The Mythical Link Between Nilgiris and Kolkata Kali Temple
NDC director D. Venugopal said the reputation of the Nilgiris as a sacred mountain has been recorded in history.
By : B. Ravichandran
Update: 2026-02-23 04:13 GMT
Ooty: While Maha Kali temple(Mangali Gudi in Badaga language) at Dimbatty in Kotagiri in the Nilgiris is celebrating its centenary with a Maha Kumbhabhishekam, the Nilgiri Documentation Centre(NDC) unravelled an interesting mythological connection between the Nilgiris and famous Kali temple at Kalighat in Kolkata.
NDC director D. Venugopal said the reputation of the Nilgiris as a sacred mountain has been recorded in history. According to legend in the 18th century, one glance at the Nilgiris hills would cleanse a man of all his sins. People in the surrounding plains believed that the hills were the abode of Gods and no one who went up would return alive. For the indigenous people of Nilgiris, mountains and peaks continue to be sacred and objects of worship. Similarly, the 10-day Durga Puja being held at Kolkata has an interesting mythological connection with the Nilgiris.
According to the book, ‘The Constant and Changing Faces of the Goddess: Goddess Traditions of Asia’, one legend links the beginning of the Kalighat temple, where the Durga Puja is held, with a devotee named Brahmananda Giri who was meditating to Goddess Kali, alone in the Nilgiri hills. As the Goddess would not appear to him, he decided to commit suicide at which point the Goddess appeared to him with an assurance that she would never leave him unless he asked her to go.
Later, another devotee is believed to have joined him and Goddess Kali decided to take them to the site of her future temple. She gave them a stone to hold and close their eyes and next moment they found themselves at Kalikshetra. Following the instruction of the goddess, they travelled north and installed the stone at the present Kalighat and started worshiping her, giving rise to the widespread Kali worship, Mr Venugopal noted.
According to the book, ‘The Constant and Changing Faces of the Goddess: Goddess Traditions of Asia’, one legend links the beginning of the Kalighat temple, where the Durga Puja is held, with a devotee named Brahmananda Giri who was meditating to Goddess Kali, alone in the Nilgiri hills. As the Goddess would not appear to him, he decided to commit suicide at which point the Goddess appeared to him with an assurance that she would never leave him unless he asked her to go.
Later, another devotee is believed to have joined him and Goddess Kali decided to take them to the site of her future temple. She gave them a stone to hold and close their eyes and next moment they found themselves at Kalikshetra. Following the instruction of the goddess, they travelled north and installed the stone at the present Kalighat and started worshiping her, giving rise to the widespread Kali worship, Mr Venugopal noted.