Satkhira, Khulna
An old Kali temple at Ishwaripur, revered as one of the Shakti Peethas and linked with Raja Pratapaditya, drawing pilgrims from both sides of the border.
The temple is a living place of worship. Daily pujas are held, and Kali Puja brings music, lamps and crowds of devotees from both sides of the border.
The Jeshoreshwari temple, dedicated to the goddess Kali, is counted in Hindu tradition among the Shakti Peethas — the sacred sites said to mark where parts of the goddess Sati’s body fell. Its name, “goddess of Jessore”, recalls the old region of Jessore, which once covered this whole south-western corner of Bengal.
The temple is closely linked with Raja Pratapaditya, the late sixteenth-century ruler whose capital lay around Ishwaripur and who is remembered for resisting the Mughals. Local tradition credits him with restoring and patronising the shrine.
Today’s temple is a modest building with older remains around it, but its importance to devotees is great: pilgrims come from across Bangladesh and from India, especially during Kali Puja.
Leave Satkhira town early and ride south to Shyamnagar.
Take an easy-bike to Ishwaripur and visit the temple in the morning.
Crab or prawns with rice in the bazaar.
Continue to Munshiganj and watch the Sundarbans across the river in the late afternoon.
October to February; Kali Puja in autumn is the most festive and the most crowded time
At Ishwaripur in Shyamnagar upazila. Take a bus from Satkhira town towards Shyamnagar (about 1.5–2 hours), then an easy-bike to the temple. It combines well with a Sundarbans trip from Munshiganj.
