Kirit Shakti Peeth (Kiriteswari)

The story

According to the Shakti Peeth tradition, after King Daksha's yagya Shiv ji wandered in grief carrying the body of Devi Sati. Vishnu ji's Sudarshan chakra then divided the body, and wherever a part or an ornament fell, a Shakti Peeth arose. The crown is believed to have fallen here. Because an ornament, not a part of the body, fell here, some tantric scholars call Kiriteswari an upa-peeth, a lesser seat, but devotees revere it as a great peeth. The place is very old: the shrine is said to be more than a thousand years old, and old Bengali writings and old maps also name it. The present temple was rebuilt in the 19th century by Raja Darpanarayan of Lalgola. Around it stand many small temples, among them a char-chala shrine thought to date from the 17th century and a Shiv temple founded by Raja Rajballabh. Raja Ramkrishna of Natore, a devoted sadhak, is said to have come here to meditate, and two stones on which he sat are still shown in the courtyard. In the village a newer temple, the Gupta Math, also holds daily worship of the Devi.