01On the bank of the Karatoya
Karatoyatat means the bank of the Karatoya, the river of north Bengal that the Mahabharata counts among the holy rivers. The Peetha Nirnaya Tantra says Sati’s left anklet fell there, and names the Devi Aparna and the Bhairava Vaman. Other texts name a different part: the left ribs, the right eye, or her bedding. Shakti Peetha lists differ, and Bengal places this seat at Bhabanipur in Sherpur upazila of Bogura. The walled complex covers about four acres: the main temple, a Nat Mandir, the Belbaran Tala under the bel tree, a Patal Bhairava Shiva temple, four more Shiva temples, and shrines of Gopal and Vasudev. Outside the north wall are four more Shiva temples and a Panchamunda asana for sadhana.
02Rani Bhabani and the conch bangles
Rani Bhabani, who held the great Natore estate of Rajshahi in the 18th century, restored the temple and endowed it. The katha of the pond is told of her. A bangle-seller met a young girl by the water who bought a pair of conch-shell bangles and told him to take the price from the Rani, her mother. The Rani had no such daughter. She came to the pond and prayed, and the Devi raised her arms out of the water wearing the bangles. The pond is the Shankha Pukur, and pilgrims still bathe in it. The year’s fairs come at Maghi Purnima and Ram Navami, and the autumn Durga Puja and Shyama Puja draw the largest crowds.
The life of this place
- 1991A local committee for the temple’s renovation, development and management took charge of the shrine and its lands.
- 2007A pilgrims’ guest house being built at the temple was pulled down by government forces.
Bhabanipur is about 33 km south of Bogura town, off the Dhaka highway near Sherpur. Morning bhog is offered early and the anna bhog at noon; pilgrims can take prasad at the temple.
