Rani Rashmoni (1793 - 1861)

RASHMONI, RANI (1793–1861) Rashmoni, the founder of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, was born in 1793 in Kona, a small village near Kolkata.  By birth she belonged to a shudra or ‘untouchable’  caste. Her father was Harekrishna Das, a labourer.  When she was 11, Rajachandra Das, a very rich man,  was struck by her beauty and married her. In 1817 , Rajachandra inherited the large family fortune from his  father, but he died at 48, leaving Rashmoni and her  three married daughters. Rashmoni, though a very religious person, was  nevertheless aware of the material interests of her family. With consummate  skill and the help of her son-in-law Mohandas Biswas she managed the assets  and prosperity of the house, and also contributed generously to charity.  There are many stories of her fearlessness; when drunken soldiers broke into  her house to loot it she posted herself with a sword in hand at the door of the  temple in her home, while other members of the family sought safety in a  neighbour’s house. The turning point in Rashmoni’s life came in 1847 when, guided by a vision of  the goddess Kali, she started the construction of the temple at  Dakshineshwar, four miles north of Kolkata. In 1855 an auspicious day was  fixed for the installation of the deity at the temple. Since she was a shudra,  Rani Rashmoni could not prevail upon any orthodox Brahmin to officiate as  the priest. She consulted many renowned scholars, and one of them,  Ramkumar Chattopadhyay, guided her out of the dilemma. She made a gift  of the temple to her guru, a Brahmin, and provided funds for its maintenance  by purchasing a big estate in Dinapur and endowing the temple with its  income. Ramkumar Chattopadhyaya was appointed the priest of the temple,  and after him his brother Gadadhar took over. Gadadhar was so thoroughly  immersed in the contemplation of Kali that many people thought him  mentally deranged. Rani Rashmoni was advised not to appoint him, yet with  her intuition and insight she was convinced that his strange ways only  showed the intensity of his religious fervour. Once during the time of worship, Sri Ramakrishna sensed that her mind was  engrossed in commercial matters and slapped her on the back. Outraged, the  astonished people demanded that she dismiss and punish him. She silenced  them by saying that the Divine Mother had illumined her heart through Sri Ramakrishna. She donated generously to the then Imperial Library (now the National Library of India) and Hindu College (now Presidency College). By blocking the shipping trade on a section of the Ganga river she compelled the  British to abolish the tax imposed on fishing in the river, which threatened the livelihood of poor fishermen. When Puja processions were stopped by the British on the charge that they disturbed the peace, she defied the orders, forcing the government to withdraw them. A memorial shrine to her stands in the precincts of the Dakshineshwar Temple.