Garteswari Temple (51th Shakti Peeth)
The Garteswari and Garvewari Temple is a twin Hindu temple dedicated to the mother goddess Garteswari. It is one of the oldest of the 51 Shakti Pithas. It is situated at Garteswari, the village named after the goddess in the South Berubari Gram Panchayet in the district of Jalpaiguri , West Bengal. It is an important pilgrimage destination for general Hindu. A scholarly study of the Garteswari Temple was authored by Harish Chandra Roy.
Garteswari Temple is one of the few famous temples in Jalpaiguri , the other is Jalpesh Temple. Initially there was a single temple made of tin and bricks which was constructed when the Garteswari Bari Primary School was built. Later when the grand son of Jalpaiguri Royal family visited the temple in 2005, it came into limelight. Since then the temple area and the temples are developing under the help of some Marwari businessmen from Siliguri and Jalpaiguri. At present there are two temples, a cooking room, a guest house and other common amenities. The following year, Shankaracharya from Haridwar and a pundit from Nepal had also come. Other notable persons present at the induction ceremony were Ananda Gopal Ghosh(history professor of North Bengal University), Gobinda Roy(MLA).
Every year a festival is held after Charak Puja, generally on Poila Baishakha according to Bengali calender. The festival continue for 7 days as decided by the temple committee from the very beginning. Recently Govt of West Bengal sanctioned money for the beautification of the temple pond.[1]
The Brahmin who offers puja daily is Ishodev Shukla, now a resident of the village where the temple is situated.
- ^ "Eenadu Bangla".
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