A drive through the woods to visit a 1000 years old Durga pujo#West Bengal

What if I tell you that in the middle of a deep forest,there exists a temple where Devi Durga was worshipped for the first time?What if I tell you that this place finds its mention even in the markandaya purana? Now,wouldn't you love to visit this place during the Durga pujo?I know you would.
Durgapur is a town in the Burdwan district of west Bengal.On the eastern side of this town flows the River Ajay,the banks of which are covered with dense forests of sal tree.This forest is known as 'Gor jongol' in bengali.'Gor' means 'Garh' or fort and 'jongol' means jungle or  forest.In the middle of this forest,there is a temple of godess Durga which was established by  King Ichhai Ghosh who was the ruler of the area a thousand years ago.Ichhai Ghosh was a devotee of shakti and it is said that goddess shakti considered him her son.Goddess shakti protected him from all his enemies and thus Ichhai Ghosh became invincible.One story even says that one day when Ichhai Ghosh was deep in meditation ,his enemies attacked him.He awoke from his mediation at the cries of pain outside this temple and found that his enemies were being counter-attacked by some invisible force.

Every year Durga puja is celebrated at this temple where thousands of devotees come from near and far to worship her.The road leading to this temple  would take you across serene Bengal agricultural villages and jungles of sal trees.The jungles at some areas are so deep that even at midday it feels like dusk in that area.The roads to the jungle are metalled upto a certain point but after that a major portion of the route is through the uneven muddy road with forests on both sides.

Goddess Durga at this temple is known as 'ShyamRupa'.This name has a legend attached to it.It is said that once upon a time,much after the death of Ichhai Ghosh,a tantric performed tantra rituals here and performed human sacrifices to please the Devi.One day when the Tantric had brought a woman to sacrifice her before the goddess,he was confronted by the Vaishnava poet Jayadeva.The poet challenged the tantric and asked him to prove the goddess 's approval of the human sacrifices.The tantric failed to make the goddess appear to his prayer.When Jayadeva prayed to the goddess,she appeared in the idol but she had the form of half krishna and half Durga.Since then the devi is known as 'Shyamrupa'.Human sacrifices have stopped but goats are stills sacrificed at this temple during sandhi puja on Asthami of Durga Puja.At the 'sandhi' time a mysterious canon sound is heard at this temple and right at that time,a goat is sacrificed.

The temple is surrounded by forests and one can even take a walk in the forests upto a certain distance and can get majestic views of the greenery from the watch tower.
About less than a kilometer from the Shyam- rupa temple,there is another historical place associated with goddess shakti.This place is said to be existing since the satya yuga and it is at this place where Medhas muni ashram was located.However,now only the remains of the once beautiful ashram can be found here.Medhas muni narrated Devi mahatmya to King Surath at this ashram.A Durga puja is celebrated at this place as well and it is attended by many shakta sanyasis.The remains of the ashram bears evidence of the architectural beauty of the ancient India.All the pillars are carved beautifully with images of goddess Durga,Kalratri,shiva parvati,Nandi-the bull,Sri Krishna dancing on Kaliya Naag and other beautiful floral motifs.

At a distance of about 2km from the Medhas muni ashram one can find a 18m tall structure known as 'Ichhai Ghosh er Deul'.The river Ajay flows beside this deul.The deul is constructed of bricks and terracotta and the upper portion of the deul has beautiful carvings of gods.I could identify the carving of Narashimha Avatar of Vishnu.This is the place where Ichhai Ghosh fought a battle with his enemy Lau Sen.Ghosh was defeated at the hands of Lau Sen and after this rahr bengal passed away into the hands of the sen dynasty.The deul was built at this battleground in honour of Ichhai Ghosh by his subjects. Legends state that Goddess Shakti had ordered Ichhai ghosh not to get involved in war with Sen on a particular day.However,Ghosh didn't obey the orders and hence, was defeated.He was decapitated and his head was thrown in to a blazing fire.After his death Goddess shakti mourned over the death of her son and even to this day the cries of a mother can be heard on that particular day when Ichhai Ghosh was killed.
A shiva Linga has been placed inside the Deul very recently.

'Gor jongol' can be visited during any time of the year but during the Durga Puja, the festivities light up the jungle.Spending a day of the Puja at the ancient temples shall be a memorable experience.Additionally,one can also experience the beautiful Durga puja Pandals,lightings,food and other festivities at Durgapur,minus the maddening crowds of Kolkata.

How to reach:
Nearest airport: Durgapur Airport & Kolkata Airport.Flights services are available from Delhi,Mumbai and Hyderabad
Nearest Railway station:Durgapur Railway station
Nearest Bus depot: city centre bus stand .Buses from all over Bengal,Puri ,and Bihar are available.