On the banks of river Ajay on the outskirts of Durgapur there is a dense forest. This forest has been preserving histories and mythologies associated with Durga Worship in West Bengal.
As you cross the villages, the surroundings change and they become greener and greener. Then you enter the forest and the metalled road ends. Your vehicle would need to be powerful to cross the muddy, bumpy lanes across the dense forest of sals.
The main attraction of this trip is the temple of Devi shayamrupa. But before visiting the temple,lets have a walk around the forests surrounding the temple. A flight of steps would take you to the ancient forest. If you like nature, you would definitely love to walk among the greenery.
This is the shyam rupa devi temple. This temple has historical significance and it is said that this temple was constructed by Ichhai ghosh thousands of years back.Ichhai Ghosh used to be the ruler of this area.It is said that the goddess,who is devi duurga herself,considered ichhai her son and protected him from all evils against him. This made him invincible.
Every year Durga puja is celebrated with much zeal at this temple. Devotee from far and near come to pay their respects to the goddess, especially on asthami i.e , the 8th day.
Are you wondering why this goddess has name the word ‘shyam’ or dark of associated with her?There is legend behind this.
Once upon a time at this very temple a kapalik sanyashi used to perform human sacrifices to please the goddess.One day when he had captured a young woman and was about to sacrifice her, Vaishnav poet Jaydev confronted him. He challenged the sanyasi asked him to make the appear before them with his prayers.The kapalik failed to do so. But when Jayadev prayed to the goddess and asked her to appear,devi durga appeared where she was half dark complexioned. From then onwards she is known as ‘Maa shyam Rupa’.
There is watch tower just infront of this temple and from there you can see the view of the surrounding forest.
Just a kilometre away from this temple, the ashram of Medhas muni is located. According to markendeya purana this is the place where Durga Puja was celebrated for the first time on this planet. King Surath of Kalinga,came to this place after losing his kingdom at the hands of his enemy.Medhas muni preached him the Devi mahatmya and he worshipped the goddess to overcome his ill fate.
This is a place of shakti worship and you would find many sanyasis around who visit this jungle for meditation. Durga Puja is celebrated every year at this ashram.Just near the temples one can find the remains of the ancient ashram of medhas muni. The beautifully designed pillars still stand to tell you stories of the past. The pillars are engraved with Diffferent forms pf Devi durga and other tales from hindu scriptures.we could spot Shiv Parvati,kaliya daman scene and ma kaalratri engraved.
A very unique temple is located just another few kilometres away from the medhas muni ashram. This is known as the deul of Ichhai Ghosh Deul.This is a tower temple,also known as ‘rekha-deul’ where Rekha means a straight line.This temple is believed to have been built by the descendants of Ichhai Ghosh during the 16-17th century.
There is a Shivalinga inside the temple. On looking close at the top of the temple unclear images of gods can be seen. Just near this Deul,there is a park and people throng here during winters for picnics and family outings.
#Durgapur
# ajay river
#garh jungle
# picnic spot
#shyam rupa
# medhas muni
#deul
# gor jongol
#offbeat
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