Dakshineshwar Temple Kolkata

Dakshineshwar Temple Kolkata

Kolkata is an exotic land, with an amazing and interesting blend of various cultures and religions. A cocktail of different races impeccable fused together, Kolkata is truly cosmopolitan. Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, Jews, and Christians all live together, co-operating and co-existing side by side. Each of these religions has its own places of pilgrimage and worship spread in and around Kolkata. One of the holiest of Hindu temples here is the Dakshineshwar Temple, Kolkata.

The Dakshineshwar Temple, Kolkata is located on the bank of the Ganges, alongside the Vivekananda Bridge to the north of Calcutta. Covering almost about 25 acres, this 12- spired temple with its enormous courtyard surrounded by 12 other temples of Lord Shiva, is devoted to Goddess Kali. The fame of the Dakshineshwar Temple, Kolkata is inherently associated with Ramakrishna Paramahansa, who is said to have achieved spiritual vision here.

There is a legend as to how the Dakshineshwar Temple, Kolkata came to be. It is said that Rani Rashmoni had a dream before she was setting out on a pilgrimage to the sacred city of Benaras, where the Goddess Kali appeared before her and instructed her to construct a temple dedicated to Kali on the banks of the Ganges. This led Rani Rashmoni to immediately sanction a temple there, in 1847, which became the Dakshineshwar Temple, Kolkata.

Ramakrishna served as the head priest of the Dakshineshwar Temple, Kolkata, and from the earliest days of his service here, he was filled with a rare form of love for the Goddess known in Hinduism as "maha-bhava". While worshiping in front of the statue of Kali, Ramakrishna would often be overcome with such ecstatic love for the deity that he would fall to the ground in spiritual trance, and lose all consciousness of the external world. It is at this Dakshineshwar Temple, Kolkata that he had the pious and sublime ‘darshan’ of the Divine Mother Kali, and developed an extraordinary relationship with her.

A famous Hindu pilgrimage, as well as one of the most famous tourist attractions in the city, the Dakshineshwar Temple, Kolkata is a must-visit site, and is definitely not to be missed.

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