Dakshin Rai
Dakshin Rai ( bengali: দক্ষিণ রাই "King of the South" ) is a deity worshiped in the Sundarbans in India and Bangladesh who rules over predators and demons.
There is a line called '' Lakhikantapur '' near the Garia railway station in Calcutta ; on this is the Dhabdhabi station . A few miles away is a Dakshin Rai temple. The inhabitants of this area worship this god. This area was once part of the Sundarbans.
His territory extends from Kakdweep in the south over the Bhagirathi River in the north and from Ghatal in the west to the Bakla district in the east. Every new moon ( Amavashya ) he is worshiped and appeased with animal sacrifices. The local tribes try their best to placate the 'King of the South' by dancing and singing all night long.
Dakshin Rai's images have large, twisting whiskers. The body is slender and has a glossy, yellowish sheen, which is decorated with tiger-like stripes. Drool drips from both sides of its mouth and it has a six-meter long tail.
So before the residents of the Sundarbans venture into the mangrove thicket, they make it a point to pray to Dakshin Rai beforehand. Some tribes have come up with something new: They tie a mask with the face of Dakshin Rai around the back of their head to scare away the tigers stalking each other from behind.
In the legend of Bonbibi , Dakshin Rai was allegedly a Brahmin wise man who, with a touch of greed, decided to eat people: for this very purpose he turned into a tiger. When he once tried to devour a young man in the form of a tiger, he called Bonbibi in his distress. Bonbibi and her brother Shah Jongoli intervene and save the person.