Kankalitala is a temple-town in Birbhum-Murshidabad of West Bengal.
It is one of the fifty-one Shakti Peethas on the banks of Kopai River.
Sati Devi‘s waist fell here.
No Idol is found here.
Instead,the central prayer chamber is a simple pillared hall with a small sanctum at one end where just a portrait of Goddess Kali, bedecked with
flowers is kept.
On the other side of the temple is a sacred tree decked with marigold wreaths and small stones tied to it using thread – a Bengali tradition to pray for
pregnancy and safe childbirth.
The temple complex is large.
However in the center there are no permanent structures except the main temple and the water tank – the associated Shiva temple is a couple of hundred meters away, close to the entrance to the temple complex.
The Shivalingam is made of hard black stone & worshipped by the name of Shambhu aka Ruru Bhairav.
The Lingam appears to be buried – it is situated in a pit with the chamber’s marble interiors surrounding it on all sides
The lingam was once complete & protruding from the ground like normal Shivalingams.
It was broken base upwards by a Muslim soldier named Kalapathar (literally “Black stone”, perhaps referring to his physical strength or his stone-
heartedness) when Bengal was ruled by the Pathan warlord Sulaiman Khan Karrani.
(That such a thick monolith was broken to pieces speaks of the animosity Kalapathar felt for Hindus & their traditions, though it is said that he himself was a convert from Hinduism who later specialized in destroying temples & religious sites.)
Not far from the mandir’s front gate, a narrow dirt road leads away from the temple and toward Kankalitala’s cremation ground.
Walking along this footpath, one will see numerous samadhis on its opposite sides. These are the grave markers of tantriks and sadhus.
Entering the main area of the cremation ground brings you to the place where human bodies are burned.
The system for performing this activity here is different from what I have observed previously at such burning grounds as Tarapith and Manikarnika.
Instead of the typical temporary construction of a wood pyre which is then set alight, at Kankalitala there are two semi-permanent structures which are utilized.
Each is essentially a raised, open platform made from several pieces of metal girder spanning across and secured in place by two short walls. These walls are made of bricks that have been covered over with mud which, now dry, feels solid like fired clay.
Festival.
The holy month of Sawan is dedicated to Kali’s consort Shiva.
Thousands including women and children throng to the river Ganga under the collective title of “Kanwariya” to fill water in the small pots that are tied
to the slender ornamentative poles they carry on their shoulders.
The poles are decorated with miniature plastic tridents, idols of Shiva, snakes & other symbols that have been associated with Shiva according to Hindu mythology;
the Kanwariyas traditionally wear saffron for easy identification & company for walking over long distances – the whole journey, from one’s native
place to river Ganga & then to a holy spot (such as a Shaktipeetha) is performed on foot – even children as young as 8-10 walk several hundred
kilometers.
How To reach Kankanitala., Pooja Timings.
Kankalitala is about 10 km from Santiniketan.
Buses ply on the Bolpur-Labhpurroute.
Bolpur is the nearest railway station.
One can hire a taxi or take a rickshaw from Bolpur.
According to mythology, when the dead boby of maa Parvati was cut by Lord Vishnu’s Sudarshan chakra, the waist fell at kankalitala.
Citation.
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