Dakshineswar Kali Temple

The Dakshineswar Kali Temple is a Hindu temple in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, standing on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River. It is dedicated to the goddess Kali in her form as Bhavatarini. Its main building is in the navaratna style, with nine spires.

The temple was built by Rani Rashmoni, a wealthy landowner and devotee of Kali, and the statue of the goddess was installed in 1855. It is famous across India and beyond because the 19th-century Bengali mystic Ramakrishna and his wife Sarada Devi lived and worshipped here.

How did it begin?

According to tradition, in 1847 Rani Rashmoni was getting ready for a long boat pilgrimage to the holy city of Varanasi. The night before she left, the goddess Kali appeared to her in a dream and told her there was no need to go so far: she should build a temple on the banks of the Ganges instead. The Rani bought land at Dakshineswar and the large complex was built between 1847 and 1855.

What is in the complex?

Around the three-storey main temple there is a large courtyard with rooms along the walls. Along the riverbank stand twelve shrines to the god Shiva, a temple to Radha and Krishna, and a bathing ghat, which is a flight of steps down to the river. Ramakrishna served as a priest here for about 30 years, and visitors still come to see the rooms where he and Sarada Devi lived.

On the globe

The model shows the nine-spired main temple on its high base beside the river; look for the cluster of spires.