Bangladesh has redecorated two Hindu temples in the country's southwest ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit during which he will offer prayers there and attend the grand celebrations of the golden jubilee of the nation's independence and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
During his two-day visit, Modi is scheduled to visit the Jeshoreshwari and Orkandi temples in southwestern Shatkhira and Gopalganj on Saturday.
"We have made all preparations to welcome him at this historic temple We expect him to pray for millions of people of both India and Bangladesh", Dilip Mukherjee, the priest of the Jeshoreshwari Kali Mandir - an ancient Hindu shrine located in Ishwaripur village in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira, which now borders West Bengal, as quoted by IANS.
Why is PM Modi visiting the Jeshoreshwari temple?
According to Hindu mythology, the Jeshoreshwari temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths, scattered across India and neighbouring countries.
n the last day of his visit, the Indian premier will fly off to Ishwaripur village and offer puja at the temple, which is believed to have been built by a Brahman named Anari in the latter part of 12th century.
He created a 100-door temple for the Jashoreshwari Peeth (shrine) and later it was renovated by Lakshman Sen in the 13th century and finally Raja Pratapaditya rebuilt the temple in the 16th century.
The temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths, as per the Hindu mythology, scattered across India and neighbouring countries with six in Bangladesh. These are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-focused Hindu tradition.
According to Hindu mythology, of the 51 Peeths, the temple at Ishwaripur is the place where the palms and soles of feet of Goddess Sati fell and the goddess resides there in the form of Devi Jashoreshwari and Lord Shiva appears as Chanda.
The story behind the Shakti Peeth is that after the self-immolation of Goddess Sati, her husband Shiva picked up her remains and performed the celestial dance of destruction.
Vishnu, in an attempt to stop this destruction, used the Sudarshna chakra on Sati's corpse, causing her body to tear apart and fall in different spots across the world. Each of the spots where a part of her body fell is called a Shakti Peeth, according to Hindu mythology.
Records suggest a Hindu king set up the temple in the 16th century.
Ahead of his visit to Bangladesh, Modi said on Thursday that he looks forward to offering prayers to Goddess Kali at the ancient Jashoreshwari Kali Temple.
PM Modi's visit to Orakandi temple
Prime Minister Modi will visit the second temple in Gopalganj's Orakandi, the abode of hundreds of Hindu Matua community, a large number of whom are residents of West Bengal.
Modi said he is looking forward to his interaction with representatives of the Matua community at Orakandi, from where Sri Sri Harichand Thakur disseminated his pious message.
"According to the schedule, Prime Minister Modi will exchange views with a delegation of 300 Matua community members after offering 'puja' at Harichand-Gurichand Temple," caretaker of the temple, Padmanav Thakur, told PTI.
"We will welcome him with 'Dhaak, Shankh, Ulu' in line with our rituals," he added.
Historians said the temple was raised in the 12th century at Orakandi, the birthplace of Hindu mystic figures and the Matua community's spiritual guru Harichand Thakur.
Matuas, who are a part of the namasudra community, have a significant presence in Bengal’s North 24-Parganas and Nadia districts. According to analysts, they can impact the outcome in 32-33 of the total 50 assembly seats (17 in Nadia and in 33 in North 24-Parganas) there.
The support of Matuas is considered a factor behind the BJP’s impressive showing in the 2019 national elections in Bengal, where it eventually won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats.
Hindu refugees from Bangladesh, a large section of the Matuas has backed the BJP-led government at the Centre over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA,) which fast-tracks citizenship of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, and Parsis who have arrived in India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh before 2015. The BJP has promised to implement the controversial law, opposed by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, immediately after coming to power in Bengal
The last time when Prime Minister Modi visited Bangladesh in 2015, he offered puja at Dhakeshwari temple in the national capital.