Temples of Baksa

Kinjal Bose

Baksa is a village in Chanditala II block of Serampore subdivision of Hooghly district. This place has a number of temples from aatchala to nabaratna and some are more two hundred years old.

It was said that in the sixteenth century when River Saraswati was navigable, the Portuguese had built a small harbour here. Walking through the village road one will come across a big open space on the right known as Baksa baro mandir tala. Yes, you are right; there are a total of twelve aatchala (or eight roofed temples) Shiva temples arranged in two parts containing six in number. All the temples are placed on a slightly higher platform with a row of stairs at the end.

The aatchala temples are built by Dewan Bhabani Charan Mitra in the year 1789. All the temples are of the same height but one thing which is noticeable is the sixth temple of the first part and the seventh temple (or the first temple of the second part) which are different from the rest as far as the outer frontal decorations are concerned. A close look will reveal a little bit of stucco work on the top but no terracotta decoration. It is not sure whether terracotta work was there. The shiva lingam is made of black stone and daily worship is performed here. It was said that a fair was held every year on the last day of the Bengali year (Chaitra Sankranti). It was rather difficult to take a snap of the twelve temples all in one single frame unless one is using a wide angle lens.

Leaving the Baro Mandir tala on the right if you walk for about five minutes you will see two temples of aatchala style in one block and another temple standing alone. The temple which is standing alone might be a Shiva temple. Its condition is not good and requires urgent restoration to prevent it from further decay. On the other hand, the other two temples are more or less in good condition and it seems that they have undergone restoration but has not received a coat of paint. All the temples are on a raised platform.

Raghunath Jiu Temple is diagonally opposite to Baro Mandir tala and roughly 300 metres from there. But it is difficult to locate it as it is situated inside a lane. This is one of the prominent temples of the area. This nabaratna (nine pinnacled) temple is dedicated to Raghunath Jiu. Built in 1792 by Bhrukutram Mitra, this east-facing temple is on a raised platform. Previously this temple has terracotta decorations but none remains except some at the top. Like other temples, this nabaratna temple has a triple arched entrance.