Tarapith Temple | Folklore | Interesting Stories
Mon - May 09, 2022
3 min read
Tarapith Temple has been a spiritual generator, attracting many pilgrims, who long for priceless treasures and a group of tantric practitioners who long for mysterious power. Tarapith is famous for the Tara Ma Temple and Sadhan Pith Temple in Sadhak Bamakhyapa. It is a place of worship in the village of Tarapur under Rampurhat police station of Birbhum District. It is believed that the eyeball (Tara) of Sati fell here.
Tarapith Maha Sasan is an auspicious location next to Tarapith Temple. It is well-known for the Tantric rituals that are done here. Goddess (Goddess Tara) predominates here in the form of a sparkling of light, similar to a "Star" (meaning of Tara in Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali, and other languages), a terrifying Tantric element of Adhya-Shakti.
When one of the seven sages, Vashishta, wandered the earth in flesh and blood, he worshipped the goddess Tara for a specific reason. However, the saint was disappointed because no matter how long he thought about the goddess, he could not use her Da clan.
The main temple is a marble block building with a curving roof called dochala covering its four sides. With its dochala, a tiny tower with four sides emerges from behind this construction.
The Tarapith Temple's foundation is exceptionally thick, and the walls are composed of red bricks. The picture of God is preserved in the room's attic. Maa Tara is a stone figure in the shape of Shiva, the mother nursing.
Another three-foot metal figure of Maa Tara is depicted in a fiery form, with four arms wearing garlands and all the skulls with their heads out of their necks. The figure has a silver crown on top and flowing hair.
Puja and Celebrations:
Tarapith Temple celebrates Sankranti Mela Festival on every Sankranti day in Hindu month, Dola Purnima Festival in February / March, Basantika Parba Festival in Chaitra, and Gamha Purnima.
Chaitra Parva is a summer celebration conducted every Tuesday in Chaitra month. Tarapith Amawasaya, held in August each year, is another highly important and well-known event conducted in the temple.
Puja is held in the temple from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day. Devi Tara awakens every morning at 4:00 a.m. to the sound of Shahnai and other instruments and then begins to worship.
Before entering the temple grounds to offer adoration and even thereafter, worshippers take a holy wash in the hallowed tank adjacent to the temple. The tank's waters are supposed to have therapeutic properties and can even bring the dead back to life.
Goat blood sacrifices are popular at the temple. Devotees who give goat sacrifices seek the deity's favour. Before the sacrifice, the goats are bathed in the sacred tank near the temple. Before giving adoration to the god, they also cleanse themselves by bathing in the sacred tank. The goat is then chained to a stake in a sand pit, and the goat's neck is slaughtered with a single blow using a special blade. A tiny amount of the goat's blood is then gathered in a vase and presented to the temple's god. As a sign of respect for the god, believers smear a drop of blood from the pit on their forehead.