Jogadya
Temple, Kshirgram,
West Bengal
Jogadya Temple is a Hindu temple
dedicated to Goddess Sakthi located in Kshirgram (Khirogram) Village in Mongalkote CD block in Katwa
sub division of Purba Bardhaman district in
the Indian state of West
Bengal. The Temple is believed to be one of the 51 Shakti
Peethas. Being one of the Shakti
Peethas of Hindu Mythology, this temple is one of the holiest
sites for devotees of the Shakti sect of Hinduism.
Legends
For brief details, please refer below link;
The Temple
This Sakthi Peetha consists of
an old temple, new temple and Shiva (Bhairava) Temple.
Old Temple:
This Brick Temple is situated in
the middle of the village. It is believed to be built in the 11th
Century A.D. The Temple is enclosed within a compound wall. Locals calls this
Temple as Maa-er Baari. The Temple consists Nat Mandir, Bhog Ghar, Bhander Ghar
and Sanctum. There was no idol of Jogadya, not even picture of Goddess in the
sanctum. It is said that, infamous Muslim General Kalapahar destroyed this
Temple. The Temple was restored by Kritichand in 1760 A.D.
It is believed that the deity
remains submerged under the Kshirdighi, a nearby pond by the shrine. On every
Baisakhi Sankranti she comes out of the water and stay overnight inside the
temple Garbha Griha. After accepting the yajnas and the special puja, She again
gets back to the water of the Kshirdighi.
New Temple:
This Temple was constructed in
2005 in the middle of a Pond called Kshirdighi. The Temple was constructed with
white marbles. The idol of Jogadya is kept underwater in this temple. An ancient
idol of Jogadya was found during an excavation in Kshirdighi Pond. Another
small temple had been built in 31st December 2011 to house this
newly found ancient idol.
The Temple was made of red
stones. The Temple consists of Nat Mandir, Bhog Ghar, Bhandar Ghar and guest
house for the devotees. Both the idols are made of Kashti Stones and looks like
the idol of Goddess Durga. The newer idol was made by Nabin Bhaskar around 180
years ago. The older idol is found to be around 600 yrs old.
It is said that earlier there
was no idol of the goddess at Kshirgram but both the puja and
the fair were there. The goddess in an Ugra Chandi form appeared in a dream to
Hari Dutta, the king of Kshirgram and he got a stone image of the ten-armed
Singhabahini goddess made and established it. The goddess is worshipped by
the Ugra Kshatriyas in places other than
Kshirgram, a day earlier.
Kshirdighi:
Kshirdighi covers an area of about
13 acres. There are lot of large fishes in the pond. The Dighi is surrounded
with a beautiful garden.
Kshireswar Temple:
Kshireswar is the Bhairava
associated with this Sakthi Peetha. This ancient Temple is situated at about 30
feet high. It is believed that infamous Muslim General Kalapahar destroyed this
Temple also. The temple of Kshireswar is a little away from Kshirdighi.
Festivals
Goddess Jogadya is worshipped at
Kshirgram on Vaisakha Sankranti and
a big fair is organised.
Connectivity
The Temple is located at about 4
Kms from Kaichar Railway Station, 23 Kms from Katwa, 45 Kms from Bardhaman, 133
Kms from Kolkata and 133 Kms from Kolkata Airport. Kshirgram can be reached by
bus from Katwa & Burdwan.
After Shri Shri Durga puja I have to visit this place. 🙏🙏
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