High medieval · Hindu · Bangladesh

Dhakeshwari National Temple

ঢাকেশ্বরী মন্দির

Dhaka, Dhaka · 23.7231°, 90.3899°

Dhakeshwari (Durga)SenaBengal (renewed)Shakti tradition
Sacred since
1100 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
12th-c. foundation (trad.); much rebuilt
patron: Ballal Sena (trad.)

History & significance

The 'hidden goddess of Dhaka' who may have given the capital its name — since 1996 formally the National Temple of Bangladesh, centre of the country's Durga Puja and of Hindu public life. The original 800-year-old Dhakeshwari image was carried to Kolkata's Kumartuli in 1948, where it is still worshipped; the Dhaka shrine, damaged in 1971, was restored as the community's anchor.

Sthala katha — the legend

Ballal Sena, the story runs, found an image of the goddess concealed (dhaka) in the jungle and enshrined her as Dhaka-Ishwari — the concealed sovereign lady from whom the megacity takes its name.

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Related sites

Meenakshi Amman Temple
Madurai · India
current structure largely 16th–17th c.
Vaishno Devi Bhawan
Trikuta Hills, Katra · India
ancient cave; modern complex under Shrine Board (1986)

Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Sena