Bargabhima Temple

Getting there

• By train

  Tamluk Junction railway station is in Tamluk town, on Tamluk station road. It is on the Panskura to Haldia line.

• By road

  The temple is about 87.2 km from Kolkata and 85 km from Kharagpur. Roads reaching it include National Highway 116 and State Highway 4.

Why devotees come here

Bargabhima Temple stands by the Roopnarayana river in Tamluk, Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peeth temples, and local belief places the fall of Sati's left ankle here. Devotees also know it as Vibhash Shakti Peeth and Bhimakali Mandir.

Bargabhima Temple stands by the Roopnarayana river in Tamluk village. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peeth temples. Devotees also call it Vibhash Shakti Peeth and Bhimakali Mandir, and the temple is devoted to Devi Sati. Legend says her left ankle fell on this spot.

The present temple is not very old. It was rebuilt after the Islamic occupation of Bengal in the Middle Ages. Local stories say the Tamluk Raj family built the temple, and the building stands on an archaeological mound in the middle of the town. Tamluk is the headquarters of Purba Medinipur district.

Descriptions also call it a Kali temple nearly 1150 years old. Local people hold large festivals here on Durga Puja, Bengali New Year and Kali Puja.

Festivals

• Dates not givenDurga Puja, Bengali New Year and Kali Puja

  Local people celebrate large festivals at the temple on these occasions.

Tips for your visit

• The offering to Devi here is non-vegetarian: a cooked snakehead murrel, called sol mach in Bengali, is offered.
• Tamluk Rajbari, the ruined royal abode of the Bhanj dynasty, also called the Mayur (Peacock) palace, lies on the outskirts of town.

Questions people ask