Mahamaya Durga is the Ishwari Thakurrani of Kamteshwari temple?

Gosanimari in Cooch Behar has a temple of Goddess Kamteswari. The goddess is worshiped as Durga in autumn. Goddess Kamteswari is also worshiped throughout the year at the Kamteswari temple. The goddess is worshiped during Akal Bodhan in traditional stone idols. Kamateswari temple is a unique landmark of Dinhatta in Cooch Behar district. Aaradhya Devi of the temple is Maa Bhavani. Hence the temple is also known as Maa Bhavani temple. But there is disagreement about who is the founder of this temple. It is said that King Nildhvaja of Sena dynasty was the founder of the temple. He was a devotee of Kamateswari. His kingdom was named after the goddess Kamata, with Kamteshwar as its capital. Two more kings of the Sena dynasty, Chakradhvaja and Nilambar, are known to have ruled Kamtapur. A group of researchers say Nilambar founded the temple. According to another, another king named Kamteshwar was a devotee of Kamtadevi. He was the one who built the original temple. The Kamteswari temple was completely destroyed during Husain Shah's invasion and later during the invasion of Cooch Behar along with Kalapahar's Kamrup by 1553. However, according to most historians, most of the temples in Cooch Behar were built during the reign of Maharaja Prananarayana. Therefore, it is believed that the founder of the original Kamteswari temple was Maharaja Prananarayana. Gosanimari Mangalkavya mentions that Ishta Devi of Maharaja Kamteshwar was this Ishwari Kamteshwari Thakurrani.

The temple that can be seen now is more than three and a half hundred years old. By 1665 the present temple was established. It is said that a person named Kavi Mandal built the temple on the order of the king. The Maharaja also donated a lot of property for the temple. The foundation plaque above the western entrance door of the temple still exists today. There is Nahavatkhana. The temple premises are protected by walls. The temple has two entrances on the north and west. The height of the temple is about 45 feet. The first to enter the temple premises through the main gate is the main paved shrine of Goddess Kamteshwari after the Delavita, Garodghar and Homaghar. The goddess presides on a wooden throne in the sanctum sanctorum. There are also statues of Vishnu, Surya, Brahma and Shivlinga. All are built of stone. The Shiv Mandir is located at the north-east corner of the main temple. On the northern side of the throne of the goddess are Suryamurti and on separate pedestals are placed the idols of Mahadev, Narayana, Gopala and Brahma. Mahadeva and Lakshminarayana are housed in a shrine in the north-east corner of the temple premises and Tarakeswara Shiva in a shrine in the south-west corner. In the temple premises there are bhog ghar, home ghar etc. A special festival is held in the temple during the month of Magh. Locals believe, Ishwari Kamteshwari Thakurrani temple is very awake. Although King Prananarayana founded the temple, he did not establish any idols. Instead of idols, he established the ark. The king painted the image of Bhagwati on the silver bowl in which the cauldron was kept. No one could see any of the items kept inside the hut. Later, the empty throne was worshiped when Kavacharupi Devi was abducted. Every year in the month of Boishakh special pujas, yajnas are held throughout the month.

The history of the temple says that the temple was once located in Rajpat. The idol was hidden in Kajalipura to save Thakur Rani from Hussain Shah's attack. According to Mangalkavya, a big fish swallowed the idol in that Kajalipura. One day the fish was caught in the fishing net. The idol of Ishwari Kamteswari Thakurrani was recovered from the belly of the fish. Later, King Prananarayana got a dream and rescued the idol from that Dhivar and in 1665 he built a temple and re-established Thakur Rani.

I brought Maithili priests from Sita's birth place Mithila for pooja at Raja Prananarayana temple. Ratinath Jha started mother's puja. Since then the Jha family has been engaged in priestly work in the temple. Even today the people of Jha clan have been worshiping Ishwari Kamteswari Thakurrani Maa. During the king's reign, there is a custom of buffalo sacrifice in the temple on the Ashtami day of Durga Puja to please Ishwari Kamteswari Thakurrani. Devotees from many districts of the state gather around the buffalo sacrifice on Ashtami day