The Kali Khoh Impel is situated in Harare near Mirzapur. The temple is built-in honour of Ma Kali who killed the demon Rakht Beej here. It was said that the demon would would come back to life as another demon wherever his blood fell on the earth. Ma Kali chopped the demons head and drank his blood directly not letting a single drop fall on the earth.
Ma Kali Khoh Temple
The opening time is 4;00 am and the closing time is 10:00 pm, one can take an electric rickshaw to the temple complex. One has to walk a distance to get to the Ma Kali temple. It is also a tantric temple as I saw many goats inside the temple complex no doubt waiting to be sacrificed the goddess is then given the blood of the animal as an offering.
The Kali Khoh temple is around 2 km form the Vindhyavasani Temple. The temple is situated in a densely forested area and thus it has a unique mystical and spiritual charm. One has to pass through large farm and agricultural land to get to the temple. The pope of Mirzapur rely on farming as a source of income and staple crops like Wheat, rice and corn grow here in the plenty.
The goddess is seen as a protector of their crops and the forest land as well, it protects the animals and the people of the village.
The temple at the entrance has a fierce looking female form with two large eyes which stare at the devotee. The temple walls are painted red and there are shlokas and images from ancient stories of the purina’s and vedas inscribed on its wall.
The inner sacrum has a large black stone depicting Kali with large eyes marked in white the goddess has her red tongue sticking out.
This temple is the centre of Tantric worship and Tantra. There is a inner courtyard with a pond and there is also an idol of the Kamakhya Devi, the goddess is offered blood here. The festival of Navratri is celebrated with gusto here and devotees are encouraged to drink and bathe with the water of the pond in the centre of the courtyard.
One can take sweets and flowers to offer to the goddess from the nearby shops of which ether are in plenty. There are tea shops selling samosa and poori as well for visitors.
The temple has three large domes painted in gold paint. One dome is circular, and the others are shaped like a triangle. Images of the goddess are carved on these domes that can be seen from the inner courtyard, they stand tall and majestically stare at the Vindyachal hills.
At the doorstep of the temple below the orange and red coloured steps sits a pandit beating the drum, he sings hymns to please the goddess.
The inner temple sacrum also has stone sculptors of lord Hanuman, but it is the black stone image of the fierce goddess that stands out and stares one in the face. On the side of the temple there is a place next to the courtyard where Havan’s take place and people perform antic rituals to please the goddess.
One can ring the large brass bells and pray for prosperity and good luck form the goddess. As we walked out of the temple, I meet a very interesting man called Sumant Prasad Mishra who had been dressing up as load hanuman with a large golden mace, his face painted orange. He told me he has bene sitting under the tree dressed as hanuman for over thirty-two years, almost a lifetime. I got some great pictures with this unique Bhakta of lord Hanuman who has been sitting on the steps of Kali Khoh for almost eternity. Now that is real Bhakti and devotion. This was like meeting the mannequin of Lord Hanuman and I was thrilled to have a chat with this great and patient man.
