Devi Jagadhatri Temple of Kāshi
One of the sacred sites in Kāshi is the Devi Jagadatri temple. The divine mother is worshiped in three forms: – Kali, Annapurani and Jagadathri Durga – who represent the destruction, maintenance and pulling-out-of delusion aspects of Paramaśiva and Paraśakti.
After the creation of happening of the goddess Durga, all gods such as Indra, Varuna, Vayu and others thought they were very powerful. They thought they were the almighty and could do anything with their power and forgot the real power inside them which is that of Paramaśiva and Paraśakti. So, Paraśakti, Goddess Durga, gave them a test. She came before them as Maya and created a blade of grass before them. She said, “Oh mighty devas please take that grass.”
The Gods laughed. Indra sent Vayu to take that grass out. Vayu tried hard to do so but failed. Similarly, every God one by one tried but failed. Then, Goddess Paraśakti appeared before them and taught them how every power of this universe is Her. She is the power of the whole world, Śakti. All the Gods then understood their fault. Goddess Durga came before them as Goddess Jagadhatri sitting on a lion. And their ego became an Elephant. That’s how we see Goddess Jagaddhatri sitting on a lion in Kāshi.
In 1890, King of Boinchi Hooghly in West Bengal, Raja Devanandan Mukherjee and Queen Maya Devi (Rani Mata) established the Jagadhatri Durga temple along with six Śiva Lingas in Tripura Bhairavi, near Dasa asvamedh Ghat, Varanasi. Mata Jagadhatri Durga Devi is the family deity of many families of West Bengal, including that of Sarada Devi, the spiritual consort of Śri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Later, during Sarada Devi’s spiritual ministry from 1900-1920, Sarada Devi regularly participated in the yearly worship of Devi Jagadatri and even accepted worship as the very incarnation of Devi Jagadatri. In one such offering, Swami Vairagyananda, one of her disciples, had the darshan of Devi Jagadatri through the divine mother, Sarada Devi. In awe and affection, Swami Vairagyananda collected the feet dust of Sarada Devi at that moment and preserved it his whole life. Upon leaving the body in around 1999 in Haridwar, Swami Vairagyananda bestowed this to The SPH as an inheritance. Until this day, The SPH worships the feet dust, as a memory of Sarada Devi herself who was the incarnation of Devi Jagadatri.
(Left) The Devi Jagadhatri Temple in Kāshi (Right) The deity of Devi Jagadhatri made of Ashtadhatu, still worshiped today in the Kāshi Sarvajnapeetha
Shiva Lingas in the Devi Jagadhatri Temple in Kāshi
Maharaja Devanandan Mukherjee and Rani Maya Devi
Maharaja Devanandan Mukherjee and Rani Maya Devi
Maharaja Devanandan Mukherjee was also an ardent devotee of Devi Jagadatri. In Boinchi, West Bengal the largest Jagadhatri festival is held every year. When King and Rani Mata moved to Varanasi to continue their spiritual journey, Raja Devanandan Mukherjee brought the Jagadhatri Devi’s idol which had been made from Ashtadhatu from Boinchi.
King and Rani Mata personally performed the pooja of Ma Jagadhatri Devi and lived in the house adjacent to the temple. In 1927, King Devanandan Mukherjeeji passed away after which Queen Śrimathi Maya Devi looked after the temple and continued the tradition of performing poojas and looking after the deity. In 1972, Queen Śrimathi Maya Devi due to her old age handed over the Temple management to Śri Prahlad Rai Khemka ji, an ardent Devi worshiper, belonging to the famous Khemka family of Varanasi. Khemka ji’s family is known for their religious and charitable contributions to society and have played an important role in preserving old Hindu scriptures. Over the years the temple has also been taken care of by devotees of Śri Sarada Devi, who were deeply devoted and connected through Sarada Devi to Devi Jagadatri.
Today, The SPH is reviving the Kāshi Sarvajnapeetha through the Devi Jagadatri temple, in Varanasi.