Ananda Bhairabi Temple, Sukharia, West Bengal

Ananda Bhairabi Temple, Sukharia, West Bengal

Ananda Bhairabi Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Goddess Anandamoyee Kali located in Sukharia Village in Hooghly District in the Indian state of West Bengal. This temple is considered as one of the five Panchabimsati Ratna temples in West Bengal. The temple is situated on the banks of Bhagirathi River.

History

This temple was constructed in 1813 CE by the Zamindar Bireswar Mustafi.

The Temple Complex

This temple follows the Panchabimsati Ratna style of architecture and stands over a raised platform. The Panchabimsati Ratna temple has 25 pinnacles. It consists of three stories with three pinnacles each at the four corners of the first storey (12 pinnacles), two pinnacles each at the four corners of second storey (8 pinnacles), one pinnacle each at the four corners of the of the third storey (4 pinnacles) and a central pinnacle. The temple consists of sanctum with triple arched entrance porch.

The sanctum enshrines an image of Anandamoyee Kali. The façade and the pillar of the temple are elaborately decorated with terracotta ornamentation. The pathway to the main temple is flanked by two parallel rows containing six temples each. Five of the temples on each row follow aatchala style of architecture and the sixth temple in each row follows pancharatna style of architecture.

All the aatchala temples enshrine Shiva Linga in its sanctum. One of the Pancharatna temples enshrines a Shiva Linga and the other enshrines an image of Ganesha. The Radha Kunja, the ancestral palace of the Mustafi family is situated next to this temple complex. This ancestral palace is in ruins. However, the family Durga Puja is still held there.

Religious Significance

This temple is considered as one of the five Panchabimsati Ratna temples in West Bengal. The temples are;

1.    Krishna Chandra Temple, Kalna

2.    Gopalji Temple, Kalna

3.    Lalji Temple, Kalna

4.    Sridhar Temple, Sonamukhi

5.    Ananda Bhairabi Temple, Sukharia

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 1.5 Kms from Somra Bazar Railway Station, 2.5 Kms from Balagarh Railway Station, 2.5 Kms from Balagarh Bus Stand, 29 Kms from Kalyani, 54 Kms from Barrackpore, 77 Kms from Kolkata Airport and 78 Kms from Kolkata. The temple is situated on Kolkata to Kalna route.

Location