Rani Rasmani – The Woman Who Built the Kali Temple at Dakshineswar

 Rani Rasmani was born in the village of Kona, about thirty miles north of Calcutta. Her family was very poor, and she was born into a low Hindu caste. From her earliest years she had a deep devotion to the Divine Mother Kali. Her life, however, changed completely after she married Rajchandra Das, a wealthy landowner. She became the mistress of the large Janbazar residence in Calcutta and one of the richest women in the city.

Her husband died suddenly, leaving Rani a widow at the age of forty-four. She was then responsible for four young daughters and the management of a vast estate. Contrary to the gloomy expectations of her relatives, she managed the property with considerable ability. Harding describes her as ruling with love, intelligence and wit. Her devotion to Kali also made her fearless, and she became an outspoken defender of civil rights. 

In 1847, Rani decided to make a pilgrimage to Kashi. She deeply desired to worship Vishwanath Shiva and the Divine Mother in her form as Annapurna. As she prepared for the journey, she became filled with religious enthusiasm. But on the night before her departure, Kali appeared to her in a dream. The Mother told Rani that she did not need to travel to Kashi. Instead, she was to install an image of Kali in a beautiful place on the bank of the Ganges, arrange daily worship and food offerings, and the Mother would reveal Herself in the image and accept her worship there. 

The following morning Rani cancelled the pilgrimage. The food and provisions she had gathered for the journey were distributed among the poor and needy, while the money intended for the pilgrimage was set aside for the construction of the temple. Harding also records the words engraved on the official seal of Rani's estate, in which she described herself as one who desired only to attain the feet of Kali. 

Rani devoted herself to the preparations for the temple. As the day of its consecration approached, she undertook strict practices. She bathed three times a day, ate only simple food, and spent many hours in japa and meditation. Yet the date of the consecration had still not been fixed. Then Kali appeared to Rani once again in a dream and told her to install Her without further delay. When the box containing the image was opened, the workers discovered that the statue of Kali was wet with sweat. Rani immediately arranged for the installation of the Mother on the day of Snana-yatra. 

The construction of the temple had already demanded great effort and expense, but another serious obstacle remained. Rani's caste became an issue. Although she had gained the respect of Brahmins and many Hindus of higher castes, she was still regarded as a woman of low birth. According to the customs of the time, this created difficulties concerning her ownership of a temple and her ability to feed Brahmins with cooked food. 

As the temple neared completion, Rani commissioned an image of Kali. The sculptor created a beautiful black image in basalt, together with a figure of Shiva made from white Italian marble. The image of Kali that came to be worshipped at Dakshineswar was known as Bhavatarini, the Mother who is the Saviour of the World. Harding notes that although this name became widely used, nobody knew who had originally given it to the image or when. In a trust deed signed by Rani Rasmani in 1861, Kali's name was recorded as Sri Sri Jagadiswari Mahakali. 

Rani Rasmani is remembered in Harding's account above all for her devotion to Kali and for the temple she built for the Mother on the Ganges at Dakshineswar. Her life brought together wealth, responsibility, religious devotion and the determination to establish a place where Kali could be worshipped every day.

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.