Kalyaneshwari Temple
Kalyaneshwari temple
(Bengali) is at Kalyaneshwari in Asansol sub-division of Paschim Bardhaman
district in the Indian state of West Bengal which is situated on the banks of
Barakar River. Kalyaneshwari temple is a famous Hindu temple. In the 3rd
century king of Panchkot was built this temple. It is about
History
Kalyaneshwari is a 500-year- old, popular
pilgrim centre of ‘Shakti’ worship. According to the old custom, Human
sacrifices were done to pay homage to Goddess Durga. However, the present temple
is not very old and ancient and was constructed by the Panchkot Raj. Goddess
Kalyaneshwari is believed to fulfil the wishes of childless women.
History says that Goddess Parvati’s body
parts were fell down in different parts of the world by lord Vishnu’s Chakra.
Hence, in the temple premise, the deity is in the form of meteor (fallingstars).
This well known Kalyaneswari temple is
devoted to the Lady of Fulfilment. The temple has a 500-year old holy shrine of
Shakti in the form of Goddess Kali and hence devotees worship Maa durga and Maa
Kali. This pious and religious temple is one of the oldest Maa Kali temples in
West Bengal. The temple has been a famous place of pilgrimage since 500 years
till date; primarily very popular among barren women. Being a holy and
spiritual place, this temple is flooded at all times with devotees from around
the country. Devotees specially women visit this godly place by travelling from
far off places, pleading and offering prayers to reinstate their infertility.
A story was
associated with the history and mythology of this temple, as the Puranas say
that a priest and his family used to worship the Goddess faithfully in the old days.
In pooja ceremonies and daily rituals,
that priest always offered food in the
form of Prasada to goddess. One day the
priest was delayed to perform the pooja and asked his daughter to sit for a while
when he could arrange the food. The deity accepted his daughter as a sacrifice
and killed her. The priest was shocked. On this, the goddess regretted and
promised to fulfil the wishes of all her devotees particularly those who would wish
for a child. Meanwhile, she blessed the priest to get another child. The Goddess
fulfilled the wishes of her devotees. The temple has a simple and nifty
structure. Inside the temple premise, the goddess deity is placed there and the
deity is covered with red cloth and in the left hand it holds the little child.
The temple is surrounded by Maithan dam. The idol is in the form of Maa
Kalyaneshwari.
