Taraknath Temple, Tarakeswar

The Taraknath temple in the town of Tarakeswar, West Bengal, is a major pilgrimage centre where Shiva is worshipped as Tarakanatha. Oral legend tells of a milkman, Mukunda Ghosh, who saw one of his cows releasing milk over a stone deep in the forest; digging revealed a Shiva linga. The local zamindar, Rao Bharamalla, could not find its base, and Shiva then appeared in his dream and told him to raise a temple on the spot. His shrine is thought to date to about 1634.

The present atchala-style temple dates from 1739, when Govardhan Rakshit, the Karjana zamindar, put it up, and it was renovated by the Maharajas of Bardhaman in 1744 and 1800. It stands beside the Dudhpukur tank, with a natmandir of 1874 in front and shrines to Kali and Vishnu in the grounds. Monks of the Giri order run it, and pilgrims come seeking cures for illness and childlessness, above all on Mondays, at Shivaratri, during the five-day Gajan ending in mid-April, and in Sravana for the Kanwar yatra.