Devotees pull Kshudiroy’s rath at Khalna in Amta. Picture by Gopal Senapati

Khalna in Amta is rooted in tradition and history. The oldest temple of Damodar was established here during Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s era and close after that came Krishnaroy, the Radha-Krishna temple, which was established some 450 years ago.

But the people of Khalna believe the most in Kshudiroy. The deity is made of touchstone, which is believed to have been found by some Bagdi women in a nearby lake. They kept the stone inside a pot of broken rice grains (khud), which is why the deity was named Kshudiroy. Later, the deity was shifted to a temple built by members of Khalna’s Roy family.

Kshudiroy, Krishnaroy and Singhabahini Durga set off on the annual chariot ride on Rath Yatra day. Singhabahini is another old temple run by the Roy family. The raths carrying Krishnaroy and Singhabahini arrived at Kshudiroy’s temple and the three chariots set off towards Khalna Bazar.

“Kshudiroy’s chariot is over 350 years old. It initially belonged to a woman named Dukhi. She was a wealthy woman who ran a Shiva temple in Khalna and the rath belonged to the temple. At that time, the rath was a huge structure with nine churas (spires). She later donated the rath to Kshudiroy as she could not keep it anymore. Since then the rath yatra started,” said Rupchand Roy, a member of the Roy family.

The rath procession is led by Singhabahini Durga followed by Krishnaroy and Kshudiroy brings up the rear. Thousands of devotees gather for the festival to pull the ropes of the chariots. This year’s footfall went up to 10,000. A mela is held along the road near the market which is on for seven days. However, the deities return to their respective temples after the rath yatra.

“The deities are bathed and returned to their temples but the raths remain near a Shiva temple near the bazar. On Ulta Rath, the deities go back to the chariots and return to their temples,” said Rupchand.

Kshudiroy and Krishnaroy’s temples are maintained by an estate of the Roy family, mainly descendants of Baikunthanath Roy and Adhar Chandra Roy, who had settled in Khalna some 350 years ago.

Kshudiroy’s temple is one of the few where Bagdis were allowed to be sevaits. “They would perform the puja and also serve the deity. However, the temple committee that was formed later, decided to appoint Brahmins for the puja,” said Rupchand. Many devotees visit the Kshudiroy temple to take a special medicine, made from the bark of a tree, that apparently, cures all eye diseases.