Maa Kankhaleshwari (Bolpur ,Labhpur, Birbhum, West Bengal)

Kankalitala is a Temple town in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district. One of the fifty-one Shakti Pithas of the country is the Kankhalitala Temple which is located about 8 kms northeast of Shantiniketan town in Bolpur. Kankhalitala Temple is located in Kankhalitala town on the banks of River Kopai on the Bolpur-Labpur Road.

According to Hindu Mythology, Lord Shiva's consort – Goddess Parvati had died in the arms of Lord Shiva who in a fit of rage danced all over the Indian subcontinent during which time Lord Vishnu, in order to stop Lord Shiva had destroyed Goddess Parvatis body by dismembering it into 51 pieces – of which, her waist (kankhal – from which the name of Temple is derived) is said to have fallen in the area which is at present the Kankalitala town. Goddess Parvati is the residing deity of the Kankalitala Temple. Such is the prominence of this Temple that it forms a part of the most important Hindu-pilgrimage circuit of India. Tourists visiting the Shantiniketan Visva Bharati also visit this Temple which is just around 9 kms away to pay homage to Goddess Parvati.