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Jogadya Temple, Kshirgram

Jogadya Devi (Yugādyā) · Kshirgram / Kshiragram, West Bengal, India

Shakti Peetha

Jogadya’s shrine at Kshirgram in West Bengal joins the Yugadya Shakti Peetha tradition with a distinctive temple-and-tank ritual history.

Close view of the black stone form identified by the photographer as Ma Jogadya, with a jeweled crown and red flower garlands.
Ma Jogadya, as identified by the original photographer; not a claim to show the historic submerged image, 2025. Photograph: Jaden7667. Contributor identifies Ma Jogadya; do not label this as the historic image raised from Kshirdighi. Image source. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Quick facts

Primary deity
Jogadya Devi (Yugādyā)
Location
Kshirgram / Kshiragram, West Bengal, India
Classification
PN 51 working list
City / regional gateway
Katwa / Bardhaman (regional gateways)
Major festival periods
Jogadya Puja in Baishakh, documented in the 1994–95 ethnography; confirm the current observance dates locally
On this page

Spiritual importance and significance

Jogadya is the village Goddess of Kshirgram, also written Kshiragram, in the Mangalkote area of Purba Bardhaman. In the selected PN list, the seat is Yugadya, associated with Sati’s right great toe. The Goddess is Yugādyā and the Bhairava is Kṣīrakhaṇḍa. The names Jogadya and Yogadya preserve familiar regional forms alongside this textual spelling.

Pithanirnaya: Sanskrit Documents text and translation.

Sacred story and textual tradition

The toe association places Yugadya within Sati’s sacred geography. For the local temple, its relationship with the village and the sacred tank is also central. A traditional seat and a surviving temple institution have different kinds of history; the textual association does not by itself date a building or sculpture.

Pithanirnaya: Sanskrit Documents text and translation.

What makes this temple distinctive?

  • The sacred tank, Kshirdighi, is integral to the historical ritual setting.
  • Togawa’s ethnography describes the image normally kept in the tank and raised on specified ritual occasions.
  • Temple service, village society and the patronage of the Bardhaman Raj are documented together in a detailed academic study.

Masahiko Togawa, A Sakta-pitha in Bengal (1996), introduction, pp.16,38–39,74–75 and chapter IV.

History and development

Togawa’s 1996 study, based on fieldwork in 1994–95, places a rebuilding under Maharaja Kirtichand around 1730. It also examines later changes in the temple’s land and service arrangements. This provides a documented phase in the institution’s history, rather than an assertion that the worship began in the eighteenth century.

Masahiko Togawa, A Sakta-pitha in Bengal (1996), introduction, pp.16,38–39,74–75 and chapter IV.

The Devi and sacred form

Togawa describes a stone image raised from Kshirdighi for major worship and for a series of shorter ritual occasions. His account includes the Utthan-mandir as a place where the raised image was installed. This historical description should not be converted into an unrestricted daily viewing promise.

The photograph is identified by its contributor as Ma Jogadya. It records a dressed and ornamented form; it is not evidence that the historic submerged image is accessible or photographed today.

Masahiko Togawa, A Sakta-pitha in Bengal (1996), introduction, pp.16,38–39,74–75 and chapter IV.

Temple and tank

Kshirdighi is part of the sacred institution, rather than simply a decorative pond beside it. The ethnography treats the water, the temple and the ritual places on its bank as related spaces. Current access to the bank and the intended shrine should be checked locally.

Masahiko Togawa, A Sakta-pitha in Bengal (1996), introduction, pp.16,38–39,74–75 and chapter IV.

Worship, rituals and festivals

The study gives sustained attention to Jogadya Puja in Baishakh and to the raising of the image. It records several shorter occasions in addition to the principal puja. These descriptions concern the period of fieldwork; current dates and public access need local confirmation.

A visit planned around seeing the sacred image requires particular care. Do not assume that normal temple opening and the visibility of the historic image are the same arrangement.

Masahiko Togawa, A Sakta-pitha in Bengal (1996), introduction, pp.16,38–39,74–75 and chapter IV.

Weather and seasonal considerations

Purba Bardhaman’s district climate reference describes a hot, humid summer and a June–September monsoon. For travel on local roads and walks between the temple and nearby transport, allow for heat, rain and pre-monsoon thunderstorms. Cooler winter conditions do not by themselves establish a quieter darshan period.

Purba Bardhaman district: Geography, climate.

Planning Your Visit

Nearest major city
Katwa / Bardhaman (regional gateways)
Temple location
Kshirgram / Kshiragram
State / province / region
West Bengal
Country
India
Typical access route
Confirm the road connection to Kshirgram in the Mangalkote area from the chosen regional gateway. This is the Jogadya shrine, not another temple bearing a similar Goddess name.
Broad visiting season
District climate: hot, humid summer; June–September monsoon; cooler winter. Confirm the local weather before travel.
Important festival periods
Jogadya Puja in Baishakh, documented in the 1994–95 ethnography; confirm the current observance dates locally
Government tourism / heritage URL
Government tourism / heritage URL
Visitor-information sources and checked date
Sources reviewed 2026-10-21–22; linked in Sources. Historical observations are dated separately from current visitor information.

Practical temple information

Opening pattern
Historical accounts distinguish ordinary worship from occasions when the sacred image is raised from the tank. A current darshan schedule has not been verified.
Practical access note
Check current arrangements at the tank and temple with the shrine. Historical ritual descriptions are not a promise that the image is visible on an ordinary visit.

Last verified: . Check the linked institution for changed arrangements.

Watch / Explore Further

Further reading

Sources and method

The 51-entry PN working list preserves its named textual witness and geographical qualifications. Our source method distinguishes sacred tradition, institutional descriptions and historical evidence. Image sources and licenses accompany the photographs used.