Siddheshwari Temple, located on Bidhan Sarani near College Street, is crowded with devotees all year round. The temple was established in 1703 AD by Udaynarayan Brahmachari. Udaynarayan himself was a Tantric practitioner. Kolkata had not yet truly become 'Kolkata.' Most parts of Sutanuti-Gobindapur were covered in a blanket of water and jungle. In that dense jungle, Udaynarayan built a Kali idol with his own hands out of clay, who is still worshipped as Goddess Siddheshwari. Devotees know this 'awake' (powerful/living) temple as Thanthania Kalibari.
Sri Ramakrishna And Coconut Water And Sugar (Daab And Chini) Offering In The Temple
In his early life, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to visit
this temple often to have darshan of the Goddess. He would sing songs to please
the Goddess. Even later, after settling down at the Dakshineswar Kali Temple,
he did not forget the old Goddess Siddheshwari. He would come to this temple
and offer prayers on specific occasions.
It is said that when his disciple Keshab Chandra Sen once
became seriously ill, Sri Ramakrishna offered prayers to Goddess Siddheshwari
with coconut water and sugar (daab and chini) for his recovery. Keshab Chandra
recovered as well. Based on this belief, coconut water and sugar are still
offered as bhog to the Goddess today. Devotees believe that offering bhog in
this manner will fulfill their desires.
Although the vegetarian offering of coconut water and sugar is prevalent, the tradition of non-vegetarian bhog (offerings) is observed throughout the year at this temple. The only exceptions are the Phalaharini Puja and Dipanwita Amavasya (Kali Puja night).
