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West Bengal Shiva Temple Tarakeswar
The temple of Taraknath an avatar of Lord Shiva is located in Tarakeshwar in Hooghly district in Kolkata. The temple was built in 18th century.
The temple was constructed around the year 1729 AD by the then ruler Raja Bharamalla. The temple has a lingam of Lord Shiva.
The few of the stories behind the evolvement of the Shiva temple in Tarakeshwar is that a person named Vishnu Das along with his brother visited Tarakeshwar from ayodhya. They were looked upon suspiciously by the people of Tarakeshwar and hence to prove themselves Vishnu Das carried a red hot iron rod in his hands while his brother uncovered the Shiva Lingam from the same location where it is visited in today’s time. After this incident Vishnu Das had a dream in which he saw that there is an idol of Tarakeshwar one of the forms of Lord Shiva at this location and later the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was built at the same location. This temple has been renovated since then.
The time to visit the temple is from 6 in morning to 1:30 in afternoon and then again from 4 pm to 7 pm on the evening.
The temple belongs to one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples.
Millions of devotees come to worship the temple and this temple tells us the oldest among all the temples in Tarakeshwar.
The maximum number of devotees comes to this temple in the month of Shravan that falls in the months of July and August. The major festival celebrated in the temple is MahaShivratri. A huge fair s organized to celebrate the festival of Shravan. Few of the other festivals celebrated in the area are Chaitra Sankranti and the New Year of Bengali’s. The temple is also worshipped by large number of people on Monday that is considered to be the most auspicious day in the week to be dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The temple also has a sacred tank named Dudhpukur that is located in the northern direction of the Shiva temple and it is believed that whoever wishes something by taking a sacred dip in the tank his or her wishes are fulfilled by the Lord.
Architecture
The architecture of the temple looks very similar to that of any Bengali architecture. The temple complex has the structure that is famous with the name “atchala” and the other important part of the temple complex is the “natmandir” a place that is used for offering prayers. The other temples in the complex are dedicated to Mata Kali and the Laxmi-Narayan. The porch of the temple is opened from three sides and has the palings at each opening.
How to Reach
By Rail
The nearest rail line is the Tarkeshwar railway station that is well connected to other cities and states in India. Taxi can be hired from railway station to reach the temple.
By Air
The airport closest to reach the temple is in Kolkata that is at a distance of 58 km Tarakeshwar. Taxis can be hired from the airport to reach the temple that cost almost Rs. 750. Flights from all the major cities in the country are connected to Tarakeshwar.
By Road
The buses run by state government run in the city of Tarakeshwar that is well connected to the nearby cities in Kolkata. The buses run by the private transporters are connected via Kamarpukur that is at a distance of 48 kms from Tarakeshwar.
Weather and Best Time to Visit
The area of Tarakeshwar generally has wet and dry type of weather conditions.
The months of summer from March to may experience very hot temperature and the temperature goes a maximum up to 40 degree Celsius and a minimum of 30 degree Celsius. This season is considered to be not favorable during the summers.
The monsoons in the area falls in the months of June to September and the area experiences heavy rainfall and humidity is too high during these months.
The winters season lasts from December to February and the weather remain cold during the winters and the temperature goes as low as 10 degree Celsius. The months of winters are the considered to be good to visit the temple.
The best time to visit the temple is from October to March.
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