Kanak Durga Temple

Getting there

• By air

  The nearest airport is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, about 188 km from Jhargram.

• By train

  From Howrah or Tatanagar, take an Express or local train to Jhargram station.

• By road

  By car from Kolkata via NH6, the Mumbai-Kolkata Highway, Jhargram is about 4 hours away. The temple is about 14 km by road from Jhargram town.

Rules to know

• Only members of the royal family take part in the night worship.

Why devotees come here

Kanak Durga Temple is a Hindu temple of Devi Durga on the bank of the Dulung river, at Chilkigarh in Jhargram district. The government page estimates it to be more than 500 years old. A vast herbal forest lies beside it, and the visit passes through dense forest.

Devi Durga is worshipped here as Kanak Durga. Legend says that after a divine dream, the feudal king of Chilkigarh, Gopinath Singh, made the idol using his wife's bangles.

Local history credits the same king with building the temple. The government page estimates that it is more than 500 years old. During the Maoist era the idol was stolen twice, in 2007 and 2008. A new idol was then made of Ashtadhatu, an alloy of eight metals.

The temple stands on the bank of the Dulung river, 14 km from Jhargram town. A vast herbal forest lies next to it. Only members of the royal family take part in the night worship. Jhargram became the 22nd district of West Bengal in 2017, when it was split from Paschim Medinipur. It is believed that human sacrifice was a vital ritual in royal times. Goat sacrifices still take place on the night of Ashtami, deep in the forest near the temple.

Tips for your visit

• On the way to the temple you pass a spot called Kendua.
• Migratory birds visit the area in winter.

Questions people ask