Sunday, May 27, 2018

Amreshwardham, Angrabadi - A Shiva Temple near Ranchi

The self-appeared Amreshwara Shivalinga
at Angrabadi, Khunti, Jharkhand
             The Amreshwardham Temple is situated in the Khunti district of Jharkhand in the neighborhood of Ranchi district. Earlier it was known as Angrabadi Temple due to the name of the village near which it is situated. The Shivalinga here is situated under a Banyan Tree. It is said that the Shivalinga had appeared here by itself hundreds of year ago. Now a round-temple has been constructed around the Shivalinga but there is not a concrete roof over it. It is said that whenever it was tried to make a permanent roof, Shiva came in the dreams of local people and forbid it. Since the Banyan Tree has grown a big one and it is a habitat of many birds, to protect the devotees from bird-droppings a wire mesh has been placed as a roof and it is partly covered with transparent green fiber sheets around the trunk.
Maa Durga & Hanuman Temples and Yagyashala at Amreshwar Dham, Khunti, Jharkhand
             I had been here many times before and liked the place much. So when this Sunday our family planned for a devotional outing, I chose Amreshwardham mainly for the peaceful environment here. On Sunday, there is a heavy rush in the temples in the Ranchi town, like Pahari Mandir, Sri Jagannath Temple, and Venkateshwara Temple. And even out of Ranchi, the famous Deuri Mandir and the Chhinnamastika Temple attracts a crowd of devotees like a Mela. The Bhadrakali Temple of Itkhori and Maa Nagar Bhagawati Temples are a bit far away. Hence we decided to visit Amreshwardham.
             The place is situated on Ranchi-Khunti-Simdega road at about 50 km from Ranchi. We could leave our house after 09:30 AM. From Kutchery we took the Harmu bypass road to reach Dhurwa and Project Building and this road meets the Ranchi-Khunti road near a place called Hatia. The Ranchi-Khunti road is a National Highway. The road condition is very good. At a roundabout in Khunti, the right turn takes us to Khunti-Simdega road. From here ten kilometers ahead on the right side is the Shiva Temple of Amreshwardham. A welcome Gate is the landmark hear. It was 11:00 AM when we were in the temple. Now there are many temples here and the facilities have improved. We worshiped Baba Amreshwar. The Shivalinga is now covered with a sheet of brass and a railing is made around it. This temple is also very important for local Tribal people.
   I remember a visit here when many such devotees called "Bhagatiya" were offering their Puja by rolling their bodies on the ground around the Shivalinga and the Banyan Tree. The Parvati and Ganesha Temples are near the Shiva Temple. When you come out of the Shiva temple there are Radha-Krishna Temple, Hanuman Temple, and Maa Durga Temple on the right side while Ram Darbar, Temple Management Building, and the Kali Temple are on the left. Near the Kali temple, a big Banyan tree and a big Peepal tree are there. Between these trees is a Hand pump in running condition. The potable and cold water machine is placed near the Kali temple. There is a board in front of Temple Management building stating the does and do nots. Also, there is a charge-list for different Sanskaras.    
The towering Maa Durga Temple at
Amreshwardham, Khunti, Jharkhand
               The Maa Durga temple is unique here. It is towering like a Minar. In 2015 I had written a review of this place on TripAdvisor and uploaded many photos including this Durga temple. The picture was fantastic and later I found some websites had copied and uploaded the same pictures without permission or giving due credit. 
           There are some Puja-Samagri shops on the main road near the Welcome Gate and one near the Radha-Krishna temple. There is a facility for lady's toilet, but you have to ask for their keys from the management committee which they give readily. After the Puja, we sat under the Banyan tree near the hand pump and had Prasada. Spent some time there with the family and came back to Ranchi.
          With a vehicle in your hand, the trip will be amazing on the wide and smooth roads that pass through the hills and the Jungles of the lovely Khunti District.
===<<<O>>>===

INDEX






















































Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Friday, April 6, 2018

Dakshineshwar Kali Mandir, Kolkata !

