28/08/2022
Sideshwari Kalibari ❤️
There is another, equally famous, known Kalibari near Kumartoli- the Siddheshwari Kalibari or Siddheshwari Kali Temple. How did this temple come into being? Read on…
A Kali worshipper, living in the Himalayas, had a dream in which the goddess instructed him to find a Shakti Peeth south of where he lived. He, thus, came looking for the Peeth in Bengal. Originally, the river Adiganga (the old course of Ganges) flowed through the (now) Kumartoli area. Dense jungles greeted the river on its banks. These areas were filled with dacoits. While traveling through this area, the devotee came across a place where there were many bones. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was a place where ‘bali’ (sacrifice) was done by the dacoits of the area who worshipped their deity, goddess Kali. Thinking this to be the Shakti Peeth that he had been told of, he worshipped there day and night.
After many nights of worship, goddess Kali appeared in front of him and told him that this was not the Shakti Peeth and it was to be found further south. But since he had found the goddess there, he was instructed to build her statue there itself. This he did- with twigs, branches and the soil obtained from the banks of the river- creating a replica of the goddess as seen by him. The statue still stands in this temple; so does the place where ‘bali’ was offered by the dacoits. This is the Siddheshwari Kalibari.
