Andul Rajbari | Howrah |
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| A heritage of Howrah |
The Andul Rajbari which is locally popular as
Ananda Dham is a popular tourist destination in Howrah district of West Bengal.
We planned a short trip to visit the Andul Rajbari recently. One fine monsoon
morning we hired a car and reached Andul. Sri Chaitanya during his holy journey
set his steps in Dakshin Nabadwip. And the place came to be known as Andul
which etymologically comes from “ Ananda Dhuli” meaning the holy dust from the
foot of Lord Chaitanya.
From main road , it
took us around 10-15 minutes to find the Andul Rajbari winding past the narrow
roads crowded by innumerable shops. The royal structure adorned by massive
pillars in the front and a large open field greeted us. The open field is the
place where the fairs take place on relevant occasions.
Annopurna Mandir
Another notable place to visit is the Annapurna
Temple along with its 14 Shiva temples. One is almost sure to miss the entrance
gate of the temple complex but thanks to the worn out Nahabatkhana on top of
the entrance gate which acts as a landmark.
On entering the temple complex we found a
beautiful cannon which is said to be gifted by Lord Clive.People from all age
brackets gather in the courtyard and seat on the floor to relax. The priest was
seen busy performing the daily worship rituals moving from one shiva temple to
the other.
Rajnarayan
Roy established the temple in 1845. His mother during her younger days often
visited the Annapurna temple in Varanasi as she was a devotee of Annapurna. But
with age crippling in , she was unable to continue the annual journey any
longer. Her husband Kashinath Roy started building the Annapurna temple along
with the 14 Shiva temples in Andul itself for his beloved wife. But Kashinath
died in between and his son Rajnarayan fulfilled his parent’s wish by
constructing the same. Currently the temple is run and maintained by Andul Raj
Debuttor Estate.
The
walls and ceilings of the temple were beautifully decorated and coloured. Astadhaatu is an alloy of metals which is
traditionally used for making idols of gods in Bengal. Initially the idols of
Shiva and Annapurna in the temple were made of Astadhaatu but were later
replaced with concrete idols after a robbery took place. There is a brass
throne were Annapurna is seated. A Shiva statue is found standing beside
Annapurna begging for Alms. The statue is called “ Bhikari Shiva” . There are
several salgram shilas arranged in ascending order of size in front of the
Annapurna Idol. There are two more rooms on either side of the main sanctum
sanctorum. One houses Shalgram Shila of Vishnu and a Gopal. The other has seven
Shiva Lingas which are collectively called Baneshwar Shiva.
The cannon lies in the center of the courtyard.
Earlier it was fired on two occasions during the Durga Puja. One before 15 days
of Bodhon to mark the festive season and the other to alert all the villagers
to attend the Sandhi Puja sacrifice ritual before Navami. Now this firing
ritual is topped due to shortage of ammunition and also due to an accident
that took place in Burdwan due to a similar cannon firing ritual.
The main festival of the temple is Annapurna
Puja. Also the temple was founded on the auspicious day of Chaitra Sankranti
and huge bhog takes place on the same day. 12 brahmins are treated with
mahabhog. Apart from that Dol Utsav, Durga Puja and other top festivities take
place with huge pomp. Fairs are held in the field adjacent to the Palace
grounds.
How To Reach
Road: Kolkata is the nearest major town situated only 14 kilometers away. Cabs for hire can be found from Kolkata.
Rail: Andul is your nearest station, which is connected with all the Howrah station. Regular trains are available from Howrah as well.
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