Rani Rasmani
Rani Rasmani was the daughter of a poor couple who lived in the village of Kona, in 24-Parganas. Her father, Harekrishna Das, built huts as a profession and was also a farmer. Her mother, Rampriya, died when Rasmani was just seven years old. In the year 1804, when Rani Rasmani was eleven, she was married to Rajchandra Das (5), the zamindar of Janbari. He had married twice before but both wives had died young, so Rani Rasmani was his third wife. Soon after the marriage the income of her husband's family increased, so her arrival in the family was considered propitious. Rajchandra himself was given the title 'Rai Bahadur' and was appointed an honorary magistrate. He had to his credit many philanthropic activities such as the construction of Babu Ghat, Hatkhola Ghat and Babu Road (now called Rani Rasmani Road), the donation of the land for the excavation of the Beliaghata canal, the construction of a shelter for the dying and their relatives at the Nimtola crematorium, the digging of the Talpukur pond at Barrackpore, the building of Metcalfe Hall for a library, and also donations to the Famine Relief Fund. The couple had four daughters, named Padmamani, Kumari, Karunamayi and Jagadamba. In 1836, at the age of fifty-one, Rajchandra died from an attack of thrombosis.
Mathurmohan Biswas was the husband of Rani Rasmani's third daughter, Karunamayi. He was cultured, well-mannered, quite intelligent and had an English education. When his wife died, he married her younger sister Jagadamba. With the assistance of Mathurmohan, Rani Rasmani was able to administer her estate very well. She increased her property holdings considerably, and also earned a substantial amount through trade and business. This success, together with her numerous charitable activities, spread her name throughout Bengal. Among her many philanthropic activities, especially remarkable were the excavation of the Sonai and Beliaghata canals, the setting up of the bazaar at Bhowanipur, the construction of a bathing ghat as well as a shelter for the dying and their relatives at Kalighat, the construction of a ghat on the bank of the Ganges at Halisahar, and also the construction of a substantial part of the road from the Suvarnarekha River to Puri in Orissa. Moreover, she earned the profound gratitude of her tenants for her protection of them from oppression by the indigo planters. Again, she also paid for the excavation of the connecting canal between the Madhumati and Navaganga Rivers, which alone cost her lakhs of rupees. Her generosity and concern for the welfare of others became proverbial in the homes of Bengal.
Her Memorable Achievement: However, her most memorable achievement was the establishment of a temple to Mother Kali at Dakshineswar, and along with it, providing Sri Ramakrishna with all the necessary facilities to carry on his long and intense spiritual quest. While it was Rani Rasmani's devotion, hard work and perseverance that made the construction of the temple possible, it was the thirty years of Sri Ramakrishna's God-intoxicated life that elevated the temple complex into one of the greatest pilgrimage places of the world.
The account of how the pious yet resolute Rani Rasmani came to build the temple at Dakshineswar is truly a combination of the extraordinary and the popular. It is said that in the year 1847 (1254 BS) (6) Rani Rasmani was making arrangements to visit the holy city of Kashi. For many years she had cherished a desire to make this pilgrimage and worship to her heart's content Lord Vishvanath and the Divine Mother Annapurna. She had also set aside a large sum of money to meet the expenses for the trip. Earlier she had bought some land at Kashi in order to build a temple there. (7) Perhaps she intended to go there and make the final arrangements herself for establishing the temple. It was decided that the Rani would be accompanied by her three daughters and their husbands, plus other relatives, and a host of servants, maidservants, watchmen and armed guards. Twentv-five large barges had been commissioned. The elaborate arrangements were almost complete.
At that time a famine had cast its dark shadow over the entire country, and people were in a state of panic. The agonizing cries of thousands of starving people and the news of hundreds of deaths from starvation made the Rani restless. While going for her daily bath in the Ganges she also personally observed the unspeakable miseries of the starving people. The night before the Rani was to leave on her I journey she had a dream of the Goddess. According to another version, however, the Rani had already set out on the pilgrimage and had reached the village of Dakshineswar. There on the boat she received a divine command in a dream. The Goddess told her that there was no need to go to Kashi. Instead, a beautiful temple should be built on the bank of the Ganges where the Goddess would be installed and regular worship and services offered. The Goddess assured her, 'I will manifest myself in the stone image and will regularly accept your daily worship and offering of food.' The next morning the Rani recounted her dream to Mathurmohan and told him to call off the pilgrimage. The food and other supplies stored on the barges were then distributed to the famine-stricken people. In addition, the Rani donated some more money for their relief.
From Sri Ramakrishna's account we learn that after the Rani received this divine command she gave up the idea of going to Kashi and resolved to build a temple for the Goddess on the bank of the Ganges. However, the statement she gave in legal document for the endowment executed by her in the year I860 (1267 BS) mentions a different reason for building the temple. There she said: 'During his lifetime my husband had a desire to build a temple and offer service to the Lord. But as he suddenly died and could not fulfil this desire, I have purchased by bill of sale, for carrying out his wishes, revenue-generating land measuring 54 1/2 (fifty-four and a half) bighas, bearing an annual revenue of... .' In another part of the same document, the Rani's reason for establishing the temple was more clearly stated. It was 'for the fulfilment of the desire of my deceased husband and for his spiritual welfare'. Of course, there is no difficulty in admitting that both the aforesaid divine command and the unfulfilled desire of her husband were behind the establishment of the temple.
