Kalighat Kali Temple in Kolkatta is regarded as the holiest peeth or pith of the 52 Shakti Peethams of India, where the various parts of Sati's body are said to have fallen, in the course of Shiva's Rudra Tandava. Kalighat represents the site where the toes of the right foot of Shakti or Sati fell, Another legend says that once a devotee saw a bright ray of light impending from Bhagirathi River. He located the light and discovered a piece of stone in the form of a human toe. In its vicinity, he also found a 'Svayambhu Lingam' of Nakuleshwar Bhairav. He placed the images in a small temple and started worshipping them in the forest. Kalighat Kali Temple is dedicated to the goddess Kali .

The original temple was built by Raja Basanta Roy, who was the uncle of Pratapaditya and the King of Jessore (Bangladesh). The original temple was sited on the banks of Hooghly; however the river has shifted away from the temple with the period of time. In the past days, traders used to take stop at Kalighat to pay their obeisance to Goddess Kali.