On the eastern bank of the Hooghly just north of Kolkata stands the Dakshineswar Kali temple, where the Goddess is worshipped as Bhavatarini — the Mother who carries her devotees across the ocean of worldly existence. Built in 1855 by Rani Rashmoni, a devout and philanthropic queen who, tradition holds, was inspired by a vision of the Goddess, the temple rises in the Bengal navaratna style with nine spires above the sanctum, flanked by a row of twelve Shiva shrines along the riverfront.
Dakshineswar is inseparable from the memory of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the great nineteenth-century mystic who served as priest here and attained his profound God-realisation in the presence of Mother Kali — from where his message of the harmony of all religions spread across the world.
Today the temple draws vast crowds of devotees and remains one of the most spiritually resonant shrines of Bengal.
