Chandranath Temple, Sitakunda Upazila, Chattogram

Historical records show that in the 6th and 7th centuries, the entire Chittagong region was ruled by the Arakan Kingdom. In the following centuries, i.e. from 770 to 810 AD, the rule of this region passed into the hands of the Pala emperor Dharmapala. In the Middle Ages, the Sultan of Sonargaon, Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah (1338-1349 AD), took control of this region in 1340 AD. Then in 1538 AD, when the last Sultan of the Bengal Sultanate, Ghiyasuddin Muhammad Shah, was defeated by Sher Shah Suri of the Sur dynasty, the region again passed into the hands of the Arakan Kingdom and the descendants of the Arakanese continued to rule. Later, the Portuguese also shared the rule of this region with the Arakanese and they ruled this area together from 1538 AD to 1666 AD. Finally, after a reign of about 128 years, in 1666 AD, the Mughal general Buzurg Umed Khan defeated the Arakanese and Portuguese and captured the region. After the fall of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula in the Battle of Plassey, the region came under the control of the British East India Company. In the early 20th century, during the historic Swadeshi movement in 1908, the anti-British movement also had a special impact in this region, and during the Liberation War of 1971, it played an important role as a strategic area under Sector No. 2.

There is also a linguistic and historical evolution behind the naming of this holy land. According to the first legend, during the exile of Ramachandra in the Treta Yuga, Sita Devi bathed in a tank here, due to which the name of this region came to be known as 'Sita Kund' and the original name of the temple came to be known as 'Sita Kund Mandir'. However, modern linguistic research has found a different theory. The word 'Sitakund' is believed to have originated from the Persian word "Shat-i-Kand" (meaning mountain seashore). When the British East India Company acquired the territory, this modified form of the Persian word was permanently adopted in their official documents.

Mythological anecdotes: Shaktapith and Mahadev's rampage

In Sanatan Dharmashastra, Chandranath Pahar and temple are considered one of the most sacred and awakened Shaktapith (powerful places). According to Hindu mythology and Tantric scriptures, King Daksha organized a huge yagna in Satya Yuga. In that yagna, Daksha, unable to bear the scolding of his husband Mahadev (Shiva), sacrificed himself and immersed his body in the yagna kunda. The grief-stricken and angry Lord Mahadev, carrying the dead body of Sati on his shoulders, began a worldwide flood dance, which plunged the entire universe into a deep crisis. To save the creation from this flood, Lord Vishnu dismembered Sati's body with his Sudarshan Chakra. The body parts of Goddess Sati fell in 51 different places in the Indian subcontinent and these places are known as pilgrimage sites or Shaktipeeths. According to Tantric and Vedic scriptures, the locations of these 51 Peeths are primarily spiritually related to the 51 alphabets of Sanskrit grammar. According to the beliefs of Hindus, Goddess Sati's right hand or right hand fell at this sacred place on Chandranath Hill. Although some histories and local legends also describe it as the left hand. This theory of the Chandranath temple is very clearly stated in 'Peeth Nirnaya' and other Tantric texts.