BAHULA TEMPLE

Eight kilometres from Katwa in Burdwan, there is yet another manifestation of the female spiritual energy of the universe. West Bengal is blessed with the Bahula temple which is located on the banks of the Ajay river at Ketugram. The Bahula Temple is an ancient temple which boasts of wonderful architecture. The temple has a large courtyard right in the front of the garbhagriha and the flooring has been done in red stone. The temple has a serene environment that will immediately calm your senses. God can truly be attained in that environment when you hear the chiming of temple bells and the chanting of mantras fusing together with your faith.

Maa Sati’s left arm is said to have fallen in Ketugram when Lord Vishnu used his Sudarshan Chakra on the burnt corpse to save the world from Lord Shiva’s deadly dance of destruction. ‘Bahu’ in Sanskrit incidentally means ‘arm’. ‘Bahula’, on the other hand, means lavish and refers to the prosperity that this goddess brings. The goddess Bahula is worshipped along with the Bhairav Bhiruk and both are said to be manifestations of Mahadev and Mata Adi Shakti. ‘Bhiruk’ means one who has attained the highest levels of meditation or ‘sarvasiddhayak’.

It is said that the Bahula Shakti Peetha is one from where devotees have never left empty-handed. She is said to grant the wishes of all those who approach her with genuine longing in their hearts. Instances of miracles are rampant here. Bahula Devi is seen accompanied by her sons Karthikey and Ganesha. Karthik is the god of fertility and war whereas Ganesh is the one who brings a note of auspicious elements into the world.

There are a lot of other significant temples around this shakti peetha that you can visit. Take, for instance, the Kokaleshwari Kali Mandir (goddess of the skulls), the Sarvamangala Shrine and the Shivlingam temple that is dedicated to Lord Shiva. You can also visit Raman Bagan, which is a deer park, or the Meghnad Saha Planetarium.