 
A Panoramic View of Dakshineshwar Kali Temple and Bathing Ghat from Hooghly River

                The Dakshineshwar Kali temple, Kolkata is on the banks of Hoogli River near the Vivekanand Setu. It was the first week of January when we planned to visit here from our hotel at Karunamoyee, Salt Lake area. Our hired taxi dropped us about 400 meters away from the temple at one end of a street which is its approach from the east. There are flower shops and Puja items related shops in this street. After walking through the street we reached the parking place and after that another building having flowers and puja related shops. We bought our flowers and proceeded to the temple. The temple was a high-security zone and the number of devotees in the line was more than 150. It took about half an hour to enter the courtyard of the Dakshineshwar Temple. The courtyard was big and the temple was high with nine aspiring pinnacles. We had entered from the back of the temple that is from North. We saw three lines of devotees and queued in the very first which had fewer devotees. Later we knew the reason of fewer devotees in our line when reached near the idol of Dakshineshwar Kali. In fact, two lines were for Darshan of Devi from sides while one line was for front Darshan. My mother was not satisfied with side Darshan so she again stood behind the line in front Darshan. We, the other family members ran out of patience for standing second time in the queue. So we went to the Mandap in front of the temple and had front Darshan, though from a little distance. A life-size black Kali idol with long red tongue out is placed here. She has four hands - a "Katara" in upper left hand, a "Mund" in lower left-hand, upper right hand in "Abhay Mudra" and lower right hand in "Vardan Mudra". The "Kali roop" here is known as "Bhavatarini" - The Goddess who saves Her devotes from this world of mortals. She is standing on the chest Shiva who is lying down on the ground facing the sky. The idol and the main temple faces South.
View of Dakshineshwar Kali Temple Complex from North

                 The name of this temple is associated with great Kali Devotee Ramkrishna Parmhans about whom it is famous that the Goddess had herself given Darshan and Ashish. He had spent a long time of his life here. The temple was built in the year 1855 by Rani Rasamani (रानी रसमणि) who was a devotee of Kali and a donator for good causes. It is said that she built this temple after the Goddess came in her dream and ordered her to do so, the Goddess also said that if Rani did so SHE would herself reside in the diety.
             Devotees offer flowers, bangles and "Aalta" to the Goddess. The Hibiscus flower is a favorite of Goddess. We saw a pile of these offerings removed from the temple and stacked near the platform. After the Darshan/Pujan of Kali Mata, we went to worship Parameshwar Shiva. Twelve Shiva Temples in a row along the western end of the courtyard is built. These all are connected and these twelve Shivalinga represent the twelve Jyotirlinga as described in Shivapurana. The name and place of these Jyotirlingas are expressed in Sanskrit as follows,
AA vFk }kn”kT;ksfrfyZaxkfu dF;UrsAA

Jh x.ks”kk; ue%AA

lkSjk’Vªs lkseukFka p Jh”kSys efYydktZque~ A  
mTtf;U;ka  egkdkyeksadkjeeys”oje~AA1AA  

ijY;ka oS|ukFka p MkfdU;ka Hkhe”kadje~   A  
lsrqcU/ks rq jkes”kaa ukxs”kaa  nk#dkous AA2AA  

okjk.kL;ka rq   fo”os”ka «;Ecda  xkSrehrVs A   
fgeky;s rq dsnkja ?kq”es”ka p  f”koky;sAA3AA   


