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| {{Short description|Temple dedicated to Goddess Kali in India}}
| | #REDIRECT [[Kalighat Temple]] |
| {{EngvarB|date=May 2015}}
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| {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
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| {{Infobox Hindu temple
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| | image = Kalighat Temple Kolkata India - panoramio.jpg
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| | alt =
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| | caption = View of the Kalighat Temple
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| | map_type = India West Bengal
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| | map_caption = [[West Bengal]]
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| | coordinates = {{coord|22|31|12|N|88|20|31|E|type:landmark_region:IN-WB|display=inline,title}}
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| | country = [[India]]
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| | state = [[West Bengal]]
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| | district =
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| | location = [[Kolkata]]
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| | elevation_m =
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| | deity = [[Kali]]
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| | festivals = [[Kali Pujo]], [[Durga Pujo]], [[Chorok]]
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| | architecture = [[Bengal Temple Architecture]]
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| | temple_quantity =
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| | inscriptions =
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| | year_completed = 1809
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| | website = {{url|https://mandironline.org/ind-700026-100001/}}
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| }} | | }} |
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| '''Kalighat Kali Temple''' is a [[Hindu temple]] in [[Kalighat]], [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]] dedicated to the [[Hindu goddess]] [[Kali]].<ref name="Hindu_SB">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/05/09/stories/2003050901460700.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030630031321/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/05/09/stories/2003050901460700.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 30, 2003|title= Kali Mandir of Kolkata |last=Balakrishnan|first=S|date=May 9, 2003|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=2009-11-10}}</ref> It is one of the [[Shakti Peethas]].
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| [[Kalighat]] was a Ghat (landing stage) sacred to Kali on the old course ([[Adi Ganga]]) of the [[Hooghly river]] (Bhāgirathi) in the city of [[Kolkata]]. The name Kolkata is said to have been derived from the word Kalikata devi of Kalighat Temple. 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 River|Hooghly]]. The Adi Ganga was the original course of the river Hooghly. Hence the name ''Adi'' (original) ''Ganga''.
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| == Legend ==
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| Kalighat is regarded as one of the 51 [[Shakti Peethas]] of the Indian Subcontinent, where the various parts of [[Adi shakti|Sati]]'s body are said to have fallen, in the course of Shiva's [[Rudra]] [[Tandava]]. Kalighat represents the site where the toes of the right foot of [[Dakshayani]] or [[Adi shakti|Sati]] fell.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SHAKTIPEETH -among MAHAVIDYA -KALI -RIGHT TOE FELL HERE OF SATI .-maaa - Reviews, Photos - Kalighat Kali Temple |url=http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g304558-d311671-r743021805-Kalighat_Kali_Temple-Kolkata_Calcutta_Kolkata_District_West_Bengal.html |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=Tripadvisor |language=en-IN}}</ref>
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| Kalighat is also associated with the worship offered to Kali by a Dasanami Monk by name Chowranga Giri, and the Chowringee area of [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] is said to have been named after him.{{Cn|date=July 2021}}
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| ==History==
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| [[File:Kalighat Temple, 1887.jpg|left|thumb|Painting of the Kalighat Kali Temple, c. 1887]]
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| The Kalighat temple in its present form is only about 200 years old, although it has been referred to in Mansar Bhasan composed in the 15th century, and Kavi Kankan Chandi in the 17th century. The present structure of the temple was completed under the Sabarna Roy Chowdhury family's patronage in 1809. Santosh Roy Chowdhury, a Kali devotee himself, started the construction of the present-day temple in 1798. It took 11 years to complete the construction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History - Kalighat Kali Temple |url=https://kalighatkalitemple.com/article/id/230/history |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=kalighatkalitemple.com}}</ref> The factual authenticity of Roy Chowdhurys' being the traditional patron of the deity is disputed.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Moodie|first=Deonnie|title=The Making of a Modern Temple and a Hindu City: Kalighat and Kolkata|date=2018-11-06|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-088528-1|language=en}}</ref>
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| ==Temple details==
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| {{Unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}
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| ===Shoshti Tala===
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| [[Image:Shoshti tala.jpg|thumb|Shoshti Tala]]
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| This is a rectangular altar about three feet high bearing a small cactus plant. Beneath the tree, on an altar three stones are placed side by side - left to right representing the goddesses [[Shashthi]] (Shoshti), [[Shitala]] and [[Chandi|Mangal Chandi]]. This sacred spot is known as Shoshti Tala or [[Manasa|Monosha]] Tala. This altar was constructed by Gobinda Das Mondal in 1880. The place of the altar is the Samadhi of Brahmananda Giri. Here all the priests are female. No daily worship or offering of Bhog (food offering) is done here. The goddesses here are considered as part of Kali.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}
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| ===Natmandir===
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| A large rectangular covered platform called Natmandir has been erected adjacent to the main temple, from where the face of the image can be seen. This was originally built by Zamindar Kasinath Roy in 1835. It has been subsequently renovated often.
