Hanseswari temple

Hangseshwari Temple is situated at Bansberia near Katta in West Bengal. Hanseswari temple was built at the beginning of the 19th century. The main deity of the temple is blue neem-wood, the idol of goddess Hangseshwari, a manifestation of Goddess Kali. The temple stands on the eastern side of Hooghly River and is the largest temple in the vicinity. According to history, Rudra Pandit was related to a family of distinction at Chatra. He took retirement from his family mansion and began a series of religious austerities. As a result of his austerities, Lord Radhaballabh himself is said to have appeared to him in the form of a religious mendicant and instructed him to proceed to Gaur, the capital of Bengal to obtain a stab or stone from the gateway of the viceroy and construct an image out of it. He told him about the orders he had received and that it should be accomplished without any hassles. Soon the stone began to emit drops of water and at the same time Viceroy, himself happened to pass away. The Minister pointed out that the drops of water dripping from the stone were the tears of the stone and that the inauspicious object should be removed from the palace. Permission was immediately given and Rudra was blessed with the gratification of his wishes. Rudra set to work immediately on the stone and sculptured the image on it. The mysterious origin of the image soon attracted worshippers and the proprietors. Soon people decided to construct a temple in order to protect the image. The Hanseswari temple was built at the beginning of the 19th century. The main deity is the blue neem-wood idol of the four-armed goddess Hanseswari, a manifestation of Goddess Kali. The temple is 21 meters high and has 13 towers. It consists of six floors and a total of 13 lotus bud-shaped miners having a height of 27.5 meters or 90 ft. Inner precincts of these miners follow the design of human anatomy. The metallic idol of rising Sun God with his thousand bright rays has been inscribed on the top of the central miner. On this, four-handed “Mother Shakti” is standing on her right leg-resting the left leg on her right thigh. Inner precincts of these miners follow the design of human anatomy. The metallic idol of rising Sun God with his thousand bright rays has been inscribed on the top of the central miner. On this, four-handed “Mother Shakti” is standing on her right leg-resting the left leg on her right thigh. The Deity is blue in color and made of wood derived from the “Neem” tree. The room beneath the Central Minar has a white marble “Shiva linga”. Apart from the architectural marvel of the temple, serenity of the place coupled with the village-cum-town scenario is also worth enjoying.