Panchavati – The Sacred Grove of Dakshineswar

 A short distance along the Ganges from the temple at Dakshineswar lies Panchavati, a grove of five trees. Harding describes it as consisting of banyan, peepul, ashoka, amlaki and bel trees. The Panchavati at Dakshineswar was planted at the request of Sri Ramakrishna, who spent many nights there in deep meditation. 

According to Harding, Hindus say that meditation in a place where these five trees grow together leads quickly to the object of meditation. Near Panchavati there is another peepul tree together with a second banyan tree, and a raised seat was built around the base of the tree. 

The grove was situated away from the busier parts of the temple grounds. In the time of Sri Ramakrishna, very few people followed the path along the Ganges toward Panchavati because it passed through dense jungle where wild animals lived. The area was then secluded. 

Panchavati became closely associated with Sri Ramakrishna’s spiritual life. Harding describes his deep meditation there, together with the many visions of gods and goddesses that he experienced. His presence, meditation and extensive sadhana contributed to the atmosphere of the grove during his years at Dakshineswar. 

Sri Ramakrishna also spoke at Panchavati about Kali and Shiva. Harding records his words that Kala, Shiva, is Brahman, while Kali is the Primordial Energy that plays with Kala and even moves the Immutable. These words are followed in the book by a song about Kali and death. 

The grove was not separated from the life of the Ganges. A path ran beside the river from Nahabat toward Panchavati and then onward to Pine Grove. In Sri Ramakrishna’s time, the surrounding vegetation made the path quiet and difficult to approach. 

Harding also describes how different this place had become by the time of her visit. The jungle had disappeared and the area was no longer secluded. She writes that a visitor now has to concentrate in order to sense the inner sacred atmosphere of Panchavati, because the grove is surrounded by people and its former appearance as a quiet pilgrimage place has largely changed. 

Panchavati remains in Harding’s account as one of the places within Dakshineswar most closely connected with Sri Ramakrishna’s meditation and sadhana. It was a grove of five trees beside the Ganges, a secluded place in his time, and the setting for many nights of deep meditation.

Source & Note

This article is based on Elizabeth U. Harding’s Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar (Nicolas-Hays, 1993). The material has been edited and adapted for this publication.