| Temples & Legends of Bengal |
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| Temples & Legends Of
India |
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THE TEMPLES IN HOOGHLY |
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He tried to dig
up the stone, and spent a whole day at the work without reaching its lower side. During
the night he dreamed that Tarakeswar (a form of Siva) appeared to him and ordered him not
to dig up the stone, but to build over it a temple of which he should be the Mahant.
Varamal Singh then went and related his dream to his brother Vishnu Das, whose help he
asked. The two sacred stone and Varamal Singh became its first Mahant.The originaltemple
having fallen into decay, the present build- ing was erected by the Raja of Burdwan.
Chintamani Dey of Howrah is said to have erected the marble hall in front of theshrine in
gratitude for having been miraculously cured of disease in answer to prayer offered at the
shrine."
Previously the management of the temple was in the hands of a Mahant, a celibate of the
Dashami order of sanyasis. Other Mahants of the order selected the Mahant from the chelas
or disciples. Some year's back there was a protracted litigation and now the management of
the temple is in the hands of a Trust. Hooghly, the head quarters of the district along
with the adjoining town of Chinsura had attracted the European traders since the 16th
century. The Portuguese had set up their first church in 1599. During the days of the
Portuguese and Mughals, Bandel was also treated as a part of Hooghly. The present Bandel
church was built in 1660. The name Bandel is derived
from the Bengali word Bandar, which means a port. An old and important placelike Hooghly
naturally has old temples.Themain temples are either Vaishnavite or Shaivite. There is a
very large Thakurbari dedicated to Radha-Krishna where there is an attractive temple of
Radha-Krishna. As important as the Radha-Krishna temple is the Bara Akhra or a religious
meeting place.The Bara Akhra is ascribed to Chaturdash Babaji who came to Bali about 300
years back and had settled there.His tomb is still there held in great esteem by all
sections of people belonging to different creeds. |
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