Kalyaneshwari Mandir | Kalyaneshwari Temple Burdwan, West Bengal

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 5 kilometres downstream from Maithon Dam of Damodar Valley Corporation. The Barakar River forms the West Bengal-Jharkhand border and is about 7 kilometres from Barakar on Grand Trunk Road and about 1 kilometre off the more recently constructed NH 2 by-pass. This Temple is a popular temple of West Bengal and Jharkhand state. ‘Maa Kalyaneshwari’ who is being worshipped there in the form of Goddess Kali or Shakti. It is a belief that the idol of Goddess is a living deity. It is also believed that the Goddess Kalyaneshwari fulfills the wishes of childless women. This Hindu temple was originally constructed by Maharaja Hari Gupt and this temple was made over by king of Panchkota after five years of construction.

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.