Wish to visit all 51 Shaktipeeths: PM Modi at Bangladesh's Jeshoreshwari Kali temple
India will build a multi-purpose community centre near the temple so that it can accommodate scores of pilgrims during fairs, and can also act as a shelter house in the time of need, PM Modi said.
Praying for a Coronavirus-free world at Bangladesh's Jeshoreshwari Kali temple early on Saturday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he feels fortunate to visit the goddess just ahead of the Chaitra Navratri. PM Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the neighbouring country, was seen wearing a mark as he was welcomed in the temple, which was renovated on the occasion of PM Modi's visit. He also offered a hand-made, gold-plated silver crown to the goddess.
Watch: PM Modi prays at Bangladesh temples, visits Bangabandhu mausoleum
Ishwaripur village in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira border West Bengal. PM said during fairs, many people visit the temple from across the border too. That's why a community centre is needed, which can double as a shelter home during an emergency, like a cyclone. "A number of devotees come here during Kaali Puja. So a multi-purpose community hall is needed here, which can become a shelter house during any disaster, especially cyclone. The Indian government will construct a community hall here. I express my gratitude to the Bangladesh government that it has also wished us well for this work," PM Modi said.
He said he prayed for a coronavirus-free world as India believes that the world is a family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam).
"Ahead of Chaitra Navratri, I got the opportunity to visit one of the 51 shakipeeths. When I came to Bangladesh in 2015, I offered my prayers to Maa Dhakeshwari. Today, I was fortunate enough to bow my head before Maa Kali," PM Modi said, adding that he wished to visit all the shaktipeeths if he gets the chance.
According to Hindu mythology, the Jeshoreshwari Kali temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths — the 51 sacred sites where goddess Sati's 51 body parts were believed to have fallen. The shaktipeeths are spread across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China and Sri Lanka.
On Saturday, PM Modi is also scheduled to visit Gopalganj's Orakandi temple."I am particularly looking forward to my interaction with representatives of the Matua community at Orakandi, from where Sri Sri Harichandra Thakur ji disseminated his pious message," Prime Minister Modi had said in a statement on Thursday.
Then, he will also visit the 'Mausoleum of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman' in Tungipara of Gopalganj.