Maa Johura Kali - An All Wishes Fulfillment Goddess of Malda

                                                  About Maa Johura Temple:

Maa Johura Temple of Malda

Maa Johura Temple is situated on the outskirts of Malda Town, West Bengal, India. It is surrounded by lush green fields on one side and Mango Orchards on the other side, it is very close to the border of Bangladesh. The original temple is said to have been founded in 1500 A.D., (but there's another view that the original temple was constructed by Raja Ballal Sen in 1159-1179 A.D, who was the third ruler of the temple and Sen dynasty of Bengal. Maa Johura’s temple is a renowned temple of Adishakti in Malda and the deity is represented by three faces of Goddess Kali.  It is said that the three faces are portrayed by the three goddesses Maha Kali, Maha Laxmi, and Maha Saraswati. The special aspect of this temple is that Maa Johura is worshipped especially on Tuesdays and Saturdays of every month and because of which temple only opens on Tuesdays and Saturdays when thousands of people come to worship, the rest of the days of the week is closed. It is also considered that Maa Johura is the adhishthatri Devi of planet Mars( Mangal) and Saturni(Shani). People suffering from malefic effects of these two planets especially get tremendous benefit by praying to Maa Johura. Not only that, devotees suffering from other planetary malefic effects also get benefits by offering prayer to Maa Johura.

About Goddess Idol:

Maa Johura Kali

Maa Johura Kali’s idol is very unique and different in look as compare to other Kali’s idol. The idol has 3 red faces with a protruding tongue and having teeth like a boar which reflect the divinity here. It also has a huge lord Shivling form in bottom marked red in color with vermilion.

Devotee Hiraram Tewari is said to have constructed the temple after he in his dream received an order from the Goddess. As custom has, the masks put over the mound are modified each year during the annual festivities in Baishakh. Just one artisan has produced these masks in Malda for generations. Mask worship is a tradition of North Bengal and is also observed at the Temple of Johura Kali, There is also an alternative statement that on the 4th day of 

Baisakh, devotee Chhal Tewari had first begun offering prayer to the Goddess. 

So here the month of Baisakh is pretty important and people from all over Bengal come here to pray. Bangladesh is just about 2 km away from the venue.

It is said that earlier Bangladeshis people even used to come here to pray to the goddess. Nowadays, the Goddess temple is maintained relatively well by the Tewari family descendants.

How to reach temple & its surroundings:

Maa Johura temple is almost 20-25 km away from the Malda railway station. The surrounding temple is very silent, peaceful and full of Mango orchards. The temple resembles like any other traditional Bengal temple. The whole place used to be a silent kingdom. But generally, this place is filled with life and buzz on Tuesdays and Saturdays, particularly in Baisakh's Bengali month (usually starts from mid-April to mid-May) and temple is open for entire week in full Baisakh month. Whereas,the temple only open on Tuesdays and Saturdays for the devotees in rest of the months.

History of Temple

The legend can be traced back to 1083 Bangabdo (Bengali calendar) when Salwa Tewari, a sadhak who lived under Bhatiya Pargana in the village of Gobindapur in Malda, had consecrated this temple after seeing Maa Johura Chandi in mediation. At that time Gour was Bengal’s  command centre of strength, first by the Kings of Bengal, after which the dynasties of Pala and Sena ruled the region. The sites which are now historical attractions spread across Malda town are remains 

the once-powerful, huge fenced town that was the center of power of Bengal

A river ran around this walled city which protected it from attack by the enemy. 

Gour's fortunes, however, started to decline. Enemy attacks, natural calamities such as earthquakes, starvation and other conditions and a series of epidemics turned Gour into rubble.

Salwa Tewari, a wealthy sadhak in Malda was deeply distressed by the Gour people's poverty and suffering. Hence, he determined to pray to Devi Maa Johura Chandi to grant him the strength to liberate the people from their problems and bring peace to life. 

In a dream, Salwa Tewari envisioned the goddess who had instructed 

him at that spot to sanctify a temple in her honor.

The sadhak quickly set up a simple shrine, where he created a mound or "bedi" dedicated to the goddess. The formless goddess was soon worshipped by people among all castes and religions.

Salwa Tewari is believed to have built the temple in the month of Baisakh. Only Tuesday and Saturday he developed the practice of offering prayers to the goddess. Even today Tewari's descendants maintain the rituals. "We continue the rituals started at this temple by our forefathers. Over the years Johura Kali has grown into a sacred deity. 

Although the deity is named Kali, she is, in reality, Chandi's incarnation. The temple premises are choc-a-block during the annual Baishakh festival, with worshippers coming from across the country and from other locations as well. Many devotees carry goats to the temple for sacrifice, "said Mukul Tewari, Salwa's fifth-generation descendant, and the current sevait at the temple of Johura Kali

JAY MAA JOHURA JAY MAA JOHURA JAY MAA JOHURA KALI!