It is believed that the goddess herself cooks the meal offered to her on Ashtami, locally referred to as the “Viram Bhog”. It is said that on the night of Ashtami, goddess Kanak Durga prefers to cook the Bhog herself in the temple kitchen.
At Chilkigarh royal palace in West Bengal’s Jhargram, after completion of Ashtami Puja, the temple’s chief priest fills a new earthen pot with water, sacrificial meat and other ingredients. The priest will enter the secluded kitchen with the sacrificial meat of a goat. According to tradition, the meat will be placed in a new earthen pot. Various spices will be mixed in it. Then, three pieces of wood are burned in the oven.
The earthen pot is then covered with leaves of Sal tree, placed on a wooden stove in a room deep inside the forest. A ladle is placed beside the earthen pot for cooking. After lighting three pieces of firewood in the stove, the room is locked from outside and nobody is allowed to enter until the next morning.
On the following morning of Navami, the key is brought from the royal palace by the priest and the door to that secluded kitchen is opened following which it is seen that the meal has been cooked and ready to be offered as “Bhog” to the Goddess. Locals believe that the goddess herself comes and cooks this Bhog!
According to Tejasachandra Deo Dhabaldev, the current successor of the Chilkigarh Rajbari, “The history of the Kanak Durga temple is inextricably linked with the Chilkigarh Rajbari. The goddess is believed to be alive. For ages, devotees have believed that the goddess comes to the temple on the night of Ashtami. She cooks the food with her own hands in the kitchen.”
Chilkigarh royal family’s Durga puja began more than 500 years ago
The Kanak Durga Puja of the royal family began over 500 years ago in a secluded place surrounded by dense forests, on the banks of the Dulung river. Goddess Kanak Durga is worshipped here in the form of Durga. It is said that Maharaja Gopinath Singh of the Mattagaj dynasty established this Puja.
At Chilkigarh, the Kanak Durga temple is located in the forest by the Dulung river which attracts tourists from across the world all year round. Durga puja at the 500-year-old Chilkigarh Rajbari (royal palace) is a major tourist attraction. There are many stories surrounding the clan goddess Kanak Durga of the Chilkigarh royal family of Chilkigarh, located about 14 kms from the district capital Jhargram city.
According to Mrinmoy Hota, a teacher from Jhargram city, “Various folklore is spread around Kanak Durga. The customs and rituals of the puja blend the culture of the local people.”
How the Chilkigarh royal family’s Durga puja started?
As per folklore, around 500 years ago, the king had received a dream message from goddess Kanak Durga herself where she instructed him that her idol should be made by melting the gold bracelet worn by the queen by mixing it with eight metals. The goddess had even specified the shape and size of her idol to the king in his dream. According to the instructions of the goddess, her idol will ride a horse and will have four-arms unlike the 10 arms of the regular Durga idol.
Following the instructions of the goddess, the royal goldsmith named Yogendra Kamilya built the idol which was worshipped by royal priest Ramchandra Sarangi. From that time till today, the descendants of Ramchandra Sarangi have been worshipping the goddess at Chilkigarh.
