Maa Tara Tarini Temple
Encyclopedia
Tara Tarini Sthana Peeth is situated on the holy Taratarini hill (Purnagiri) at a distance of 30 km from Berhampur
in the state of Orissa
, India
. The Twin Goddesses Tara and Tarini are worshiped as manifestations of Adi Shakti. The Taratarini Hill Shrine is one of the oldest pilgrimage centers of Mother Goddess and is one amongst four major ancient Shakti Peethas
in India.
The mythological texts recognize four major Shakti Peethas, i.e. Tara Tarini (Stana Khanda) near Berhampur, Bimala (Pada Khanda) inside the Jagannath Temple (Puri)
, Kamakshi (Yoni khanda) near Guwahati
and Dakhina Kalika (Mukha khanda) in Kolkata
are the four Adi Shakti Peeths. Apart from these, there are 52 other sacred Shakti Peethas, which originated from the limbs of the corpse of Mata Sati
in the Satya Yuga
.
The Astashakti and Kalika Purana clearly says (IN SANSKRIT):
Further explaining the importance of these four Peethas the Brihat Samhita also gives the geographical location of these Peethas.
For Example:
(**Rushikulya: A famous River flowing on the foot hill of the Tara Tarini Hill Shrine).
Thus, there is absolutely no dispute regarding these four famous Adi Peethas.
Apart from these four there are 52 other famous Peethas recognised by religious texts. According to the Pithanirnaya Tantra the 52 peethas are scattered all over India, Sri Lanka
, Bangladesh
, Nepal
, Tibet
and Pakistan
. Besides listing 52 maha-peethashe, Shivacharita speaks about 26 more upa-peethas. The Bengali almanac, Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika, also describes the 52 peethas.
It is known from the Mahabharata that before the commencement of the Mahabharata war Lord Srikrishna advised Arjuna to offer prayer for victory at Shridevi kupa or Bhadrakali. Bhadrakali originated from the limbs of Sati like the other four major Shakti Peethas, which existed during the time of the Mahabharata or around 6000 years ago. This is the oldest data we have to date regarding the existence of the Shrines that originated from the limbs of the divine Corpse of Devi Sati.
According to historical sources, the fall of the Kalingan Empire and its capital Sampa (Samapa), caused by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in the Kalinga war around 2300 years ago, strengthened the grip of Buddhists in this part of India. Sampa (as it was known then) was hardly 7 km away from Taratarini Hill Shrine. Consequently, scholars believe that Taratarini was worshiped as the principal deity (Ista-Devi) of the mighty Kalinga Empire. Scholars believe that after Ashoka conquered Kalinga, it became a famous centre of Buddhism. The region of Ganjam near the bank of river Rushikulya was an active Buddhist site. This was shown from the Special Rock Edicts of Ashoka found at Jaugada at a distance of 4 km from Tara-Tarini Hill Shrine. The name Tara (Buddhism), an important deity of Mahayana Buddhist Pantheon, is suggestive of Buddhist influence. An image of Buddha in meditation, present inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, lends credence to the claim that this site was an ancient centre of the Buddhist Shakta cult.
According to the texts of Mahayana Buddhists, in the initial days, the Buddhists didn’t believe in the worship of Goddesses or in Pratimapuja (Idol Worship). But, the ecclesiastical texts of Mahayana’s reveal that from the 1st century AD, after the fall of Kalinga, for the first time, the Mahayana Buddhists accepted the worship of Mother Goddess "Tara." So there is seldom any doubt that the Buddhists have learned the "Tara" Puja concept from this Shrine. The Bouddha Tantrik texts, texts of Vajrajani sect and Hindu Tantrik texts also attest to these facts. Scholars believe that in the primary days the Buddhists worshiped Taratarini, the principal seat of the Tantrik sect in Hinduism at that time, as Bouddha Tara, and later on included "Tara" as the Tantrik deity or spouse of bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in their belief system. Gradually this "Tara" worship spread to different parts of the world.
The "Maritime History" of Kalinga also suggests the worship of Tara by the Sadhavas, merchants and seamen, before launching their sea voyage from the great sea ports at Dantapura (Gopalpur), Pallur near Chilika Lake, kalingapatna and river Rushikulya . It is important to mention that all these major Sea ports of the ancient world were very near to the Taratarini hill Shrine.
According to folk lore, it is around the 8th Century AD when Jagadguru Sankaracharya toured the whole country, that he discovered this Shrine. But, it did not exist in its present form at that time. After lengthy effort, Sankaracharya came to know that this ancient Shakti centre was under the control of Buddhist tantrikas. He released this Peetha from the control of Bouddha tantrikas and handed it over to Hindus.
It is known from available sources that till the 17th century, this place was out of the sight of the common man. But, according to a folk story once Maa Taratarini appeared as two sisters in the house of Shri Basu Praharaj. Basu Praharaj was a learned Brahmin of Kharida Vira Jagannathpur village in Ganjam District and one of the great devotees of the Mother Goddess, but he childless. After staying for some years, both sisters disappeared suddenly from the house of Basu Praharaj. According to the account of the villagers both the sisters traveled up to the Tarini Parvat/ Ratnagiri and disappeared there.
