon. But there was a
daily worship schedule in place before 1971. The current temple caretakers hold
a ceremony on the day of Kali puja each year. A fair is also going on then all around the temple grounds. This fair has
held for three days in front of temples.
At
the centre of the festival, Goddess Jeshoreshwari adorns herself with various
ornaments and blesses the devotees. Kali Puja has dedicated to the Hindu
goddess Kali. During worship, thousands of devotees in the temple worshipped,
vowed and listened to the Mother's glory.
NEARBY
PLACES TO VISIT & How to Reach:
1.Banshipur
Mallik-Para Jame Masjid
2.Tenga
Masjid
It
would be best if you first travel to Satkhira, and then take an
auto-rickshaw or bus to the temple. To go to Ishwaripur, the only way is to take
a bus/ auto and then cross a river by boat.
References:-
1.0
Banglar Mandir – book, by Pranab Roy.
2.0
“SHAKTI: 51 Sacred Peethas of the Goddess” book published by Rupa Publications and authored by Dr
Alka Pande.
3.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghOOa53EUnc
4.0
Current Newspapers.
5.0
Image: Google
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