King Nilakantha Roy was the ninth man of the Chanchra dynasty. Raja Manohar Roy, the founder of Chanchra Zamindari, was the great-grandfather of Nilkantha Roy. Nilkantha Roy’s daughter’s name is Abhaya 7 King Nilakantha gave this city of Jessore to his daughter after she became a widow at a young age. And he named this city after his daughter Abhaynagar.

According to some, Abhaya wanted to spend the rest of her life in worship as there was no rule of second marriage in Hinduism at that time. At the request of Nilakantha Mey, he established 11 Shiva temples between 1845 and 184. That is known as the Eleven Shiva Temple.

But after reading the book called History of Khulna in Jessore, I came to know that during the reign of King Nilakantha, the Marathas invaded Burdwan under the leadership of a great army chief named Bhaskar Pandit. This attack is known as class commotion. Najehal condition of the whole of West Bengal due to the harassment of Bargi. As a result, the royal family of West Bengal came to the east and started seeking refuge. At the same time King Nilakantha was also looking for shelter for them. The king asked his dewan Hariram Mitra to build a fortified palace on the banks of the river Bhairab. Hariram also had no pucca house. The king himself asked Hariram to build a house for him. Hariram’s house was in Baghutia. So Hariram’s own house was built at Abhaynagar near Baghutia and a palace was built at Dhulgram, a short distance from here. At that time, the temple was the main beauty of the palace and the idols of the gods and goddesses of the temple were the main assets. So to enhance the beauty of the palace, twelve temples were built on the banks of the river Bhairab near the palace in Dhulgram. And eleven Shiva temples were built at Abhaynagar, a little away from the river. The number of temples is less as the house in Abhaynagar is the house of the dewan. The house in Dhulgram was surrounded by a solid wall. But the masonry of the house in Abhaynagar was raw, and the wall was not so strong. Both houses are surrounded; Bhairab river on one side and Garkhai on the other three sides. Coming to inspect the end of the construction of the house, King Nilakantha said that the temporary abode of the kings did not need to be very strong. Hariram can stay permanently in Dhulgram’s house. The house of Abhaynagar is enough for the kings. This may be the reason why the palace of Abhaynagar no longer exists Drinking has been banned there now.

After crossing the river Bhairab, we have to go to the eleven Shiva temples of King Nilakantha. For that you have to go to Bhatpara Ghat first When I went to Bhatpara Ghat, I saw such a big boat lying on the bank of Bhairab for our crossing. It is so large in size that it can carry freight cars.

After crossing Bhairab, we boarded a van to go to the eleven Shiva temples. The way to the temple is so enchanting! Rural road, but backwards. Our van is moving smoothly to the destination. Villages surrounded by dark green on both sides. On one side I saw the ruins of an ancient house. This is not the palace, who knows! The van drove down to the entrance of the temple bunch and left. There are no other people around. No house can be seen. There are two temples on either side of the entrance on the south side of the Eleven Shiva Temple. Leaving two minor temples on either side, I entered the temple premises. It was as if I had entered another world. What a creepy feeling. It seemed to me that I had entered the ancient world one and a half hundred years ago.

Right in front of the main temple stands with all its pride. To the west. A total of eight temples, four in each in the east and west rows. Eleven temples in all. Each temple faces the courtyard in the middle. Although the former temple has regained its former glory as it was renovated, the condition of the remaining temples is critical.

The main temple is 24 feet 4 inches long and 22 feet 3 inches wide. The width of the walls is 3 feet 4 inches. The temple was built of limestone and bricks followed during the British period. The shape of the brick is thin and square. The bricks are covered with a lime-surkey coating.

Each temple previously had a total of twelve Shivlings, each of which was given 1,200 bighas of land free of charge. The food which was given to the devotees every day were distributed to the Brahmin families of the village after the completion of the puja. With that, the family of 30 Brahmin families was running. Of the twelve Shivlings, only the original temple now has some of the remaining fragments of a Shivling. Worship is still regular in the big temple. Although we did not see the priest, we found evidence. I saw some bricks and stones hanging on the walls of the big temple. It seems that these are the signs of some kind of vow. I showed the picture to Divakar’s grandfather and rescued him. I am giving directly what he said.
‘The surrender of sin to God. Bricks or stones are symbols of action. Mahakala saves people from that action. It is not a common vow. Vow of liberation. ‘

Each temple has arched entrances and entrances, curved and angled cornices. There are beautiful works of art. It has many more motifs including lotus. The specialty of the temple is that it is built in the local style. This temple is proof of the high standard of architecture in Bengal at that time. The roofs are made up of vertical domes. That is, the two-tiered roof is round inside and four sheds outside. Impressions are gained in a fluid, global, diffused way.

The temple was once surrounded by a wall. It still has its mark. Lots of bricks of that time were also lying there. The bricks were bought by the villagers and used to build their own houses. There was a pond in the north-west corner of the temple.

The temples were in a state of disrepair for many years. Archeology of Bangladesh in 2014

The department started the first phase of renovation work, which ended in 2016. As a result, these beautiful installations have been saved from destruction.

We were in the temple for a long time. I was enjoying antiquity very much as there were no people. Suddenly it seemed that the real damadol sounded. Hundreds of people are ready to worship that ancient temple. Everything will be swayed by people’s footsteps. But no. Some visitors or travelers came to break the ancient silence They looked like they had come to make a short film or a music video. So we did not stay long. I left the ancient world and stepped into modernity.

The boat was late at Bhatpara Ghat. So we entered the sweet shop next to the ghat. Dutt’s Yogurt Sweet Shop. I bought a pot of yogurt for 40 Tk.

How to go

Jessore can be reached by road, rail, and air from Dhaka. From Dhaka’s Gabtali, Kalyanpur, Kalabagan to Green Line Paribahan, Sohag Paribahan, Eagle Paribahan, Shyamli Paribahan’s AC bus goes to Jessore. The rent is 800 to 1000 rupees. Apart from this, non-AC buses of Hanif, Shyamoli, Sohag, Eagle, etc. also go to Jessore. Rent 350 to 450 Tk.

From Dhaka’s Kamalapur, the intercity train Sundarbans Express leaves for Jessore at 7.20 am every day except Saturday of the week, and the Chitra Express intercity train leaves for Jessore every evening except Monday at 6 pm. Rent Shovon 350 rupees, Shovon chair 420 Tk. First-class chair 560 Tk. First-class berth 640 Tk. Snigdha class (AC chair) 600 Tk. AC berth Rs.

From Dhaka, United Airlines, Regent Airlines, and Novo Air operate regular flights to Jessore.

You can take a bus from Dhaka to Jessore, get off in front of Manihar Cinema Hall, and take a rickshaw to Chachra Shiva Temple. You can also go by van / easybike / bus from Chanchra Union Parishad No. 10. A 15-minute rickshaw ride from Manihar bus stand. If the bus goes to Benapole, you can get off right in front of the Shiva temple.

Where to stay

You have to choose Jessore city to stay. Stay there and get to the hotel for meals. Among the good residential hotels are Hotel Amin and Hotel Midtown.

History References: History of Jessore Khulna by Satish Chandra Mitra

Nature is a wonderful gift from the Creator. As well as our resources. It is our responsibility to keep our tourist spots clean. If you go to the mountains, do not spoil the natural beauty by throwing indigestible garbage.
Let’s keep the sights clean and tidy as we go around.