Kankalitala Temple, Birbhum

Kankalitala is a temple town in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is one of the Shakti Peethas where the waist (or kankal in Bengali) of Parvati fell which is at present the Kankalitala town. Goddess Parvati is the residing deity of the Kankalitala Temple.

Such is the prominence of this Temple that it forms a part of the most important Hindu-pilgrimage circuit of India.

Kankalitala Temple, Birbhum;

Temple History
Legend
Architecture
How To Reach The Temple
Daily Poojas And Festivals
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This is one of the Shakti Peethas where the waist (or kankal in Bengali) of Parvati fell which is at present the Kankalitala town. Goddess Parvati is the residing deity of the Kankalitala Temple.
Sati’s waist landed at Kankalitala. It created a depression in the earth which later filled up with water and formed the sacred kund. It is repeatedly told that the actual body part now lies underneath this water.

Here there is no deity statue made of stone, clay, or metal. At Kankalitala, the image that is attended to by the purohits (Hindu temple priests) is a framed painting depicting the goddess Kali standing on top of her husband Lord Shiva. There appears to be some conflation with Kali and the goddess worshiped here who is referred to as Kankali.

The garbhagriha (literally meaning “womb chamber” in Sanskrit) at Kankalitala’s main temple consists of a small room that is capped by a curved pyramidal roof, ornamented with a metal spire. Connected to this is a rectangular raised platform referred to as the natmandir. This natmandir is roofed and serves as an area where devotees can have a direct view of the temple’s main devotional image as well as respite from the sun’s oppressive rays.
Even though the centrally-placed icon of Kali located within the mandir appears to be the focus of Kankalitala, the most sacred object present at this shakti pith is without doubt the kund (Sanskrit for “sacred tank/pond”) located next to the temple. This kund is a small shallow pond that is surrounded by a protective concrete wall topped with red fencing. Next to the temple, this barrier is open and steps lead down to the kund’s sacred water. The kund is in fact the original form of the goddess at Kankalitala: a pond which has been worshiped since ancient times. It is here that Ma Sati’s waist (in Bengali, kankal) is said to have fallen countless aeons ago when her dead body was skillfully dismembered by Lord Vishnu using his discus weapon–the Sudarshana Chakra.

Kankalitala is about 10 km from Santiniketan. Buses ply on the Bolpur-Labhpur route. Bolpur is the nearest railway station. One can hire a taxi or take a rickshaw from Bolpur. The Temple can be reached through nearest Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport (153 Km) which is well connected with regular domestic flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and other metropolitian cities.

A major part of the Goddess Kali rituals and observances are the mass prayers that are offered from morning 6:00 am to 8:00 pm.
The following stated are the festivals celebrated in the temple: Holi, Winter Navaratras, Vijaya Dashami or Dusshera, Sharad Poornima, Deepawali, Annakuta, Makar Sankranti, Shiva Ratri, Holi, Spring Navaratras.
Dusshera and Navaratri are regarded as the most auspicious time to visit the temple.