Hanseswari Temple Complex

West Bengal, Hooghly, Kolkata

Located in the town of Banshberia at Hooghly District, West Bengal, Hangseswari temple is an ancient temple dedicated to Goddess Hangseswari. There is another temple besides the main temple - Ananta Basudeba temple. It was King Nrisingha Dev Rai who started to build the famous Temple of Hanseswari, but, soon after his death in 1802, it was his wife Rani Shankari who completed the temple construction in 1814. Today, it is one of the must-see destinations in West Bengal. At present, the place is an archeological site and is maintained by the Archeological Survey of India

Legend

According to the legends, while staying in Varanasi from 1792 to 1798, King Nrisingha Dev Rai was studying the "Six cyclic centers (Six Chakras)" in the human body system. This is also known as "Kundalini" in Shastra. He was about to visit Britain, but he cancelled the tour and immediately came back to Bengal to start building the Hanseswari Temple. The King spent around 1 lakh currency in making the beautiful edifice. The marbles
were brought from Chunar to build the temple. The shrine in Bansberia is a great example of the Kundalini and yogic concepts. The King died in the middle of the construction but his wife, Queen Shankari completed her husband's dream of creating the temple of Maata Hanseswari in the year 1814.

Architecture

The Hanseswari temple of Bansberia is one of the manmade wonders, created during the 19th century. The temple complex has 13 towers and the highest one is 27.5 meters. Each of the peaks of the towers is carved in Lotus shape. The architecture represents the "Tantrik Satchakrabhed". The six storey temple is built like a human body that has Ira, Pingala, Bajraksha, Sushumna and Chitrini.
Within the premise, the terracotta Ananta Basudeba Temple is worth mentioning. This temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The nearby Swanbhaba Kali Temple is also decorated with the terracotta artwork.

Darsan Info

The best time to visit this site is at 10 Am in the morning and at 5.00 Pm in the evening. The temple remains closed during the afternoon.

Darsan Dresscode

Nothing Specific

Culture

Calcutta or today's Kolkata, known as the cultural capital of India has contributed immensely in enriching the cultural aspects of not only the whole Bengal but represented India to the world in though literature, theater, music, art, craft and other performing arts.
Bengalis boast on their first Indian Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa, the great filmmaker and Oscar winner for his lifetime achievement Satyajit Ray, world-famous filmmakers Mrinal Sen, Rittik Ghatak, the first Bengal Generation of the Beat Poets- The trio- Sakti Chatterjee, Sunil Ganguly and Subhas Mukherjee who reflected the efflorescence of the revolutionary poesy in their poetry that Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and many other poets introduced in the West.
Even today, Kolkata stands among the top listing stops that stage the finest theaters, musical performances and recitations.
Bengal is also famous for its handloom. Over the centuries, the Tant saree from Fulia, Sahantipur or that of the Silk from Murshidabad, Bishnupur, and Bankura have created a deep impact on not only the Bengali women but also among saree connoisseurs throughout the country and abroad.
Calcutta houses some of the finest and world-class art galleries such as the Academy of Fine arts, CIMA Art Gallery, Gaganendra Art Gallery and so on. This is the home of world- famous artists.
Bengali cuisine has also entered the world panorama for its finest sweet delicacies and fish preparations that are exclusively crafted with traditional Bengali fervor with its best. People coming to Bengal cannot afford to miss out the exclusive sweet dishes such as rosogolla, chhanar gilipi, Misti Doi (sweet yoghurt), langcha and payesh prepared with date molasses.