Basu Praharaj searched for the two sisters but did not find any trace of them. His heart broke down with grief and pain. On that night he saw a dream in which the Goddesses Tara and Tarini informed Basu Praharaj that the sisters were actually not his daughters. Instead, they were the Adi Shakti, Goddesses Tara and Tarini. The Goddesses ordered Basu to come out of his grief. They said that the time had arrived for Basu, with full devotion, to renovate the temple on the Hill Top of Tarini Parvat and to establish the deities according to the Vedic tradition.
After that divine direction Basu discovered the tracings of the ancient most presence of Goddesses Tara -Tarini on the sacred Hill Top and immediately took steps to reconstruct the temple and the Shrine.
>>Since that time, with its magnetism and sanctity, this Sthana Peetha (Breast Shrine) of Mata Sati became a centre of faith and reverence for countless numbers of people, who are in search of peace, tranquility, guidance and spiritual energy. The temple's fame spread like wild fire and it became one of the popular religious destinations for millions of devotees.
(Excerpts from R P Tripathy's Research article)
Berhampur
Brahmapur , nicknamed "The Silk City", is a city located in the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Orissa, about south to state capital, Bhubaneswar.It is also dubbed as "The Dance City" of Orissa after Prince Dance Group and Harihar Das made the state famous in India's...
in the state of 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...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The Twin Goddesses Tara and Tarini are worshiped as manifestations of Adi Shakti. The Taratarini Hill Shrine is one of the oldest pilgrimage centers of Mother Goddess and is one amongst four major ancient Shakti Peethas
Shakti Peethas
The Shakti Pithas are places of worship consecrated to the goddess Shakti or Parvati or Sati or Durga, the female principal of Hinduism and the main deity of the Shakta sect...
in India.
The mythological texts recognize four major Shakti Peethas, i.e. Tara Tarini (Stana Khanda) near Berhampur, Bimala (Pada Khanda) inside the Jagannath Temple (Puri)
Jagannath Temple (Puri)
The Jagannath Temple in Puri is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath and located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Orissa, India. The name Jagannath is a combination of the Sanskrit words Jagat and Nath...
, Kamakshi (Yoni khanda) near Guwahati
Guwahati
Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...
and Dakhina Kalika (Mukha khanda) in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
are the four Adi Shakti Peeths. Apart from these, there are 52 other sacred Shakti Peethas, which originated from the limbs of the corpse of Mata Sati
Dakshayani
Dākshāyani or Satī is a Hindu Goddess of marital felicity and longevity. She is worshipped particularly by Hindu women to seek the long life of their husbands...
in the Satya Yuga
Satya Yuga
The Satya Yuga , also called Sat Yuga, Krta Yuga and Krita Yuga in Hinduism, is the "Yuga of Truth", when mankind is governed by gods, and every manifestation or work is close to the purest ideal and mankind will allow intrinsic goodness to rule supreme...
.
Four Adi Shakti Peethas
The great religious texts including the Shiva Purana, the Kalika Purana, the Devi Bhagabat and the AstaShakti all recognize the four major Shakti Peethas (centers). Like Bimala (Pada Khanda); Tara Tarini (Stana Khanda, Breasts) (Near Berhampur, Orissa), Kamakshi (Yoni khanda) (Near Gowhati, Assam) and Dakhina Kalika (Mukha khanda) (Kolkata, West Bengal) originated from the limbs of the Corpse of Mata Sati.The Astashakti and Kalika Purana clearly says (IN SANSKRIT):
Bimala Pada khandancha,
Sthana khandancha Tarini (Tara Tarini),
Kamakshya Yoni khandancha,
Mukha khandancha Kalika (Dakshina Kalika)
Anga pratyanga sanghena
Vishnu Chakra Kshyta nacha
Further explaining the importance of these four Peethas the Brihat Samhita also gives the geographical location of these Peethas.
For Example:
Rushikulya**Tatae Devi,
Tarakashya Mahagiri,
Tashya Srunga Stitha TaraTara (Devi)In Hinduism, the goddess Tara meaning "star" is the second of the Dasa Mahavidyas or "Great Wisdom [goddesses]", Tantric manifestations of Mahadevi, Kali, or Parvati...
,
Vasishta rajitapara"
(**Rushikulya: A famous River flowing on the foot hill of the Tara Tarini Hill Shrine).
Thus, there is absolutely no dispute regarding these four famous Adi Peethas.
Apart from these four there are 52 other famous Peethas recognised by religious texts. According to the Pithanirnaya Tantra the 52 peethas are scattered all over India, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Besides listing 52 maha-peethashe, Shivacharita speaks about 26 more upa-peethas. The Bengali almanac, Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika, also describes the 52 peethas.
