PM Modi begins second day of Bangladesh tour with temple visit

The temple, dedicated to the Goddess Kali, is a famous Hindu pilgrimage site in Iswaripur, a village in Shyamnagar Upazila of the southwestern district.

According to Hindu mythology, the Jeshoreshwari temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths scattered across India and neighbouring countries.

Television footage showed Modi crowning the goddess and praying in a seated position on the temple floor on Saturday.

The temple is believed to have been built by a Brahmin, named Anari, in the latter part of the 12th century. It was built as a 100-door temple, which was later renovated by Lakshman Sen, the ruler from the Sena dynasty of the Bengal region, in the 13th century. Bengal zamindar Pratapaditya rebuilt the temple in the 16th century.

Modi arrived in Shyamnagar by helicopter on Saturday morning and reached the temple site by car. Devotees greeted him with their hands folded in a traditional posture as the sounds of conch shells and women’s ululation reverberated.

After the ritual at the Jeshoreshwari temple, Modi headed out to the Orkandi temple in Gopalganj. Modi will also visit the mausoleum of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara of Gopalganj district.

Modi arrived in Dhaka on Friday on a two-day visit to Bangladesh and attended the twin celebrations of the country’s 50 years of independence and Bangabandhu’s birth centenary.