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Dhakeshwari National Temple ( bn, ঢাকেশ্বরী জাতীয় মন্দির, , translit=''Ðhakeshshori Jatio Mondir'') is a Hindu temple in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is state-owned, giving it the distinction of being Bangladesh's 'National Temple'. The name "Dhakeshwari" (ঢাকেশ্বরী ''Ðhakeshshori'') means "Goddess of Dhaka". It is also the largest Hindu temple in Bangladesh. This temple is part of the famous
Shakti Peetha The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various fo ...
s in Indian Subcontinent. Here the gem of Sati's crown had fallen.


History

The Dhakeshwari (Durga) temple was built in the 12th century by Ballal Sen, a king of the Sena dynasty, and it is said that the city Dhaka was named after the Goddess. The current architectural style of the temple cannot be dated to that period because of the numerous repairs, renovations, and rebuilding which have taken place over time. It is considered an essential part of Dhaka's
cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...
. Many researchers believe that the temple is also one of the
Shakti Peethas The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various fo ...
, where the jewel from the crown of the Goddess Sati had fallen. For ages, the temple has been held in great importance. The original 900-year-old murti was taken to Kumartuli, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. During the
partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
, she was brought to Kolkata from Dhaka with millions of refugees. By 1950, the businessman Debendranath Chaudhary built the temple of Goddess in Kumortuli area and established some of the Goddess' property for her daily services. The idol is 1.5 feet tall, has ten arms, mounted on her lion in the form of Katyani Mahishasurmardini 'Durga'. On her two sides are Laxmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh. A Tiwari family from Azamgarh was appointed by the royal family for daily worship of the deity. In 1946, the descendants of that family came to Calcutta and were re-appointed, where they still serve the Goddess continuously. Current presiding deity here in Dhakeshwari Temple is the replica of the original idol. It is widely believed that the Queen, wife of King Bijoy Sen went to Langolbond for bathing. On her way back she gave birth to a son, known to historians as Ballal Sen. After ascending to the throne, Ballal Sen built this temple to glorify his birthplace. Legends say that Ballal Sen once dreamt of the
deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
covered under the jungle. Ballal Sen uncovered the deity from there and built a temple, named for Dhakeswari. Whatever the legends describe, Hindus consider Dhakeswari to be the presiding deity of Dhaka, which is an incarnation or form of Goddess Durga the Adi Shakti. The idol of Durga is called Dhakeswari .


Structure


Exterior view

Within the premises of the Dhakeswari there are temples of two types of architecture. The ancient one is of the Poncharotna Goddess Durga's which lost its actual look after the renovation work. Bradly Bird wrote this at the beginning of this century. Other than this there are four Shiv Temples. According to hearsay, in the 16th century King Mansing built these temples by laying four Shiv Lingas there. But this information seems to be unreliable. The fusion of Bangla chowchala and shikor temple is notice in the architecture of Dhakeshawri. Ratan Lal Chakraborti in an article mentioned that " the structure and architecture of it is like a Buddhist Pagoda". From this he assumed that the temple was probably built in the 10th century. How did Dhakeshari temple look like in the 19th century? Ridoynath Majumder described about the temple. At that time the temple was covered by jungle and in its north the Urdu road went westward towards Pilkhana and at its south west was Mirpur road. At its south there was a wood and Urdu bazar was at the east.


Interior view

The temple was panchoratno, at its front Natamandir and around it there is a row of rooms and a big pond and nahobottola gate through which elephants used to pass. To the east there are tombs of some saints who used to pray or meditate at the temple. Outside the temple there are 5–6 pagodas with a shib linga. The priest of Dhakeshawri temple used pray every day. The deity is doshvuja. It is believed that the representation of the deity is made of gold. At the left and right side of the deity there are some other murti. Like many ancient temples its inside is dark. To see the deity light is to be arranged. The temple is owned by many because it is bought by the new caretaker from the old caretakers. Jotindramohan bought it in 1901. Dhakeshawri is crowded but it is an abode of peace. The low sound of the tongue mixes with the evening light and tune of temple bell and make the peaceful environment a happy event.


Declaration as National Temple of Bangladesh

In 1996, Dhakeshwari Temple was renamed Dhakeshwari Jatiya Mandir (National Temple) reflecting its position as the centre of
Hindu culture Hinduism () is an Indian religions, Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the Major religious groups, world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion ...
and worship in Bangladesh. This was the culmination of a major campaign by Bangladeshi Hindu groups who had been demanding official recognition for the primary Hindu place of worship following the declaration of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
as the
state religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular state, secular, is not n ...
in 1988. As a result, the flag of Bangladesh is hoisted every morning outside the main temple premises, and it follows the National Flag Code rules such as rendering half-mast on nationally declared days of mourning. As is the practice in other leading religious places of worship in Bangladesh, day-long prayers are common practice during important national holidays such as Independence Day, Language Martyrs' Day, Victory Day and birth and death anniversaries of former leaders such as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman.


Threats to temple security

Historically, several of the temple custodians were tortured and killed by the Army though most, including the Head Priest, fled to their ancestral villages then to India and therefore escaped death. A significant portion of the temple land has been lost due to the
Vested Property Act The Vested Property Act is a controversial law in Bangladesh that allows the government to confiscate property from individuals it deems as an ''enemy of the state''. Before the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, it was known as the Enemy Property ...
and confiscation by the Bangladesh Government, and the current premises are considerably lower than the historic reach of the property.