The Deities
Two stones anthropomorphized by the addition of gold and silver ornaments and shaped as human faces represent the Goddesses Tara and Tarini, and confirm them as the deities of this temple. Between them are placed two beautiful brass heads known as their Chalanti Pratima, or their Living Image.The History of Tara Tarini Hill Shrine (Kalyan Dham)
According to the Mythological Puranas the origin of Maa Taratarini is directly attributed to Daksha Prajapati’s Jagna in Satya Yuga. The famous Shakta Peethas of Bimala, Tara-Tarini, Dakshina Kalika and Kamakshi originated from the limbs of the divine Corpse of Devi Sati. Mythological sacred texts such as the Shiva Purana, the Kalika Purana, and the Devi Bhagabat (a contemporary text of the Mahabharata written by Shri Vyasa Dev around 6000 years ago) attest to this fact.It is known from the Mahabharata that before the commencement of the Mahabharata war Lord Srikrishna advised Arjuna to offer prayer for victory at Shridevi kupa or Bhadrakali. Bhadrakali originated from the limbs of Sati like the other four major Shakti Peethas, which existed during the time of the Mahabharata or around 6000 years ago. This is the oldest data we have to date regarding the existence of the Shrines that originated from the limbs of the divine Corpse of Devi Sati.
According to historical sources, the fall of the Kalingan Empire and its capital Sampa (Samapa), caused by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in the Kalinga war around 2300 years ago, strengthened the grip of Buddhists in this part of India. Sampa (as it was known then) was hardly 7 km away from Taratarini Hill Shrine. Consequently, scholars believe that Taratarini was worshiped as the principal deity (Ista-Devi) of the mighty Kalinga Empire. Scholars believe that after Ashoka conquered Kalinga, it became a famous centre of Buddhism. The region of Ganjam near the bank of river Rushikulya was an active Buddhist site. This was shown from the Special Rock Edicts of Ashoka found at Jaugada at a distance of 4 km from Tara-Tarini Hill Shrine. The name Tara (Buddhism), an important deity of Mahayana Buddhist Pantheon, is suggestive of Buddhist influence. An image of Buddha in meditation, present inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, lends credence to the claim that this site was an ancient centre of the Buddhist Shakta cult.
According to the texts of Mahayana Buddhists, in the initial days, the Buddhists didn’t believe in the worship of Goddesses or in Pratimapuja (Idol Worship). But, the ecclesiastical texts of Mahayana’s reveal that from the 1st century AD, after the fall of Kalinga, for the first time, the Mahayana Buddhists accepted the worship of Mother Goddess "Tara." So there is seldom any doubt that the Buddhists have learned the "Tara" Puja concept from this Shrine. The Bouddha Tantrik texts, texts of Vajrajani sect and Hindu Tantrik texts also attest to these facts. Scholars believe that in the primary days the Buddhists worshiped Taratarini, the principal seat of the Tantrik sect in Hinduism at that time, as Bouddha Tara, and later on included "Tara" as the Tantrik deity or spouse of bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in their belief system. Gradually this "Tara" worship spread to different parts of the world.
The "Maritime History" of Kalinga also suggests the worship of Tara by the Sadhavas, merchants and seamen, before launching their sea voyage from the great sea ports at Dantapura (Gopalpur), Pallur near Chilika Lake, kalingapatna and river Rushikulya . It is important to mention that all these major Sea ports of the ancient world were very near to the Taratarini hill Shrine.
According to folk lore, it is around the 8th Century AD when Jagadguru Sankaracharya toured the whole country, that he discovered this Shrine. But, it did not exist in its present form at that time. After lengthy effort, Sankaracharya came to know that this ancient Shakti centre was under the control of Buddhist tantrikas. He released this Peetha from the control of Bouddha tantrikas and handed it over to Hindus.
It is known from available sources that till the 17th century, this place was out of the sight of the common man. But, according to a folk story once Maa Taratarini appeared as two sisters in the house of Shri Basu Praharaj. Basu Praharaj was a learned Brahmin of Kharida Vira Jagannathpur village in Ganjam District and one of the great devotees of the Mother Goddess, but he childless. After staying for some years, both sisters disappeared suddenly from the house of Basu Praharaj. According to the account of the villagers both the sisters traveled up to the Tarini Parvat/ Ratnagiri and disappeared there.
Basu Praharaj searched for the two sisters but did not find any trace of them. His heart broke down with grief and pain. On that night he saw a dream in which the Goddesses Tara and Tarini informed Basu Praharaj that the sisters were actually not his daughters. Instead, they were the Adi Shakti, Goddesses Tara and Tarini. The Goddesses ordered Basu to come out of his grief. They said that the time had arrived for Basu, with full devotion, to renovate the temple on the Hill Top of Tarini Parvat and to establish the deities according to the Vedic tradition.
After that divine direction Basu discovered the tracings of the ancient most presence of Goddesses Tara -Tarini on the sacred Hill Top and immediately took steps to reconstruct the temple and the Shrine.
>>Since that time, with its magnetism and sanctity, this Sthana Peetha (Breast Shrine) of Mata Sati became a centre of faith and reverence for countless numbers of people, who are in search of peace, tranquility, guidance and spiritual energy. The temple's fame spread like wild fire and it became one of the popular religious destinations for millions of devotees.
(Excerpts from R P Tripathy's Research article)