MAHATIRTHA, MAHAPITH KALIGHAT - ITS EVOLUTION

THE BEGINNING

	KALIGHAT Temple

Sati, the daughter of Daksha marries Shiva without her father's consent. She goes to Dakshayajna uninvited only to be insulted by her still irate father. Unable to bear the insult, Sati swoons and Shiva's eyes open from the divine meditation. Perceiving the situation, the enraged God dons His consort's body on His shoulder, and begins His Cosmic Dance of Destruction. As Nataraja, Shiva's fatal dance threatens to annihilate the world. Vishnu comes to the rescue, masterminds a plan to becalm Shiva, and with His Sudarshan Chakra, chops Sati's reclining body into pieces. The severed pieces fall in different places on earth, and at each, a place of worship is built. There is a total of 51 'pithostans' or holy places where Shakti or the divine Mother Goddess is worshipped. Kalighat is blessed with four fingers (excepting the toe) of the Mother's right leg.

THE FOUNDATION

Legend has it that Brahmananda, an apostle engaged in austere worship of God arrived at the banks of Kalighat unconscious and floating on a flat stone. Strangely enough, an icon of Kali was engraved on the floating tablet, which was laid on a pedastal and worshipped by Atmaram, the first disciple of Brahmananda.

The temple as we see it today, was built in 1809 by Basanta Roy, the King of Jessore (Bangladesh). On the southern side of Kalighat, from what was a thatched hut shrine, an impressive temple covering 14,500 square feet was built by the royal patron. It cost him about Rs.30,000 in 1809, and took about seven or eight years for completion.

If one follows the genealogical records and associated legends of the 'sevayats', it becomes obvious that the eminence of Kalighat is closely associated with the Moghul patronage of Lakshmi Kanta, ancestor of Savarna Chaudhuris of Barisha. Another name to reckon with was Raja Santosh Roychowdhury, the first 'sevayat', again of the Savarna Gotra of Barisha, who popularized and made known to the entire world the concept of Kali and the pilgrimage of Kalighat. The Kalighat Temple passed through many generations of patronage, and remains under the care and jurisprudence of the 'sevayats' or the priests and beneficiaries of the holy place today.

The Kali image at Kalighat is that of the archetypal Dark Goddess. She is embellished with a nose ring made of gold and a precious apple stone. Her arms are ornamented in gold, the left holding a silver falchion and the right, a silver severed head of a demon. Her necklace is of gold and silver sacrificed heads, her tooth and tongue carved in gold. There is a gold crown on her head, with a gold umbrella over it, and nine silver umbrellas around. The revered Goddess is wrapped in expensive clothes, with myriad flower garlands adorning her. The Lord Shiva forms the backdrop, under a silver painting. The four severed fingers of Her right leg are still preserved in a dazzling stone sculpture in an iron box, just behind the idol. It is meticulously placed in the Southwest corner and is opened only once a year for Maa's 'snanjatra', a ritualistic bathing ceremony.