Kalighat is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas of India, where, according to myth, the various parts of Sati’s body supposedly fell during Shiva's Rudra Tandava. The toes of Sati’s right foot supposedly fell at this site. Shakti Peethas mean ‘divine seats of Shakti’ (the Primordial Mother Goddess). Shakti Peethas came up at all the sites where her body parts fell.
Kalighat is also the place where a Dasanami monk called Chowranga Giri offered worship to Kali. Chowringee in Kolkata is named after him.
The scripture, Nigamatantra, says that the vast bow-shaped land which extends from Dakshineshwar to Bahulapur or Behala is Kalikhetra or the realm of Goddess Kali. The core triangular region, which is roughly 1 krosha (around 3000 mts or 1.8 miles), has Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva on the three inner corners, while Goddess Kalika is at its center. Nakuleshwar Bhairava and Ganges are seen side by side at this shrine. This place is as holy as Kashi (Benares).
Supposedly, all forms of the Mother Goddess, including Bhairavi, Bagala, Bidya, Matangi, Kamala, Brahmi, Maheshwari, and Chandi, exist here. Anyone who dies here will become free of all their sins, goes the belief. Ptolemy's India refers to a place called Kaligrama in the 2nd century AD. Another work, Bhabishya Purana, going back 2000 years, also mentions a Kali temple near Gobindapur village, which lay on the banks of the Ganges river.
Kalighat History
Kalighat might have existed since the time of the Guptas, as archaeologists discovered coins of the time from the site. When Buddhist supremacy came to an end in Bengal, Tantrik sects began to spring forth. During those days, waterways formed common trading routes. The river, Adiganga (old course of Ganges), which touched Kalikhetra, was a major route to the Bay of Bengal. The traders would perform Poojas at the temples located on both banks. The Kali temple was the most important of these temples.
The bank (situated amidst the dense forest), from which vehicles departed or arrived, eventually came to be called "Ghat" (dock). The river got the name, Kaliganga, and the region, Kalighat. In those days, Kalighat was a small hut-like structure. It housed an idol of Kali, and there was a jungle surrounding it. The Dakshina Kali idol in touchstone, which is installed there presently, might have been created by two saints called Brahmananda Giri and Atmaram Giri. They were the ones who discovered fossils of Sati's toes from the pond, Kalikunda.
In ancient times, after Brahmananda and Atmaram Giri had expired, the "Mohonto" system (main disciples among the saints chosen as the priest) was in practice at Kalighat. The first change happened during the time of a priest known as Bhubaneswar Giri. He had a female companion, Yogamaya, as Shakta traditions call Bhairavi.
Yogamaya died at a young age, soon after giving birth to a daughter, Uma. As Uma reached the age of marriage, Bhubaneswar supposedly received divine instructions to perform the marriage of Uma. Her husband was to continue the worship, as the Mother Goddess did not want to receive offerings from the hands of bachelor priests.
Since then, only married sebayats or priests perform the rituals at Kalighat. Another miracle occurred around the same time. Someone called Bhabanidas Chakraborty arrived in Kalighat in search of his father, who was a Kali devotee. He met Bhubaneswar and later settled down in Kalighat after marrying Uma. He was the first married priest of Kalighat after Bhubaneshwar received the divine instruction.
A Rivalry Ends
Bhabanidas was actually a Vaishnava (Vishnu devotee). After a while, he installed his family idol of Vasudeva on the western side of the main temple. One day, the Mother came to him in a dream and said that she was willing to have a decoration of sandalwood paste or ‘Tilak’ (which is common among Vaishnavas). The next instant, he found that the idol had an unfinished decoration of sandalwood paste and some paste remaining in the container with marks of sindoor or vermilion in it, with the rest spilled all over the room. Priests smear the Vasudeva idol with both sandalwood paste and vermilion.
Bhabanidas put ‘Tilak’ on the Kali idol’s forehead. He realized that Kali and Krishna were the same. With this, the rivalry between the Vaishnava and the Shakti cults came to an end. Since then, Kali is always decorated with a Tilak on her forehead. Kalighat celebrated another new ritual from that day onwards. On the day of Shyama Pooja (Kali Pooja), Alakshmi (negativity) was driven away as in the Hindu rituals of West Bengal, and Diwali was observed by welcoming Goddess Lakshmi. But devotees do not worship any idol or symbol of Lakshmi. They worship the Mother goddess herself as Lakshmi, as she represents all the 33 crore gods and goddesses in Hinduism.
Offering prayers at the famous Kali Mandir here as well as the equally renowned Kali Temple at Dakshineswar (which became famous during the priestly tenure of Ramakrishna Paramhamsa) is a must for devout Hindus who visit Kolkata. The sanctum sanctorum is in a small room, and circumambulation is rather difficult. In the North, people circumambulate in the anti-clockwise direction, unlike people in the South.
Rituals at Kalighat
Other than the usual rituals which take place daily, Durga Pooja, Kali Pooja (Diwali), Pahle Baisakh (Bengali New Year Day, which is on the same day as Tamil New Year Day) are all observed at the temple. There are two other important rituals that take place every year, though they are not well known.
One is Vipad Harini (remover of obstacles), which takes place in the Bengali month of Aashada (June-July). People tie thin red threads, which have been sanctified, on the wrists to remove obstacles to domestic peace and prosperity and for the welfare of the entire family. This is similar to the ritual at the Kaal Bhairav temple in Varanasi, where one gets black threads that are similarly sanctified.
Snan Jatra means ‘Bath Festival’. This, too, takes place in Aashada month. Goddess Kali’s toes (in stone) are normally kept under lock and key under the main idol. On this day, the officiating priest opens the box in a blindfolded state and washes the toes well, using lots of scented water. Priests don't perform Abishek for the main idol. Saris which devotees offered to the Goddess in the last year, are replaced with new ones. The preferred colors are black, red, and blue. The priests also distribute pieces of the Goddess’ old saris among the devotees. These are called ‘mar pid vastra’. One can keep them either in one's Pooja room or put them in an amulet and wear it. This supposedly brings many benefits.
