Legend Of Kalighat Temple
There are a number of stories as to the first discovery of the image of Kali that now finds installed in Kalighat temple. One story is that near the present temple of Kali, a Brahmin used to do his prayers in the midst of thick forest. One evening while reciting the mantras on the banks of Bhagirathi river, he found a ray of light coming from the bed of the river. In the morning light he und there was a piece of stone carved like a human toe under the clear water. The Brahmin picked it up and worshipped the piece of stone. That night the Brahmin had a dream that the piece of stone was nothing else than the toe of Sati which had been cut off by the Siidarsan Chakra of Vishnu. This refers to the story of the enraged Shiva going round the world with the dead body of his consort Sati, on his shoulders and lest the Tandav Nrilva of Lord Shivastroys the world, Lord Vishnu started cutting off the limbs of Sati; wherever the limbs fell became a Pithasthan or a very great place of pilgrimage. A toe had fallen in the river of Bhagirathi by the side of Kalighat and so Kalighat is a Pithasthan. The Brahman searched and found a Swamhhu Lingam of Nakuleshwar Bhairav image nearby theahmin took the toe and put it near the image of Nakuleshwar and ,started worshipping them. It is said the name of the Brahmin was Atma Ram.
There is another story that Santosh Roy Choudhury of the Sabarna family was passing by the Bhagirathi river in a boat in the evening when he was attracted by the blowing of the conch shell inside the jungle. He got interested and stopped the boat. Following the direction of the sound of the conch shell, he came to a very thick part of the forest and found that a Brahmachari was doing Arti to the image of Kali. Santosh Roy Choudhury himself was a worshipper of Shakti and he worshipped Kali Devi. Since then he started worshipping Kali there regularly and ultimately built the temple for the installation of the image. The other story is that Keshav Roy Choudhury, another Sabarna zamindar and a confirmed Shakta had a dream and discovered the image. He brought out the image and consecrated the place where the temple was built. It is said that he first built a small temple and later Rajib Lochan Roy Choudhury took permission from the Collector, Mr. Elliard and constructed the present big temple.
There is another story that some Kapalik Sanyasis were going to the confluence of the river Ganga and the sea (Sagar-dwip) and while passing through the jungle, they found a piece of stone and immediately discovered that it was the representation of Kali. They purposely fixed the image in the thick of the jungle because human sacrifice was necessary for the puja according to the Tanlrav. There is still another story that one Chowrangi Giri, a Saiva Sannyasi of Dasanami group discovered the image and had consecrated the image and since then the image is being worshipped there. It is interesting to mention that the area Chowranghee, the most famous and fashionable part of Calcutta City takes its name after this Chowrangi Giri Sannyasi.
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