,rkfu    T;ksfrfyZaxkfu     lk;a   izkr%  iBsuj% A 
lIrtUeÑra     ikia    Lej.ksu   fou”;fr  AA4AA 
-----
         On the other side of these Jyotirlingas temples, that is outside the courtyard is the "Bathing Ghat" of the Hoogly River. From here the Vivekanand Setu can be seen. 
              After the worship of Shiva and Shakti (Kali), we saw a temple on the North East side of the courtyard. There were idols of Radha and Krishna on a silver throne (सिंहासन).  We had Darshan there too. When all Darshans complete, we saw the items sold by the temple's shop below the 12-Shiva temples in the courtyard. And then sat near the steps there (It is said that after the worship a devotee should sit in the premises of the temple) and consumed prasad. 
Goddess Kali on a 'Soop'
                We came out of the temple and went to the flower shop where we had kept our Mobiles (Mobiles and cameras are not allowed inside the temple complex). Collected them and paid their bill. On the east of this shop building is the internal road, beyond which there is a market building. A number of shops sell here different types of items which are mostly Puja related. But we were first looking for the hotels that sold food because we had not taken anything from the morning due to worship and it was afternoon. On the east of the market building, we saw many Dhaba type shops that were selling rice and Paranthas. We hungry people ate there and then roamed in the market and took pictures nearby. A unique item that we saw here was the face of Goddess Kali placed in a small Soop (सूप - An article hand-woven with bamboo strips which is used in villages to separate cereals from its husk)
                      OK! Now our next visit was planned for the famous Belur Math which is on the other side of the Hooghly river i.e. on the western side and downstream. For it, we had to take the ferry at the ferry Ghat which is just south of the temple, so we walked up to there to take the ferry.
                    Journey to the Belur Muth in the next blog, soon. 
  
===<<<O>>>===

INDEX






















































Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Kali Temple at Kalighat, Kolkata !

Entrance Gate (Dwar) of Approach Road to Kalighat Temple
                 The Kali temple of Kalighat, Kolkata is one of the famous temples in the eastern region of India. Though the Kali temple is much older, its present structure is more than 200 years old only. The importance of this temple is due to the fact that it is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in India. It is said that the Goddess Sati's toe of right foot fell here. 
 
The entrance of
Kalighat Temple Campus
         It is situated on the banks of old course of the Hooghly River. Later the river changed its course to present one. Old course is now very thin and like a canal. Due to this Kali temple, the ghat of the river and this area became popular as Kalighat. It is one of the oldest areas of Kolkata and heavily populated. The temple is about 400 m from the main road i.e. Chourangi Road. A big Dwar is made at the entrance of this approach road. Driving through it was very difficult because on both sides of this road vendors were selling their goods and they encroached the road to make it congested. Thousands of devotees visit here daily and they are a good source of income to the vendors and people in this locality. When we reached near the temple many people came to us asking for quick darshan. These people have a team in which the shopkeeper and local pandas are included. They will say that general darshan will take more than two hours time and they can arrange it for you without standing in a queue. In fact, they get an opportunity whenever the police are busy in the arrangement of the crowd and get their devotees get direct entry near the Garbh Gruh.
 
Main Temple view of Kalighat Temple, Kolkata
       The temple is built in the Bengal style. Heavy rush of devotees fills the campus and halls in front of the Garbha Gruh. When inside the Garbh Gruh one may note that the Goddess idol is placed at somewhat down level. The striking feature of the idol is that the tongue of Kali is larger in proportion to the face. Devotees main attention is concentrated towards this tongue and its Darshan is said to be lucky. After the Darshan, the Pandas with you may take you near some pillar of the hall where they will chant some mantras and ask you for a donation for different purposes. Their demand may be around some thousand rupees. Eventually, they will settle for less. It is better to say goodbye to them as soon as possible. 
Souvenir Shop,
Kalighat Temple

               Since the worship of Goddess is complete with the worship of Shiva, there is also a Shivalaya in the Campus. After the worship, earthen Diyas are lighted as Aarti and kept at a place in the campus.
Flower Shop in
Kalighat Temple
                  Due to the crowded surroundings taxi was not available near the temple and we had to walk the way to the main road. Many flower shops and souvenir shops were located on this road. In one of such shops, they were selling items like conch shells, Shankha, Rudraksha, Shivalinga, Pictures of Gods and Goddesses, Malas etc. 
       People have much faith in Goddess Kali and this Shaktipeeth is famous in this region.
===<<<O>>>===


  

INDEX






















































Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)