The temple of Jeshoreshwari Kali is at Ishwaripur village in Shyamnagar upazila, Satkhira district, Bangladesh, and is taken to be the Yashora pitha of the Pithanirnaya. By the text Sati’s hand (pani) fell here, and the goddess is Yashoreshvari and the Bhairava Chanda; the name is that of Jessore (Yashora), but the pitha is not in Jessore town.
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- Deity
- Jeshoreshwari (Kali)
- Tradition
- Shakta
- Place
- Ishwaripur, Shyamnagar upazila, Satkhira district
- Region
- Khulna Division
- Country
- Bangladesh
- Map
- OpenStreetMap (22.3062, 89.1128)
The temple’s history, as tradition tells it
According to the tradition given in The Daily Star (2021), a man named Anari first built a temple with a hundred doors here, Lakshman Sen restored it, and in the 16th century King Pratapaditya rebuilt it; the goddess was held to be the tutelary deity of Pratapaditya’s kingdom. According to Banglapedia the present two-storey temple was built by the Chatterjee family.
In March 2021 the Prime Minister of India worshipped here and offered the goddess a handmade crown of silver plated with gold; according to All India Radio News the crown was stolen on 10 October 2024. According to PIB, help was announced on that visit for a community hall (cyclone shelter) to be used at the yearly Kali Puja and fair.
Main festivals
Where the sources differ
- Sources differ on the limb: the Pithanirnaya says "pani" (the hand), the Banglapedia table the right palm, and The Daily Star the palms and soles.
- According to Banglapedia the Shivacharita counts it as an upa-pitha, and it is a later addition to the Mahapithanirupana; Sircar too places it among the last eight pithas.
- According to Sircar the original Pithanirnaya probably had 42 names and the last eight pithas (Nalahati to Virata) were added later; this pitha is one of those eight.
- The count of pithas depends on the text: the Pithanirnaya lists 51, some Bengali lists 52, the Devi Bhagavata (7.30) gives 108 places with names of the goddess, and the early Tantras name only four (Sircar).
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Jeshoreshwari Shakti Peetha?
In Satkhira district, Bangladesh, at Ishwaripur village in Shyamnagar upazila. By the Pithanirnaya Sati’s hand fell here; the goddess is Yashoreshvari and the Bhairava Chanda.
Which lists of tirthas include Jeshoreshwari Kali?
The 51 Shakti Peethas (number 47 of 51 in the list).
Sources
- D. C. Sircar, The Śākta Pīṭhas (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal 1948; Motilal Banarsidass, 1973): table of the Pithanirnaya pp. 35-37, note on this pitha p. 57 (archive.org)
- Vachaspatyam (Taranatha Tarkavachaspati), "pitha": the list of pithas quoted from the Tantrachudamani (Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries, sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de)
- Press Information Bureau (pib.gov.in), 27 March 2021: the Prime Minister’s puja at Jeshoreshwari Kali Shaktipeeth
- All India Radio News (newsonair.gov.in), 11 October 2024: the goddess’s crown stolen from the Jeshoreshwari temple
- The Daily Star, 24 March 2021: the temple’s place and its history as tradition tells it
- Banglapedia (Asiatic Society of Bangladesh), "Sakta-pitha" by Masahiko Togawa: the table of the pithas in Bangladesh
- Wikidata Q856631 (Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple): map coordinates
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