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| ===Jor Bangla===
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| [[File:Kalighat 1947.jpg|thumb|The temple's bathing ghat, 1947.]]
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| The spacious verandah of the main temple facing the image is known as Jor Bangla. Rituals occurring inside the sanctum sanctorum are visible from the Natmandir through the Jor Bangla.
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| ===Harkath Tala===
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| This is the spot adjacent to the Natmandir, southwards meant for Bali (sacrifice). There are two Sacrificial altars for animal sacrifices side by side. These are known as Hari-Kath.
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| ===Radha-Krishna Temple===
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| This temple is known as Shyama-raya temple and is situated inside the temple at the west side of the main temple. In 1723, a settlement officer of Murshidabad district first erected a separate temple for Radha-Krishna. In 1843 a [[Zamindar of Bawali]] called Udoy Narayan erected the present temple in the same spot. The Dolmancha was founded in 1858 by Madan Koley of Saha Nagar. There is a separate kitchen for preparation of vegetarian Bhog (food offering) for Radha-Krishna.
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| ===Kundupukur===
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| [[Image:Kalighat Temple Tank.jpg|thumb|Kalighat Temple Tank (Kundupukur)]]
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| This is the sacred tank situated in the south-east of the temple outside the boundary walls. Present area of the tank is approximately 10 cottahs. In the past it was bigger and called 'Kaku-Kunda'. The 'Sati-Anga' (the right toe of Sati) was discovered from this tank. It is believed that taking a dip in this small pond/ tank can bestow one with the boon of a child. The water from this tank is regarded as sacred as that of the Ganges. Pilgrims practice the holy dipping event called ''Snan Yatra''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Top Ten Temple Towns of India|publisher=Mark Age Publication|first=S.C.|last=Karkar|location=Kolkota|isbn=978-81-87952-12-1|year=2009|page=91}}</ref>
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| There had been futile efforts in the past of draining the water from the tank for cleaning, which creates a strong possibility of a subterranean link with the Adi Ganga.
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| ==The Kalighat Temple as a Shakti Peeth==
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| {{unreferenced section|date=March 2018}}
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| The temple is revered as an important [[Shakti Pitha]], by the [[Shaktism]] sect of Hinduism. The mythology of Daksha's [[yajna]] and Sati's self-immolation is the story behind the origin of Shakti Peethas.
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| [[Daksha]], the son of [[Brahma]] was an ancient entity called [[Prajapati]], or the keeper of the beings in Hinduism. He had a lot of daughters, one of whom was [[Sati (Hindu goddess)|Sati]], an incarnation of [[Adi Parashakti]], the primordial mother goddess. She was married to [[Shiva]], the ascetic god, whose abode was in the cold and snowy recesses of [[Mount Kailash]]. Daksha frowned upon the marriage, as Shiva was a penniless man, quite unlike the prince Daksha expected him to be. In time, Daksha decided that he would arrange a [[yajna]] or a sacrifice where he would invite all the gods, except for Shiva. Sati, his daughter arrived at the venue, uninvited and faced a flurry of insults from her father about her husband. Unable to bear the insults, she cursed her father to face Shva's wrath and immolated herself, promising to be reborn only to a good-natured father. The news of Sati's death set Shiva in an uncontrolled rage. He tore two locks of his hair and created [[Virabhadra]] and [[Mahakali]], who desecrated the sacrifice and beheaded Daksha.
