Dhakeshwari Temple, Dhaka –
History
It is believed that the
Dhakeshwari temple was built in the 12th century by Ballal
Sen, a king of the Sena
dynasty, and it is said that the city was named after the
Goddess. The style of architecture of the temple cannot be assigned to
that period. Furthermore, sand and lime, the mortar used in the building, came
to be used in Bengal after Muslim conquest. Moreover, Abul Fazl, in his Ain-i-Akbari, has not mentioned anything about
this temple, though he has given vivid description of each and every notable
object in his chapter on the survey of ten subahs.
Had this temple existed in his time, it was expected that it would find mention
in his survey.
On the other hand, the
three-domed roof and three arched entrances and the plastered walls of the
temple strongly suggest that it was built in the Mughal style. On the other
hand, the architectural and structural features of the temple indicate its
builder to be someone who had very little influence on the culture of Bengal.
Many of the features, such as the existence of a large tank, banian tree,
garden, matha, resting-place and ashrama for sannyasis, and the practice of
allowing one and all inside the temple suggest similarity to Arakanese religion
and religious practices.
The existence of twin deities -
the ten-armed female deity known as Dhakeshwari and the four-armed male deity
known as Vasudeva - suggests the affinity with Tantric Buddhism of the Maghs. The
Magh Nathas do not have any particular naming system; usually words like Natha,
Isvara or Isvari are appended to place or tribal names. The female deity has
got the epithet Dhakeshwari as the patron deity of the city of Dhaka (Dhaka +
Isvari). Thus, it is assumed that the deity belonged to the Maghs and the
architectural features indicate its affinity to Arakanese structures.
From all these it has been
suggested that the builder of this temple was one Mangat Ray, who was also
known as Ballalasena, younger brother of Arakanese king Shrisudharma, son of
famous Arakanese king Raja Malhana. Mangat was obliged to take shelter in Dhaka
having been driven away from Arakan. However, it must be said that there is
another explanation of the name. The deity was found hidden underneath the
earth and hence the name. Legends ascribe the construction of the temple to
Ballalasena, the Sena king, who found the deity and constructed a temple for
it.
Thus, it appears that the origin
of the Dhakeshwari temple is shrouded in mystery. In the beginning of the 20th
century Bradley Birt wrote that the temple is more than 200 years old and a
Hindu agent of the East India company built
it. The temple complex has undergone repairs, renovation and rebuilding in its
long years of existence and its present condition does not clearly show any of
its original architectural characteristics. It may be mentioned that nearby
there was an Imambara or Husaini Dalan and in a map of 1864 it
was marked as the old Huseni Dalan.
It is considered an essential
part of Dhaka's cultural heritage. Many
researchers believe that the temple is also one of the Shakti
Peethas, where the jewel from
the crown of the Goddess Sati had fallen. Although there is
not enough historical context to establish this as a fact, researchers have
been directed to this site while trying to locate the particular Shakti Peetha.
Since ages, the temple has been held in great importance.
The original 800-year-old statue
was taken to Kumartuli, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. During the partition of
India, she was brought to Kolkata from Dhaka with millions of refugees. By
1950, the businessman Debendranath Chaudhary built the temple of Goddess in
Kumortuli area and established some of the Goddess' property for her daily
services. The idol is 1.5 feet tall, has ten arms, mounted on her lion in the
form of Kathyayini Mahishasuramardhini Durga. On her two sides are Laxmi,
Saraswathi, Kartik and Ganesh.
A Tiwari family from Azamgarh
was appointed by the royal family for daily worship of the deity. In 1946, the
descendants of that family came to Calcutta and were re-appointed, where they
still serve the Goddess continuously. Current presiding deity here in
Dhakeshwari Temple is the replica of original idol. It was severely damaged
during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War,
and over half of the temple's buildings were destroyed. The main worship hall
was taken over by the Pakistan Army and used as an ammunitions storage area.
In 1996, Dhakeshwari Temple was
renamed Dhakeshwari Jatiya Mandir (National Temple) reflecting its position as
the centre of Hindu culture and worship in
Bangladesh. This was the culmination of a major campaign by Bangladeshi
Hindu groups who had been demanding official recognition for the primary Hindu
place of worship following the declaration of Islam as
the state religion in 1988. As a result,
the flag of Bangladesh is hoisted every
morning outside the main temple premises, and it follows the National Flag Code
rules such as rendering half-mast on nationally declared days of
mourning.
As is the practice in other
leading religious places of worship in Bangladesh, day-long prayers are common
practice during important national holidays such as Independence Day, Language
Martyrs' Day, Victory Day and birth and death anniversaries of former leaders
such as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur
Rahman. Historically, several of the temple custodians were tortured
and killed by the Army though most, including the Head Priest, fled to their
ancestral villages then to India and therefore escaped death.
A significant portion of the
temple land has been lost due to the Vested Property Act and
confiscation by the Bangladesh Government, and the current premises are
considerably lower than the historic reach of the property. Muslim mobs have attacked
the temple complex many times, with the last major attack taking place in
December 1992 (likely in retaliation for the destruction of the Babri
Masjid in India). Prime Minister of India Narendra
Modi prayed at the temple during his official visit to
Bangladesh on 7 June 2015. He was given a model of the goddess Dhakeshwari by
the temple authorities.
There are different theories
regarding the origin of the name Dhaka. One is that the name came
following the establishment of the Dhakeshwari Goddess temple by Raja Ballal
Sea in the 12th century. Another comes from
the Rajatarangini text, written by a Kashmiri Brahman named Kalhana.
It says the region was originally known as Dhaka. The
word Dhaka means watchtower. Bikrampur and Sonargaon — the earlier
strongholds of Bengal rulers were situated nearby. So, Dhaka was likely used as
the watchtower for their fortifications.
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