The Story of Kalighat and Calcutta
Sham S. Misri
The story goes back more than 1000 years. At
that time there were deep forests at the back of Ganges before she merged into
the Bay of Bengal. There were no roads. Only renounced Sadhus moved through these
jungles on their way to the confluence of the Ganges and the Sea. This sacred
mythological site is one of the important place pilgrims to millions of Hindus. Bathing, especially in the Ganges and Narmada
Rivers, is a ritual of purification to all Hindus. Sometimes, the foreigner's would come and get stunned at the
purifying and renewing power of bathing, or merely standing with their feet in
the Ganges.
Those days the Sadhus would move in large numbers to ensure
the security from the dangerous animals of the jungle. In spite of the group
protection, however, many Sadhus were lost to the jaws of tigers and crocodiles. On this occasion, small groups of Sadhus were travelling through the forest,
playing musical instruments and loudly singing the Holy name of God to scare
away animals and strengthen their faith in the Divine. After a long day’s walk, the group would find a place to rest . The elders took a break under a big tree while
others moved out in small groups to gather fruits, water and wood for the
night fire. Among the group, one Sadhu named Atmaram unknowingly moved deeper and deeper into
the forest. Soon he was away from his smaller group. Atmaram was a simple but a sincere and a true
devotee. He found himself alone in a place which was incredibly peaceful, at a
large lake with wonderful lotus flowers. Lost in the ecstatic fragrance of the
lotus, he sat to meditate and effortlessly went into trance. In deep
meditation, he saw a corner of the lake become bright with light. The light
assumed the form of a radiantly Divine young girl, who spoke to him, saying, and
“My child! I am the Divine Mother Kali.”
In even more ancient times, during the
incarnation of lord Shiva (the ‘Destroyer’ of the Hindu trinity), king Daksha,
however, did not invite Durga’s husband, Lord Shiva, to attend the ceremony.
Shiva being a sannyasin did not possess material wealth and Daksha did not approve
of his ashen, unkept and materially dispossessed son in law. Durga was deeply
insulted. She fainted in the middle of the congregation.
Shiva saw this while in meditation and
instantly appeared at the Yajna site. He was furious. Lifting the body of Durga
onto his shoulder, Shiva moved through the worlds in a rage with his third eye
open and shooting fire, destroying everything along the way.
The other gods, afraid, Shiva would
annihilate he entire universe, prayed to Lord Vishnu, the sustainer, to stop
Shiva. Vishnu threw his Shudarshan disk and cut the body of Durga into pieces,
stopping Shiva. Parts of Durga’s pure and chaste body fell at different places,
all of which subsequently became the most powerful Shakhti temples of Divine
Mother.
In Atmaram’s vision, Kali revealed that one
of the toes of Durga’s right foot fell into this lake and had been preserved
there ever since. Kali told Atmaram, “I want to manifest in this place as Dakshina
Kali to bring all auspiciousness to the people of the world in this Kali Yuga.
Right now I am in the Nilgari Mountains in the loving care of my devotee,
Brahmananda. Go there and tell him about my wish to be brought here and
installed as deity.”
Atmaram
emerged from his meditative trance remembering this divine command. Inspired by
Mother’s Vision he walked to the Nilgari Mountains, where he found the great
sage, Brahmananda, deep in meditation.
Atmaram told Brahmananda about Mother Kali’s
instructions. The huge stone on which Brahmananda sat for meditation became a
flying disc which carried him and Atmaram to the side of the lake. Thoroughly
searching the corner of the lake of Atmaram’s vision, they found the Divine
Mother Durga’s toe, now in stone form.
Mother Kali then came to Atmaram in another
dream. She instructed him to carve the black stone on which they had flown from
mountains into a new form of the Deity, hiding the toe inside it, and to
worship it as Mother Kali. Brahmananda and Atmaram thus became instrumental in
founding the Kali Temple and installing Mother Kali’s idol.
The small triangular island on the lake,
which became the energy field of Mother Kali, came to be known as Kalighat.
Ghat refers to the bank of a river. Most of the merchants who passed by that
way go to the sea stopped there to offer
their respects to the Mother. Because the Mother’s temple was situated at the
banks of the Ganges, it became popularly known as Kalighat.
Though no exact date or time could be said as
to when this place first came to be known as Kalighat, research suggests that
it was about thousand years ago, during the Pal dynasty.
Towards the end of the sixteenth century
AD, during the regime of Mogul Emperor Akbar, Abul Fazal wrote Ain E Akbari referring
g to the present area of Calcutta as ‘Kalikotta.’
In those days the area was only a dense
jungle. The whole area was known as Kalighat- there was no separate name.
Abul Fazal, while writing ‘Kalighat’ in the
Persian language, wrote it as ‘Kalikotta.’ Later, the same name uttered by the
English traders took the form ‘Calcutta.‘ Hence, the name ‘Calcutta’ was
derived from ‘Kalighat.’ At that time Calcutta was no more than a jungle, and
Kalighat, the temple of Mother Kali, stood in the midst of a wild forest.
The English traders, who had not yet
established their kingdom in India, conducted their trade in and around
Kalighat. That time large number of saints, Sanyasis with long locks of matted
hair would only be seen there. Their company was most enjoyable. When
foreigners would come to Kalighat, they would feel at home in there.
When the Sadhus sat silently in meditation,
some outsider would in childish playfulness would pull their long hair or touch
their loincloths. They would usually not say anything, but when disturbances
would reach their peak, the Sadhus would complain about their misbehaviour.
Books by the Author(s)
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