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Ratnavali Shakti Peeth

On the Ratnakar river, Khanakul, Hooghly district, West Bengal

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Ratnavali Shakti Peeth
Photo: Karmandir, AI illustration

Traditions differ: Bharatkosh, quoting a Bengal almanac, says Ratnavali lies somewhere near Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu. Hindi, Bengali and English Wikipedia name Khanakul in Hooghly district.

About

The Ratnavali Shakti Peeth stands on the bank of the Ratnakar river at Khanakul-Krishnanagar, in the Arambagh area of Hooghly district, West Bengal. Locally it is known as Anandamayi Tala. Devotees believe the right shoulder of Devi Sati fell here. The Devi is worshipped as Kumari, and her Bhairav is Shiv, called Ghanteshwar here, whose shrine is a few steps from the Devi. Khanakul is a village full of temples, known also for the Gopinath and Radhavallabh temples, and the reformer Raja Rammohan Roy was born in this area.

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. At Ratnavali her right shoulder is believed to have fallen; the Devi is Kumari and the Bhairav Shiv. Bengali sources say the great tantric scholar Krishnananda Agamavagish once did his sadhana at this peeth, near the cremation ground on the river bank. Here Ghanteshwar Shiv is held in special reverence, and by local custom devotees who make a vow to him offer a coconut in place of bel leaves. The water of a kund near the temple is also held sacred. The exact place of Ratnavali was long debated: Bharatkosh, quoting a Bengal almanac, says it lies somewhere near Chennai (Madras), but most lists today name Khanakul.

Visiting

October to March is the best time; the area is low-lying and can flood in the monsoon. Tarakeswar is the nearest railway station, and buses run from Kolkata and Tarakeswar. Nearby are the Tarakeswar Shiv temple and Raja Rammohan Roy's birthplace at Radhanagar.

Festivals

  • Durga Puja
  • Gajan fair in Chaitra

51 Shakti Peeths

Sources