People throng ‘Devi Chaudhurani Samsan Kali Temple’ on Kali Puja

Jalpaiguri: Though after 350 years, the appearance of the temple has changed, fish and meat are still ritually offered to Maa Kali, worshipped in Jalpaiguri’s Devi Choudhurani’s Samsan Kali Temple.

Besides Jalpaiguri town, a large number of people from nearby areas and outside the district thronged during the Puja on Sunday night.

One of the oldest temples in North Bengal is the Devi Chaudhurani Samsan Kali Temple at Goshala More near Jalpaiguri town, of immense historical importance. It is said that Devi Chaudhurani founded this temple in 1785. She was the ruler of Manthani Raj Estate in the Rangpur district of present-day Bangladesh, originally named Joy Durga Devi Chaudhurani.

She is also one of the main characters of Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay’s famed novel ‘Anandmath.’

Mention of Bhavani Pathak and Devi Chaudhurani in the novel leads locals to believe that the temple was established by them. Devi Chaudhurani supposedly looted wealth from the British and the landlords at the time, storing the loot in the sanctum sanctorum of this temple. Another similar temple is the Devi Chaudhurani Kali temple in Shikarpur tea garden in Jalpaiguri, where the loot used to be stocked and later distributed among the poor.

Debashish Sarkar, secretary of the temple committee, said: “On Sunday, a large number of people from different parts of the district gathered to witness this Puja. This Puja is about 350 years old. Devi Chaudhurani had secret hideouts in different parts of Rangpur, Dinajpur and Baikunthpur in North Bengal. This was one of those camps. From all these hideouts, she used to donate money and property to the poor.

Legend has it that she used to come to this hideout through the Rukruka River, tying a barge to the Teesta with another boat. From under this 400-year-old banyan tree, she used to help the poor. We have scientific evidence of the age of this banyan tree.”

It is said that Bhavani Pathak was the first priest of Goshala More Devi Chaudhurani temple near Jalpaiguri town. Nayan Kapalik is mentioned in the list of priests of this temple after Bhavani Pathak. In 1890, Nayan Kapalik was sentenced to death by the British government on charges of human sacrifice. Since then, the practice of human sacrifice was stopped in this temple. However, on the night of Kali Puja, goat sacrifice is still performed in the Devi Chaudhurani Kali temple.

Temple priest Subhash Chowdhury said: “It is a Samsan Kali temple. Puja is conducted in the temple according to rituals. According to ancient tradition, ‘Khichuri’ was not offered to the Goddess. Plain rice, Shol fish, Bual fish, Dal, Sabji Luchi, Payesh are offered here. There is no worship without sacrifice in Samsan Kali Puja. This time too, a goat has been sacrificed.”