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| After the huge battle, Brahma and [[Vishnu]] appealed to Shiva to restore peace by reviving Daksha. Shiva agreed and replaced Daksha's head with that of the sacrificial [[goat]]. Daksha awoke and repented for his sins. Shiva forgave him and walked up to Sati's charred body. Shiva dropped his [[trishula|trident]] and cried aloud, lamenting his wife's demise. He picked up her body and started the [[tandava]] dance, with Sati's burnt body. Fearing that the universe might be destroyed by Shiva, Vishnu sent his [[Sudarshana Chakra]] flying and cut Sati's body into fifty-one pieces, which would fall all over the length and breadth of [[India]] (and modern-day [[Pakistan]], [[Nepal]], [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Bangladesh]]). Shiva, having calmed down, went back to his meditation until Sati was reborn as [[Parvati]], married him, and mothered [[Ganesha]] and [[Kartikeya]].
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| The [[Shakti Pitha|Shakti Peethas]] or divine seats of [[Adi Parashakti]], thus came into being wherever the severed parts of Sati's body had fallen. Each of the 51 Peethas has a temple dedicated to the goddess, and a temple dedicated to Shiva, or his fierce incarnation [[Bhairava]], essentially forming important historical centers to mark the marriage of Shiva and Shakti, and also the philosophical fact that Shiva is nothing without his Shakti and vice versa. The goddess is worshipped here as Dakshina [[Kali]] while Shiva is worshipped as Nakuleshwar. It is believed that the right big toe of Sati (according to another opinion, four toes of right leg<ref>Kalikshetra Kalighat, Sumon Gupta, Deep Prakashan, Kolkata, 2006, p. 13</ref>) fell here at Kalighat. However, some Puranas also mention that the face of the Goddess fell here, got fossilized, and is worshipped here.
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| The 51 Shakti Peethas are linked to the 51 letters in the [[Sanskrit]] alphabet, each carrying the power to invoke one of the goddesses associated with them. These letters are called [[Bija mantra|Beeja Mantras]] or the seeds of the primordial sounds of creation. The Beeja Mantra for Dakshina Kali is Krīm.
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| The mythological texts which include the [[Kalika Purana]], recognize four Shakti Peethas as sites where most of the energy is. [[Vimala Temple|Vimala]] where the feet fell (Pada Khanda), [[Tara Tarini Temple|Tara Tarini]] housing the breasts (Stana Khanda), [[Kamakhya Temple|Kamakhya]], where the genitals fell ([[Yoni]] Khanda) and [[Dakshineswar Kali Temple|Dakshina]] [[Kali]], where the face fell (Mukha Khanda). These four temples originated from the lifeless body of Sati.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}
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| ==See also==
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| * [[Dakshineswar Kali Temple]]
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist}}
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| ==Further reading==
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| * {{cite book |author1=Rachel Fell McDermott |author2=Jeffrey John Kripal |title=Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3xj-s2JWKBMC&pg=PP1 |year=2005 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-2041-8 }}
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| ==External links==
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| * {{Official website|http://kalighatkalitemple.com/}}
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| {{Hindu temples in West Bengal}}
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| {{Shaktism}}
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| {{Tourist attractions in Kolkata}}
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| {{Kolkata topics}}
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| {{Authority control}}
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| [[Category:1809 establishments in India]]
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| [[Category:Hindu temples in Kolkata]]
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| [[Category:Shakti Peethas]]
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| [[Category:Hindu temples practicing animal sacrifice]]
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