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5. Dakshineswar Kali Temple

Dhakshineshwar Kali temple is situated on the banks of Hooghly in Kolkata. It is one of the most pious and sacred temple in west Bengal. Built by Rani Rasmoni, the presiding deity is Bhavatarini. Bhavatarni means one who liberates devotees from the ocean of existence. It is one of the most visited Kali temples in the world.
According to legend Rani Rasmoni had a dream where the goddess Kali instructed her to build a temple. She bought a land on the banks of Hooghly and started the construction. The temple was finally completed in 1855. She offered the place of the head priest to Ram Kumar Chhattopadhyay, who was the elder brother of Ramakrishna. After the death of Ram Kumar, Ramakrishna overtook the duty as the head priest. Ramakrishna was perhaps the most famous saint and devotee of the goddess Kali. He was also the mentor of Swami Vivekananda.
The temple is built in traditional Bengali style. The Garba-griha contains the idol of goddess Kali standing on the chest of lying Lord Shiva. The idols are placed on thousand petal lotus made of silver.
Tuesdays and Saturdays witness large crowd as it is considered an auspicious day for worshipping goddess Kali. The best time to visit the temple is in the morning. If you are not afraid of large crowd evening arti is the best time to visit.

Image Credits:  Nikkul