Maa Mangala Temple

Maa Mangala Temple ( is a Mangala

Mangala

In Jyotish astrology, Mangala is the name for Mars, the red planet. Mars is also called Angaraka In Jyotish astrology, Mangala (Devanagari: मंगल) is the name for Mars, the red planet. Mars is also called Angaraka In Jyotish astrology, Mangala (Devanagari: मंगल) is the name for Mars, the red...

 temple in Kakatpur, Puri

Puri District

Puri being a coastal district of Orissa, is famous for its Historic antiquities, Religious sanctuaries, Architectural Grandeur, Sea-scape beauty,moderate climate.It holds a wealth of attraction for the visitors. It boasts of a continuous history from the 3rd Century B.C...

, Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

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Temple architecture & Cult

The temple is built in typical Kalinga style and is a major pilgrimage for devotees of Shakti

Shakti

Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...

 cult. Pilgrims frequent the temple seeking boons from Maa Mangala.There is a bed made of solid stone on which it is said Maa Mangala rests after touring the entire universe everyday. As if to attest to this the bed looks worn out in just the same way it would if it were in use for centuries.

Legend

Evolution of the name of the deity as 'Kakatpur Mangala' hails from a legend believed by the locals of Kakatpur village. Goddess Managla kept herself hidden under the deep water of river Prachi. Once a boatman was sailing his boat across river Prachi. At that time the river was outpouring and flooded so he was unable to sail his boat to the middle of the river. He spent whole day and night but not able to sail his boat and during early morning, before the dawn, Goddess Mangala came in his dream and asked him to recover her from the water and to establish her in nearby Mangalapur village. The boatman dived into the water and able to find the deity from the bed of the river. Then as per the direction of the Goddess he established the figure of the deity in a temple in Mangalapur village. After this the boatman saw a black crow dived into the water and did not come out of the water for hours and days, the crow detained inside the water of river Prachi exactly in the same place from where he recovered the figure of Goddess Mangala. In local oriya language 'Crow' means 'Kaka' and 'Detained' means 'Atka'. So by combining the two words it becomes 'Kaka-Atka', so during the course of time the Mangalapur village is known as 'Kakata' (Kaka-Atka) pur and the Goddess is known as Kakatpur Mangala.

Association with Lord Jagannath

Every twelve years when the Idols of Lord Jagannath

Jagannath

Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...

, Balabhadra and Subhadra

Subhadra

Image:Jagannath, Baladev and Subadra in Radhadesh.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=|Subhadra, flanked by her brothers Balarama and Jagannatha . Deities of the Radhadesh temple in Belgium...

 are replaced during the Nabakalevara

Nabakalevara

The term Nabakalevara , is derived from the Sanskrit words Naba or new and Kalevara or body, literally meaning New Body...

rite , Priests of the temple in Puri pray to Maa Mangala in the Kakatpur temple to give them divine guidance. The goddess appears in their dreams and reveals the location of the three divine Daru Bramha trees from which idols of the deities are made