Dakshina Kali
दक्षिणा काली
Kuldevi, family goddess
Kali in her benevolent form, with the right foot forward; the Kali of Kalighat is counted a Shakti Peetha
At a glance
- Main shrine
- Kalighat Kali Temple, Kalighat, Kolkata, Kolkata district, West Bengal
- Worshipped in
- West Bengal
- Kept by
- Bengali families
About
Dakshina Kali is Kali in her form with the right foot on Shiva, the form most worshipped in Bengal and the one householders keep. Her two best-known shrines are Kalighat and Dakshineswar in Kolkata. Kali is listed among the family deities of Bengal, but no source seen ties her to a named lineage; the zamindar houses linked to her shrines are patrons, not recorded as keeping her as kuladevi.
Legend and Origin
Two things are told about the name. Dakshina can mean the gift given to a priest or guru with the right hand, and in another account the lord of death, Yama, who lives in the south (dakshina), flees in terror at Kali's name, so that her worshippers overcome death (Kinsley, as cited by Wikipedia). Kalighat is a Shakti Peetha in the tradition of the Devi Bhagavata Purana, the Kalika Purana and the Shakti Peetha Stotram, where Vishnu's discus cut Sati's body into pieces; the toes of the right foot are said to have fallen at Kalighat. The place is mentioned in the 15th-century Mansar Bhasan and the 17th-century Kavi Kankan Chandi. The present temple was begun in 1798 by Santosh Roy Chowdhury and finished in 1809; the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family are described as its traditional patrons, and historians dispute that claim. Dakshineswar is a younger foundation. Rani Rashmoni, a Mahishya zamindar, bought the land on 6 September 1847 and had the image installed on 31 May 1855, the day of the Snan Yatra; her priest was Ramkumar Chattopadhyay, and his younger brother Ramakrishna became the head priest after Ramkumar died in 1856.
How the Deity Is Shown
In the Dakshina Kali form the right foot rests on the chest of Shiva, who lies beneath her; the left-foot pose is the fiercer Vamakali, which is usually worshipped by people who have left household life (Kinsley, as cited by Wikipedia). Her two right hands are raised in blessing and giving boons. She wears a garland of skulls, 51 or 108 in number. The tongue is read mainly as her shame at having stepped on her husband. At Dakshineswar the image, called Bhavatarini or Jagadishwari, stands on a silver lotus throne of a thousand petals.
How Families Keep the Worship
The Kali-kshetra of Kalighat and the Bhavatarini temple at Dakshineswar draw Bengali families and other pilgrims through the year; at Kalighat the Snan Yatra includes a bath in the Kundupukur tank. Dakshina Kali is the form of Kali that householders worship; Vamakali is for people outside household life. Kali is named among the kuladevata of Bengal in a Wikipedia list that cites no source, so which Bengali lineages keep her as kuladevi is not recorded here. Among Bengali families who do, the worship differs by house and branch, and its private rites are not described.
Shrines
Kalighat Kali Temple
Kalighat, Kolkata, Kolkata district, West Bengal
Counted among the Shakti Peethas, the place where the toes of Sati's right foot are said to have fallen. The present building was begun in 1798 and finished in 1809.
Dakshineswar Kali Temple (Bhavatarini)
Dakshineswar, Kolkata, North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal
On the east bank of the Hooghly. Founded by Rani Rashmoni; the image was installed on 31 May 1855. Sri Ramakrishna was its priest.
Festivals
Kali Puja (Dipanwita)
New moon of Kartika (October to November)
The most celebrated of the three Kali Pujas at Dakshineswar. The other two named by the temple are Phalaharini, on the new moon of Jyeshtha, and Ratanti, on Krishna Chaturdashi of Magha.
Snan Yatra
Jyeshtha full moon (May to June)
At Dakshineswar the day of the image's installation in 1855; at Kalighat a holy bath in the Kundupukur tank.
Kalpataru Day
1 January
Observed at Dakshineswar in memory of Ramakrishna; the first Kalpataru Utsav there was held on 1 January 1948.
Stories and Legends
Sati's toes at Kalighat
In the story of the Shakti Peethas, Sati burned herself in her father Daksha's sacrifice and Shiva carried her body in grief. Vishnu's discus cut the body into pieces, and each place where a part fell became a Peetha. Kalighat is the place where the toes of Sati's right foot are said to have fallen, and the goddess there is Kalika.
Rani Rashmoni and the Bhavatarini temple
Rani Rashmoni, a zamindar and philanthropist of Janbazar, bought the Dakshineswar land in 1847 and had the temple built over some eight years. Accounts say a dream prompted her, though the details vary by source. Her priest Ramkumar Chattopadhyay led the rites on 31 May 1855, the day of the Snan Yatra, and his brother Ramakrishna, who came to assist him, became the head priest after 1856.