Dhakeshwari Shakti Peetha

Dhakeshwari National Temple in Old Dhaka is Bangladesh’s principal Hindu temple and an important centre of religious and cultural life. The name Dhakeshwari means the Goddess of Dhaka, and the shrine has become closely linked with the identity of the city. Repeated damage, renovation and rebuilding have altered the complex over time, yet worship of the Goddess has continued.

The Peetha is recorded as Dhakeshwari, with Dhaka Shakti Peetha and related forms as alternate names. Regional tradition associates the shrine with a jewel or gem from Sati’s crown rather than an anatomical body part. The Goddess is Dhakeshwari, also identified with Katyayani, Mahishasuramardini or Durga, and Shiva is recorded as the accompanying Bhairava. The crown-jewel tradition is a later regional identification and should be preserved exactly rather than converted into a body-part claim.

Durga Puja is the temple’s largest annual celebration and a major public event for Bangladesh’s Hindu community. The Janmashtami procession beginning from the temple is another important observance. Dhakeshwari also functions as a focal point for community gatherings and cultural programmes. Its significance rests on national visibility, continuous Hindu worship and its role in Dhaka’s heritage, while the Peetha attribution should remain clearly marked as regional rather than presented as a universally agreed classical mapping.