Dhakeshwari Temple, The Centuries Old Dhaka Shrine That Is The National Temple Of Bangladesh

The visit of Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, to Dhaka's 12th-century Dhakeshwari Temple, has brought back the focus on the Hindu community in the nation.

Bangladesh News: Muhammad Yunus, head of the interim government in Bangladesh, visited the famous Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka Tuesday to meet members of the Hindu community distressed after targetted attacks amid the violence in the aftermath of the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government there last week.

Dhakeshwari temple is one of the most prominent of the 51 Shakti Peethas, the sacred places of worship dedicated to Shakti or the Mother Goddess.

Dhakeshwari translates to "Goddess of Dhaka", and the temple located in the bustling capital of Bangladesh has been a significant centre of worship for Hindus for centuries. Believed to have been originally built in the 12th century, the temple has seen damage over the years and was rebuilt several times through the tumultuous modern history of Dhaka.

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Dhakeshwari Temple History

The origins of the Dhakeshwari Temple are steeped in legend and history. The temple is dedicated to Dhakeshwari, a form of Goddess Durga, who is considered the guardian deity of the city of Dhaka.

According to popular belief, the temple was established by Ballal Sen, a king of the Sena dynasty, in the 12th century. Towards the end of the 16th century, reports say, Subedar Maan Singh rebuilt it. While the exact date of the temple's construction is debated, it is widely accepted that it has been a significant site of worship for nearly a thousand years.

Over the centuries, from the Mughal era to the British colonial period, the temple has undergone numerous renovations and reconstructions.

The temple complex is an architectural blend of Bengal's traditional style and Mughal influences, featuring intricate designs, domes, and courtyards. However, due to the numerous repairs and renovations over time, the present architectural style cannot be dated to any particular period.

Despite the changes in political and religious landscapes, however, the Dhakeshwari Temple has remained a central place of worship for the Hindu community in Bangladesh. It continues to serve as a landmark of Hindu culture and traditions in the predominantly Muslim nation, playing a pivotal role in the religious life of Dhaka's Hindu population, especially during major festivals like Durga Puja and Kali Puja, when thousands of devotees gather to offer prayers and participate in rituals.

Besides the Dhakeshwari deity, the temple complex has four Shiva temples of the same size and shape, and a large pond.
The Durga idol currently worshipped in the Dhakeshwari Temple is, however, a replica of the original. As millions of refugees came to India during Partition, some of them reportedly brought the idol with them.

According to a report in The Statesman, the golden 1.5-foot-tall Katyayani Mahishasura Mardini ‘Durga’ idol was first kept in the house of one Debendranath Chowdhury on Harachandra Mallik Street. Chowdhury later built a temple for the Goddess in Kumartuli by 1950. The idol has since been worshipped at the Dhakeshwari Mata Temple in Kolkata's Kumartuli, the hub for sculptors who are into idol-making.

National Temple Of Bangladesh

Dhakeshwari Temple has faced challenges over the years, including encroachment on temple land, inadequate maintenance, and attacks by communal forces.

Amid the violence that followed the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, it was reported that students stood guard outside the temple to save it from an attack as the minority Hindu population saw devastation of several Hindu temples and vandalisation of business and properties.

During the 1971 Liberation War, the temple was severely damaged with most of the structures inside the temple campus destroyed. An article titled 'Historic Preservation of Dhakeshwari Temple', published on Researchgate in August 2011, noted that the Pakistan Army had taken over the main worship hall and used it to store ammunition. "Several of the temple custodians were tortured and killed by the Army though most, including the Head Priest, fled to their ancestral villages and to India and therefore escaped death," it read.

Renovation was done after Bangladesh became a free country in 1971.

Dhakeshwari Temple once again came under attack, this time by Muslim mobs,  during the 1980s, and had to be repaired again.

The temple also lost a lot of its land due to the Vested Property Act, which allows the Bangladesh government to seize any property if its owner is considered an enemy of the state. The law was known as the Enemy Property Act in erstwhile East Pakistan.

After Bangladesh declared Islam as its official religion in 1988, Hindu groups in the country started to demand official recognition for the temple that was a primary place of worship for them. In 1996, the then government declared Dhakeshwari Temple as the Dhakeshwari Jatiya Mandir of the National Temple of Bangladesh.

In 2018, then PM Sheikh Hasina announced to gift an adjoining piece of land measuring one and a half bighas to the temple on the occasion of Durga Puja. This was a long pending demand from the Hindus there to help restore the temple to its old glory.