page_title: Hinduism in West Bengal
section_title: Temples
hierarchical_section_title: Hinduism in West Bengal / Culture / Temples
caption_attribution_description: English: Yogapith, temple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at his birthplace in Mayapur, West Bengal, established in 1880s by Bhaktivinoda Thakur
context_page_description: Hinduism is the largest religious tradition in the Indian state of West Bengal with approximately 70.54% of the population identifying themselves as Hindus. The Hindus in West Bengal mostly belong to the shakta and a small community belong to Vaishnavite and Shaivite denominations. The vast majority of Hindus in West Bengal are Bengali Hindus numbering around 5.4 crore and comprising 59% of the state population, but a notable section of non-Bengali Hindus also exist, particularly among Marwaris, Biharis, Odias, Gurkhas, Punjabis, Sindhis, Gujaratis and various tribal communities such as Koch Raj bongshi, Santals, Munda and particularly Adivadis numbering around 1.03 crore comprising rest 11.5% of the state population.
  Hinduism had existed in the region of Bengal before the 16th century BC and by the 3rd century, Buddhism and Jainism were popular too. Gaur, the first sovereign Hindu kingdom in Bengal with its capital in Karnasubarna in modern-day Murshidabad district, was set up by Shashanka, a Shaivaite king who ruled approximately between 600 AD and 625 AD. The modern structure of Bengali Hindu society was developed during the rule of the Sena dynasty in the 12th century AD.
context_section_description: Temple architecture in West Bengal architecture has assumed a unique identity and evolved into the Bengali terra cotta temple architecture which is also a very common style of Hindu temples in Bangladesh. Due to lack of suitable stone in the alluvial Gangetic delta, the temple makers had to resort to other materials instead of stone. This gave rise to using terra cotta as a medium for temple construction. Terra-cotta exteriors with rich carvings are a unique feature of Bengali temples. The town of Vishnupur in West Bengal is renowned for this type of architecture. Usually a part of the intended total motif was carved by hand on one side of a brick and then baked. While under construction, these carved bricks were arranged to make up the entire motif.
  The Bengali style of temple is not luxurious. Rather, most are modeled on simple thatched-roof earthen huts used as dwellings by commoners. This can be attributed to the popularity of bhakti cults which taught people to view gods as close to themselves. Thus, various styles like do-chala, jor-bangla, char-chala, and aat-chala sprang up. However, there is also a popular style of building known as Navaratna (nine-towered) or Pancharatna (five-towered) in Bengal which is more luxurious than the Chala buildings. A typical example of Navaratna style is the Dakshineswar Kali Temple. The Shiva temples of rural Bengal has significantly impacted on the architectural style of Kalighat Temple, one of the oldest Hindu temples of India. The famous Birla Temple of Kolkata, built in 1996, has a unique blend of temple architecture of Odisha with Rajasthani temple arts. The Mahakal Temple in Darjeeling is a unique and important Hindu temple since 1782.
caption: The temple at Caitanya Mahaprabhu's birthplace in Mayapur, Nadia established by Bhaktivinoda Thakur in 1880s.
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