Chandranath Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram is the city's international airport.

• By road

  The Dhaka to Chittagong Highway runs through Sitakunda, linking the two largest cities in Bangladesh.

On the way

• The shrine committee said the stairs leading up to the temple on the hill need renovation.
• The shrine president said the stairs are in poor condition and carry a risk of accidents.

Why devotees come here

Chandranath Temple stands on Chandranath Hill in Sitakunda, near Chattogram in Bangladesh, about 310 metres above sea level. It is a Shakta pitha, where legend says the right arm of Sati fell. Hindus treat it as a pilgrimage site.

Legend says that Vishnu used his Sudarshan Chakra to cut the body of Sati into 51 pieces, and each place where a piece fell became a shrine. Here, the right arm of Sati is believed to have fallen near a hot spring on the peak. The spring is now extinct. Hindu sacred texts count the temple as a Shakta pitha.

The temple is believed to date back to the 11th century. The Rajmala says that about 800 years ago, Raja Biswambhar Sur tried to reach Chandranath by sea. The Nigamkalpataru refers to the poet Jayadev living for a time at Chandranath. The Rajmala also says the temple received considerable endowments from the Twipra Kingdom.

Each temple of this kind has shrines for Shakti and Kalabhairava. Here the Shakti is known by the name Bhavani. Shiva's idol is at the temple. King Dhanya Manikya of Tripura once tried to take it to his kingdom, but failed.

Tips for your visit

• The Sambhunath temple stands just below the main shrine on the peak, and is a major tirtha for Hindus in Bangladesh.
• Sitakunda has 49 Hindu temples, including Labanakhya Mandir and Shambunath Mandir.

Questions people ask