There is a saying, 'The western bank of the Ganges is as holy as Varanasi.' The Rani had great faith in this and searched extensively for land at Bally, Uttarpara and other places along the western bank of the Ganges, but she failed to find a plot anywhere. The well-known Das Ani and Chay Ani group of zamindars declared that it would be beneath their dignity to step in the Ganges from a ghat built by someone else on their land. According to another account, the Rani had tried to build the temple within the precincts of the Siddheshwari Kali temple at Balidaghat in Halisahar on the bank of the river. But even with the promise of huge sums of money the Rani could not secure any foothold there due to the stubborn opposition of the influential brahmin and kayastha communities. (9) Thus she was compelled to search for land on the eastern bank of the Ganges, and she finally selected the land where the present temple complex stands.
Mathurmohan Biswas was the husband of Rani Rasmani's third daughter, Karunamayi. He was cultured, well-mannered, quite intelligent and had an English education. When his wife died, he married her younger sister Jagadamba. With the assistance of Mathurmohan, Rani Rasmani was able to administer her estate very well. She increased her property holdings considerably, and also earned a substantial amount through trade and business. This success, together with her numerous charitable activities, spread her name throughout Bengal. Among her many philanthropic activities, especially remarkable were the excavation of the Sonai and Beliaghata canals, the setting up of the bazaar at Bhowanipur, the construction of a bathing ghat as well as a shelter for the dying and their relatives at Kalighat, the construction of a ghat on the bank of the Ganges at Halisahar, and also the construction of a substantial part of the road from the Suvarnarekha River to Puri in Orissa. Moreover, she earned the profound gratitude of her tenants for her protection of them from oppression by the indigo planters. Again, she also paid for the excavation of the connecting canal between the Madhumati and Navaganga Rivers, which alone cost her lakhs of rupees. Her generosity and concern for the welfare of others became proverbial in the homes of Bengal.
Her Memorable Achievement: However, her most memorable achievement was the establishment of a temple to Mother Kali at Dakshineswar, and along with it, providing Sri Ramakrishna with all the necessary facilities to carry on his long and intense spiritual quest. While it was Rani Rasmani's devotion, hard work and perseverance that made the construction of the temple possible, it was the thirty years of Sri Ramakrishna's God-intoxicated life that elevated the temple complex into one of the greatest pilgrimage places of the world.
The account of how the pious yet resolute Rani Rasmani came to build the temple at Dakshineswar is truly a combination of the extraordinary and the popular. It is said that in the year 1847 (1254 BS) (6) Rani Rasmani was making arrangements to visit the holy city of Kashi. For many years she had cherished a desire to make this pilgrimage and worship to her heart's content Lord Vishvanath and the Divine Mother Annapurna. She had also set aside a large sum of money to meet the expenses for the trip. Earlier she had bought some land at Kashi in order to build a temple there. (7) Perhaps she intended to go there and make the final arrangements herself for establishing the temple. It was decided that the Rani would be accompanied by her three daughters and their husbands, plus other relatives, and a host of servants, maidservants, watchmen and armed guards. Twentv-five large barges had been commissioned. The elaborate arrangements were almost complete.
At that time a famine had cast its dark shadow over the entire country, and people were in a state of panic. The agonizing cries of thousands of starving people and the news of hundreds of deaths from starvation made the Rani restless. While going for her daily bath in the Ganges she also personally observed the unspeakable miseries of the starving people. The night before the Rani was to leave on her I journey she had a dream of the Goddess. According to another version, however, the Rani had already set out on the pilgrimage and had reached the village of Dakshineswar. There on the boat she received a divine command in a dream. The Goddess told her that there was no need to go to Kashi. Instead, a beautiful temple should be built on the bank of the Ganges where the Goddess would be installed and regular worship and services offered. The Goddess assured her, 'I will manifest myself in the stone image and will regularly accept your daily worship and offering of food.' The next morning the Rani recounted her dream to Mathurmohan and told him to call off the pilgrimage. The food and other supplies stored on the barges were then distributed to the famine-stricken people. In addition, the Rani donated some more money for their relief.
From Sri Ramakrishna's account we learn that after the Rani received this divine command she gave up the idea of going to Kashi and resolved to build a temple for the Goddess on the bank of the Ganges. However, the statement she gave in legal document for the endowment executed by her in the year I860 (1267 BS) mentions a different reason for building the temple. There she said: 'During his lifetime my husband had a desire to build a temple and offer service to the Lord. But as he suddenly died and could not fulfil this desire, I have purchased by bill of sale, for carrying out his wishes, revenue-generating land measuring 54 1/2 (fifty-four and a half) bighas, bearing an annual revenue of... .' In another part of the same document, the Rani's reason for establishing the temple was more clearly stated. It was 'for the fulfilment of the desire of my deceased husband and for his spiritual welfare'. Of course, there is no difficulty in admitting that both the aforesaid divine command and the unfulfilled desire of her husband were behind the establishment of the temple.
There is a saying, 'The western bank of the Ganges is as holy as Varanasi.' The Rani had great faith in this and searched extensively for land at Bally, Uttarpara and other places along the western bank of the Ganges, but she failed to find a plot anywhere. The well-known Das Ani and Chay Ani group of zamindars declared that it would be beneath their dignity to step in the Ganges from a ghat built by someone else on their land. According to another account, the Rani had tried to build the temple within the precincts of the Siddheshwari Kali temple at Balidaghat in Halisahar on the bank of the river. But even with the promise of huge sums of money the Rani could not secure any foothold there due to the stubborn opposition of the influential brahmin and kayastha communities. (9) Thus she was compelled to search for land on the eastern bank of the Ganges, and she finally selected the land where the present temple complex stands.
