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Chakla Dham

Chakla Dham is an important religious place located in West Bengal. It is the birthplace of Hindu Yogi Baba Lokenath in the 18th Century. The Chakla temple is devoted to Baba Lokenath and many devotees all around the year visit this holy temple for attaining salvation.

History of Chakla Dham

Kachua is often referred to as 'Kachuadham' and is considered the birthplace of the Hindu Yogi Lokenath Brahmachari. It also consists of the temple compound around the birthplace, a holy pond and the Lokenath Mission that is responsible for the administration of the temple grounds. Besides the Lokenath Temple, it even has a temple dedicated to Krishna and Radha Gobinda. Baba Lokenath was born in a Hindu family in the year 1730 on an auspicious day of Janmashtami. His father Shri Ramnarayan and mother Kamala Devi have four sons and wanted to devote one of his sons in the spiritual world to the path of the lord. Eventually, the parents of Baba Lokenath send him into the spiritual world to become a ‘Sanyasi’.

There is a controversy on the fact that whether the birthplace of Lokenath was originally Chakla Dham or it was Kachua Dham. Many of them feel that Kachua Dham was Lokenath Baba’s original birthplace. The saint went to many places and at last, he reached Baradi near Dhaka where a wealthy family built him a haven, which was later recognized as his ashram. The yogi finally demised in the year 1890.

Significance of the temple

The Chakla Dham temple was built on massive land and it contains many small houses dedicated for religious purposes. There are sales counters too which sell photos, books, audio, CDs of Lokenath Baba. The entire temple is built of marble. There is a big parking lot in front of the main gate. A large hall is opened every day for the daily serving of Bhog or Prasad. The office room is generally used for charitable purposes and a giant reservoir is a spot from where the spiritual expansion of Yogi Baba began. The total premises is divided into several blocks and you can spend a full day watching the heavenly beauty of the Dham. You will see many sculptures at the entrance and the sculpture of the bull is the main center of attraction. The bull generally symbolizes strength, power, courageousness, determination, and fighting spirit.

Raja Nrisingha Deb Roy started to construct the Chakla Dham temple and later his widow Rani Shankari completed the construction of the temple. The small hamlet in Chakla has seen improvements in the social and economic conditions of the local people as they earn their livelihood through their local contribution to the temple. They believe that due to the blessings of Baba Lokenath, the village people earn a daily wage by selling sweets, fruits, and flowers as well.

Distance

Kolkata to Chakla Dham: 54 km.

Train

If you take the train route, it will take approximately 70 minutes to reach Chakla Dham from the Guma Railway station. You can catch the Sealdah-Bagaon Division eastern railway to reach Chakla Dham.

Road

To reach Chakla Dham by road, you have to take a car or taxi. Travelers can take the Jessore road coming from Bongoan, Habra, or Kolkata. Taking a turn at the Guma crossing on the Jessore Road you will first come across Badar Bazar and finally Chakla village. It will take approximately 30 minutes to reach the Dham. We followed this route from Kolkata. It took us about 2 hours to reach via Barasat.

Main events and activities

The temple opens once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The Puja Thali costs Rs. 10 which is available outside the main gate of the temple. This place is also known as Dala Market. The Chakla Sevasharam organizes many special events and there is a huge confluence of devotees and followers of Baba Lokenath. The Mandir opens at 8 AM in the morning. The Balyavog is given at 8.30 AM. The Raj vog distribution and the vog Arti takes palace at 12:30 PM.

The sandhya Arti occurs at 6 PM and the mandir closes at 10:00 PM in the night. Devotees can have ‘Bhogs’ daily at the noon by showing their coupons. Special arrangements are made by the temple authority during the Tirodhan Utsav which is a 3-day Mangolik Utsav. It is believed that on this day, baba Lokenath left his material body about 160 years of age.

The temple is also beautifully decorated on the Janmashtami Utsav. Mangaldip occasion, which is also known as Kartik Brata, is celebrated in grandeur on the last Saturday evening of Kartik Mash. Many followers also visit the temple in the Mangoloik Jogya which falls on the full moon and new moon day of every month. Besides this, the temple authority also arranges special festivals on Makar Sankranti, Poila Boisakh, Poush Sankranti, Nandotsav to pay tribute to Baba Lokenath.

Food And Accommodations at Chakla Dham

You can relish the ‘Bhog’ distributed on the temple premises. Also, there are several other small hotels, where you can also enjoy meals including rice, dal, fresh vegetable curry that are brought by the local farmers.

Nearby places to visit near Chakla Dham

If you visit Chakla Dham, then you must also visit the nearby Kacchua Dham. Another place which you can include in your trip is the ancient ruins of Chnadraketugarh. There are many malls too on the urban side. Mangal Pandey Uddyan is another important site in North 24 Paraganas. Chakla Moha Soshan and Chakla Sarbojonin Durga Mondir are important places here too.

If you are searching for eternal peace and happiness, Chakla Dham and Kacchua Dham are the perfect places for you to visit. Baba Lokenath has been one of the greatest yogis among the traditional Hindus of all time. This sacred place welcomes many devotees all around the year. Traditional Hindu families even worship baba Lokenath and offer daily prayers.