Taraknath Temple

Temple of Taraknath with Dudhpukur tank in the foreground

The Taraknath temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva worshiped as Taraknath, is a major pilgrimage spot in the town of Tarakeswar, West Bengal, India. Built in 1729, the temple is an atchala structure of Bengal temple architecture with a 'natmandir' in front. Close by are the shrines of Kali and Lakshmi Narayan. Dudhpukur, a tank to the north of the Shiva temple is believed to fulfil the prayers of those taking a dip in it.^[1]

Legends

As per local legends, the temple has built after a dream led the mendicant brother of Raja Vishnu Das to a Linga in the jungles near Tarakeswar, by discovered the after he was led to it by a dream. The temple was later built around the swayambhu linga (self-manifested) referred as Baba Taraknath in 1729 AD.^[1]^[2]

Festivities

Pilgrims visit the temple throughout the year, especially on Mondays. But thousands of pilgrims visit Tarakeswar on the occasions of 'Shivaratri' and 'Gajan', the former taking place in Phalgun (Feb-March) while the latter lasts for five days ending on the last day of Chaitra (mid-April). The month of Sravana (mid-July to mid-August) is auspicious for Shiva when celebrations are held n each Monday.

References

External links

Taraknath Temple wikimapia

Hindu Temples in West Bengal

Bankura	Temples in Bishnupur Bahulara Siddheshwara

Bardhaman	Kalyaneshwari Temple Khaepa Kali Tala

Birbhum	Tarapith

Hooghly	Ananta Basudeba Temple Hangseshwari Temple Taraknath Temple Rampara Kalibari

Howrah	Belur Math Madangopal Jiu Temple

Jalpaiguri

Kolkata	Birla Mandir Kalighat Thanthania Kalibari Firinghi Kalibari Lal Mandir Dwadash Shiva Temples

Nadia	Mayapur

North 24 Parganas	Dakshineswar Kali Temple Kripamayee Kali Temple

Medinipur	Mohanpur Jagannath temple

Centres	Antpur Bakreshwar Barakar Bansberia Bishnupur Harmasra Dharapat Ekteswar Gangasagar Jaydev Kenduli Kalna Kamarpukur Kankalitala Labhpur Mainaguri Makardaha Mayapur Rajbalhat Sonatapal Tarapith Tarakeswar

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 30, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.