Thanthania Kalibari
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Thanthania Kalibari is a
Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...
dedicated to the
Hindu goddess Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. Deities in Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions, and a Hindu can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, even agnostic, atheistic, or humanist. Julius J. Lip ...
Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...
, first of the ten
Mahavidyas The ''Mahavidya'' (, , lit. ''Great Wisdoms'') are a group of ten Hinduism, Hindu Tantra, Tantric Devi, goddesses. The ten Mahavidyas are usually named in the following sequence: Kali, Tara (Devi), Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi ...
in the Hindu tantric tradition and the supreme deity in the Kalikula worship tradition. One of the oldest Kali temples in Kolkata, Maa Kali is worshipped here as "Maa Siddheshwari". Located on
Bidhan Sarani Bidhan Sarani (formerly known as Cornwallis Street) is a principal north–south thoroughfare in north part of Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It was named after the first Chief Minister of West Bengal, Bidhan Chandra R ...
in
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, hundreds of devotees gather at the temple for worship on the occasions of
Kali Puja Kali Puja (ISO: ), also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. It is celebrated on the new moon day (Dipannita Amavasya) of the Hindu calendar month o ...
, Kaushiki Amavasya and Phalaharini Amavasya.


History

The temple was built in 1703 by a
tantrik Tantric may refer to: Religion Religious practices *Tantra massage, a form of erotic massage *Tantric sex, Hindu and Buddhist tantric practices that utilize sexual activity in a ritual or yogic context *Tantric yoga, a form of yoga *Tibetan tantri ...
Uday Narayan Brahmachari on a
shmashana A shmashana outside an Indian village A shmashana () is a Hindu crematory ground, where dead bodies are brought to be burnt on a pyre. It is usually located near a river or body of water on the outskirts of a village or town; as they are usually ...
. The image of the presiding deity Siddheshwari is made of clay and was molded by Brahmachari himself, initially. With his limited finances, he built the temple of mud walls and the roof from palm leaves. At that point of time, the place was located in the dense forests of the Gobindapur and Sutanuti villages. The city of
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
was still not formed. When people used to pass through the forest trails close to the temple, they could hear the bells of the temple ringing a "than-than" sound. From there, the temple derived its prefix name "Thanthania". Later in 1806, the present day Thanthania Kalibari was re-established by a businessman Shankar Ghosh. He also made an "ath-chala" "Pushpeswar Shiv Mandir" in the temple complex, while re-founding the temple. He took the responsibility of worshipping the deity daily and till today, his descendants worship Maa Siddheswari and also maintain the temple as the ''sevayets''. Ghosh's grandson Swami Subhodhananda was a direct disciple of 19th century mystic
Ramakrishna Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886——— —), also called Ramakrishna Paramahansa (; ; ), born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay,M's original Bengali diary page 661, Saturday, 13 February 1886''More About Ramakrishna'' by Swami Prab ...
. Some legends also mention that
Ramakrishna Paramahansa Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886——— —), also called Ramakrishna Paramahansa (; ; ), born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay,M's original Bengali diary page 661, Saturday, 13 February 1886''More About Ramakrishna'' by Swami Prab ...
lived close to this temple, when he used to come in Gobindapur-Sutanuti. He frequently visited the temple and sing out devotional hymns to Maa Siddheswari. The "bani" which he said inside the temple has been engraved on its walls, which reads "Shankarer hridoy majhe, Kali biraje" (Maa Kali resides within the heart of Shankar). During his stays, he preached to common people about the awakened Maa Siddheswari present in the temple.


Maa Siddheswari

Maa Kali here is worshipped as "Maa Siddheswari". Maa Kali here is of dark complexion. She has four hands, each of which carry different objects and symbolise different ideals. She hold a "khara" in the upper left hand while her lower left hand hold a "narakpal". Her upper right hand is in a aashirvad mudra to provide assurance to her devotees. Her lower right hand holds a "barada mudra". Although there are a few gold jewelleries, she is mostly adorned with silver jewelleries.


Worship of deity

Presently, the idol is reconstructed every year is painted with the red and black colours. Tuesdays and Saturdays are considered auspicious for a visit to the temple. The temple is 300+ years old and the idol is even older. The Temple remains open for seven days in a week. Daily it opens its door at 6:00 a.m. and closes at 11:00 a.m. It reopens its door for the devotees at 3:00 p.m. and closes for the day at 8:00 p.m. Since the temple is a Tantrik temple, all the rituals are followed as per the tantric traditions and hence,
animal sacrifice Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spread of Chris ...
is still continued on all no moon nights and during
Kali Puja Kali Puja (ISO: ), also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. It is celebrated on the new moon day (Dipannita Amavasya) of the Hindu calendar month o ...
. On different Amavasyas, the deity is worshipped in different forms. In the month of "Jaishtha", she is worshipped as "Phalaharini" in "Phalaharini Puja" while in the month of "Kathika", she is worshipped as "Aadikali" in "Aadikali Puja". In the month of "Magha", she is worshipped as "Ratanti Kali" in "Ratanti Kali Puja". On the day of
Kali Puja Kali Puja (ISO: ), also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. It is celebrated on the new moon day (Dipannita Amavasya) of the Hindu calendar month o ...
in Kartik Amavasya and "krishnapaksha tithi", she is worshipped in her "Siddheswari" form. While devotees visit the temple all throughout the year, the day of Kali Puja receives the highest number of devotees.


Prasad

Thanthania Kalibari is one of the few Kali temples in India, where non-veg
prasad 200px, ''Naivedya'' offered to Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir in Mayapur, India">Mayapur.html" ;"title="Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir, Mayapur">Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir in Mayapur">Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir, Mayapur">Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandi ...
is offered to the deity. Although non-veg prasad is offered for the whole year, veg prasad is offered on the days ''"Dipannwita Amavasya Kali Puja"'' and ''"Phalaharini Amavasya Kali Puja"''. The ritual of providing non-veg prasad started by
Ramakrishna Paramahansa Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886——— —), also called Ramakrishna Paramahansa (; ; ), born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay,M's original Bengali diary page 661, Saturday, 13 February 1886''More About Ramakrishna'' by Swami Prab ...
. He gave puja to Maa Siddheswari with the offerings of "dab-chingri", praying for the quick recovery of Brahmananda Keshav Chandra Sen. That day onwards, the ritual of offering non-veg as prasad has been followed. When Ramakrishnadev fell sick while his stay at Shyamapukur, his followers prayed at the temple to Maa Siddheswari for his quick recovery, while serving non-veg prasad to the deity.


See also

* List of Hindu temples in West Bengal


References


External links

{{Hindu temples in West Bengal Hindu temples in Kolkata