Religious and socio-cultural activities

Dhakeshwari Temple is a hub of socio-cultural as well as religious activity. Each year, the largest celebration of Durga Puja (the most important event in the Bengali Hindu calendar) in Dhaka is held at the National Temple, and a stream of dignitaries (such as the Bangladeshi President, Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition, Members of Parliament and media celebrities) come to felicitate the
Bangladeshi Hindu Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in People's Republic of Bangladesh, as according to the Official 2022 Census of Bangladesh, approximately just 13.1 million people responded that they were Hindus, constituting 7.95% out ...
community from the temple premises. A ''Bijaya Sammelani'' (cultural program following Durga Puja) takes place in the adjoining parade ground a few days after Durga Puja is complete, and is also a major cultural event in the Dhaka calendar, regularly attracting some of the top performers from the Dhaka music and film industry. One of the most important events of the year is the Janmashthami procession which starts from Dhakeshwari temple and then proceeds through the streets of Old Dhaka; this occurs on the day of Lord Krishna's birthday, which is also a public holiday in Bangladesh and second only to Durga Puja in importance in the Bengali calendar. The procession dates back to 1902 but was stopped in 1948 following the establishment of Pakistan and subsequent attacks by Muslim mobs in Dhaka. The procession was resumed in 1989. Concerts and charity drives (such as flood relief) are also a regular fixture within the temple throughout the year. Each year, Dhakeshwari Temple hosts major blood drives and inoculation programs which are open to all residents of Dhaka city. At the old time, festivals happened on the month of Chaitra in temple complex of Dhakeswari. This place was crowded by various coloured shops. Virtous people used to visit the temple to gather religious merit and get back to their home. Millions of Hindu religious people would take bath at Langolbondon on the month of Choitra on Sukla Ostomi time to get rid of their sins. People in huge numbers used to come to Dhakeswari temple on foot from different roads to be blessed by the deity Durga. It was the best moment of their whole year. With great hope they would come out from their home, and it was reflected on their faces, to get rid of their sins by worshiping the Deity with exclusive devotion and bowing their head to meditation of Bhagaban. They forget about everything- hunger, sleep, restlessness – and they just believe that they will be blessed and they step up for the temple. All those people were divided into small groups with each group having ten to twenty people. The groups consisted of mainly women, only one man, who is the oldest of the village, was there for taking care of them. They came from very long distance by forming groups. People of different ages, including the oldest and skinniest, were also gathered with these groups. Young people from the nearest city to the temple volunteering for the people would come from long distance to be blessed by the Deity, with a great concentration, eagerness to the worship of the Deity and often bowing by shouting "Oom Dhaka eswari". In present days, each year, the largest celebration of Durga puja (the most important event in the Bengali Hindu calendar) in Dhaka is held at the National Temple, and a stream of dignitaries come to felicitate the Bangladeshi Hindu community from the temple premises. Several thousand worshippers and onlookers stream through the premises where they are offered prasad (food – usually rice and lentils). A Bijaya Sammilan (a cultural program following Durga Puja) takes place in the adjoining parade ground a few days after Durga Puja is complete, and is also a major cultural event in the Dhaka calendar. Durga Puja comes to an end after five days, through the celebration of Bijoya Dashami after performing the sacred rituals of Sashthi, Saptami, Ashtami and Navami. Bijoya Dashami will end with the idols of Durga and her four children Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesha taken in processions for immersion in river or sea. A processions starts from the temple.
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
Narendra Modi prayed at the temple during his official visit to Bangladesh on 7 June 2015. He was given a model of the goddess Dhakeshwari by the temple authorities.


Present condition

It was severely damaged during the 1971
Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
, and over half of the temple's buildings were destroyed. The main worship hall was taken over by the Pakistan Army and used as an ammunitions storage area. In 2018, the Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina visited the Dhakeshwari Temple and announced gifting of adjacent land to the temple authorities. Previously, the temple lost a lot of its property to
land grabbing Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions: the buying or leasing of large pieces of land by domestic and transnational companies, governments, and individuals. While used broadly throughout history, land grabbing as ...
.


Gallery

Dhakeswari (1).jpg, The Siva temples in 1967 Dhakeswari (2).jpg, Inside the temple (1967) File:Deity Durga.jpg, Effigy of the goddess Durga File:Four Shib_Temple.jpg, Siva Temples File:Dhakeshwari Temple (24228430111).jpg, Main Entrance


See also

* Dhakeshwari Mata Temple, Kumortuli *
Hinduism in Bangladesh Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in People's Republic of Bangladesh, as according to the Official 2022 Census of Bangladesh, approximately just 13.1 million people responded that they were Hindus, constituting 7.95% out of ...
* Architecture of Bangladesh * Bagha Mosque *
Khan Mohammad Mridha Mosque The Khan Mohammad Mirza Mosque is a historical mosque near Lalbagh Fort in Dhaka, Bangladesh. History The mosque was built in Atish Khan Mahalla by Khan Mohammad Mridha under the instruction of Qadi Ibadullah in 1706 CE. The mosque rises above it ...
*
Saat Masjid The Sat Gambuj Mosque () is near the northwestern outskirts of Dhaka in the Mohammadpur area. It is a fine example of the provincial Mughal style of architecture introduced in Bangladesh in the 17th century. The mosque's most notable features ar ...
*
Shahbaz Khan Mosque Shahbaz Khan Mosque is a historic mosque located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Located near Mir Jumla’s Gate, this mosque serves as an example of late Mughal architecture in Bengal, known as the Shaista Khan architectural style. History The mosque ...
* Shona Mosque * Sixty Dome Mosque


References

{{Dhakaplaces Old Dhaka Hindu temples in Dhaka Tourist attractions in Dhaka National symbols of Bangladesh