Started by a dacoit in the 16th century, Chitteswari Durga Puja continues even today

In the 16th century, nobody dared to enter the dense forest in the Cossipore region (now part of North Kolkata). Cossipore, back then, was an extension of the Sundarbans in Sutanuti village. It was home to wild beasts and ferocious dacoits. At that time, Bengal witnessed the atrocity of dacoits, who were predominantly ‘Shakti Upasakas’ (devotees of goddess Kali). They revered goddesses before striking up a dacoity. 

Known for his barbarity, Chitteswar Roy, alias Chitey Dakat (dacoit), had his den in the forest. He used to burgle the houses of affluent people and the landlords and distribute the booty among the poor. 

Once, the dacoit had a mystic dream, where he was asked to create a deity of goddess Durga with a log of neem wood that would drift over the River Ganga.

At dawn, curiosity drove Chitey to the riverbank where he saw a huge log drifting towards the edge of the ghat. It was neem wood indeed. 

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He picked it up and local artisans meticulously sculpted a deity of goddess Chitteswari Durga from the log. Chitey consecrated this deity in a hut made of clay and hogla – a durable aquatic tall grass. There, he started worshipping the divine mother with dedication.

Today, the neem wood idol consecrated by Chitey Dakat about five centuries back continues to be worshipped as Goddess Chitteswari Durga in Cossipore. The temple is particularly festooned during the annual 10-day Durga Puja festival.

Located on Khagendra Chatterjee Road, the Adi Chitteswari Durga Temple is spread over 6806.25 sq ft. When Subrata Mukherjee was Kolkata's mayor, the temple was designated as a heritage site. The Chitpur area in north Kolkata gets its name from the Chitteswari Temple. 

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About Goddess Chitteswari Durga

“The idol of Goddess Chitteswari Durga in this temple does not have her four children, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh. With ten arms, she symbolises Chandi riding a lion and slaying the buffalo demon Mahishasura,” says the temple priest Kashiswar Roy Chowdhuri.

Chandi is a fierce form of the goddess Shakti known for killing demons and protecting her followers. 

“One of the oldest Durga idols in Kolkata, it doesn't require invocation or immersion," says Chowdhuri.

The deity is over 438 years old, standing six feet tall and has an altar seven feet wide. It has never been altered. She gets a fresh coat of paint and jewel decorations just during the yearly Durga Puja. 

On the day of Mahalaya, which marks the beginning of Durga Puja festivities, artisans paint the eyes of the idol in a ritual called Choukhu Daan. 

Chowdhuri claims the Chitteswari Durga temple is the only location in Bengal where one can see a leopard statue next to the goddess Durga. “There is a story behind this leopard. When the original temple was made, the jungle was crammed with a leap of leopards, which terrorised the band of dacoits. The leopard's statue was placed before the goddess to invoke divine blessings and end their menace,” informs Chowdhuri. 

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The temple and the Goddess after Chitey Dakat

The dacoit-turned-devotee Chitey was allegedly killed in an encounter with the Mughal soldiers. The gang left the jungle soon after his demise. After that, the families of local sailors and fishermen mustered the courage to enter the forest. They had always thought that Chitey was the worshipper of the goddess Kali. However, they were surprised to discover that he was actually worshipping goddess Durga, not Kali.

“Sadly, the ritual of Chitteswari Durga worship was discontinued for years after Chitey’s death,” says Chowdhuri. 

“In 1586, Nrisingha Brahmachari, a tantric devotee, had a divine dream. The Goddess asked him to restart the worship,” says Chowdhuri.

Based on her directives, Nrisingha frantically looked for the shrine in the deep-forested area, but he couldn’t find it. After extensive searches, he rediscovered the house of Goddess covered with shrubs and twigs. “Nrisingha removed the bushes to construct a small shelter where he re-started worshipping goddess Chitteswari Durga. Since then, her worship has continued,” Chowdhuri tells 30Stades.

The news about the goddess reached Manohar Ghosh, a zamindar (landlord), who had migrated to Bengal from Odisha after quitting as a revenue collector of Raja Todar Mal. When he visited to seek her blessings at Cossipore, the splendour of the goddess mesmerised him. 

Ghosh announced plans to build the Adi Chitteswari Durga Temple, which was completed in 1610.

Ghosh entrusted the responsibility of the temple to Nrisingha Brahmachari. After Nrisingha’s death, his disciples took control of it. Later, Shyamsundar Brahmachari, his eighth-generation disciple, married and was blessed with two daughters.

The elder daughter Jodumoni Devi didn’t marry, while the younger daughter Khetramoni Devi married into the zamindar family of Sabarna Roy Chowdhury, who lived in Halisahar in 24 Parganas. After Shyamsundar’s demise, the shrine was looked after by Khetramoni Devi’s family.

“The management of the Debuttar Property - an estate devoted to a god - became the responsibility of my great-grandfather Tara Kumar Roy Chowdhuri, my grandfather Panchanan Roy Chowdhuri and my father Rabindra Kumar Roy Chowdhuri. They all served the goddess and performed the rituals. At present, I am the sixth generation working as the shebait of this temple,” Chowdhuri says. 

After Kashiswar, his daughter Rituparna Chowdhuri and son Chandraroop Roy Chowdhuri would be the custodians of this Debuttar property.

Celebrating Durga Puja 

“Thousands of devotees from far-off places come to the temple to participate in the Durga Puja festivities. We perform oblation, sacrifice, devotion, distribution of holy food, etcetera,” says Chowdhuri. 

Chandipath, the recital of verses from the sacred book Chandi, is performed during the 10-day festival. The ritual of sacrifice is done with vegetables and fruits, such as pumpkin, ash gourd, sugarcane, and cucumber.

“The custom of goat sacrifice was practised here, but my great-grandfather ended it and started the practice of fruit-vegetable sacrifice instead.”

In an uncommon practice, Chitey also worshipped a Shiva Lingam with the Goddess. One can find a single stone lingam with an unusual form. It was buried under the rubble. When the labourers under Manohar Ghosh were chopping trees and digging up the area, the Shiva lingam was found from the extended root of a 450-year-old Neem tree.

In addition to the goddess and Shiva lingam, daily prayers are offered to Ram-Sita, Bharat, Shatrughan, Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra, Mata Sitala and Radha-Krishna. The temple is open from 6 am to 12:30 pm. It reopens for Sandhya Arti at 5 pm and closes at 9 pm.

(Partho Burman is a Kolkata-based award-winning journalist. He writes inspiring human interest and motivational stories.)

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