Maa Tarini
Encyclopedia
Maa Tarini is one of the embodiments of Shakti
and is one of the chief presiding Goddesses in Oriya culture. Her chief shrine is in Ghatagaon, Keonjhar District, Orissa
.
s.
Maa Tarini is always depicted as a red face with two large eyes and a mark in the middle which serves as an indication for a nose and also a tilak. This primitive conception is symbolic of the simplicity of tribal beliefs and ceremonies. The red colour has been attributed to dyes made out of iron ores or ocher which are quite plentiful in the state and would thus have been used by the tribes for anointing and decorating the sacred figures of worship. The ornate letters in the background mean "Maa" or Mother in the Oriya language. They were a much later addition although the Oriya script did change very slightly over the millennia.
In this form she is very similar to the conception of the Goddess Kali at Kalighat
. Although the two are embodiments of the same divinity, Kali is the Goddess of death and destruction whereas Maa Tarini is the force of life. Interestingly, two of the names of Kali are Maa Tara and Maa Tarini. The famous Hill Shrine of Maa Tara Tarini the breast shrine of adi Shakti in Ganjam district of Orissa represents the force of Both Kali and Tarini and known as Maa Tara Tarini.
Maa Tarini.Maa Tarini.Maa Tarini.Maa Tarini.Maa Tarini.Maa Tarini
. Jainism was the state religion for millennia with occasional breaks notably the reign of Ashoka
who played a major role in propagating Buddhism
around the world.
Although the residents of the cities and towns of Kalinga were either Jains or Buddhists, the tribes who populated the hinterland maintained their primitive religions and do so to this day. With the advent of Hinduism, a lot of the rites, customs and even Gods of the tribes were admitted into the Hindu pantheon, chief among them being Lord Jagannath
and Maa Tarini. While Jagannath was pronounced as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Kali Yuga
, the Goddess was decreed as one of the embodiments of Shakti herself.
The exact sequence of events which led to the installation of the Goddess at her chief shrine in Ghatagaon are still a matter of debate among historians. The reason is that the events have been recorded by poets in devotional works dedicated to her which thus also include some mythological events. Nevertheless the gist is as below:
Near about 1475 A.D. King Purusottam Dev ruled Kalinga. Once on a trip to South India he chanced upon Princess Padmavati of Kanchi and proposed marriage. The proposal was accepted and the minister of the king of Kanchi traveled to Puri to finalise the arrangements. The Rath Yatra was in full swing and he saw the king sweeping the chariots of the deities. Marriage to a sweeper was unacceptable and hence the marriage was called off. Insulted, the King of Puri declared war on Kanchi. He was defeated in the first war. He prayed to Lord Jagannath and it is believed that he was directed to appoint one Govinda Bhanja as his Senapati or General of his army. Bhanja was in fact the son of the king of Keonjhar and was staying in Puri because of differences with his father.
Under the command of Bhanja, the army marched towards Kanchi. In the forests near Vijayanagar, the horse of Bhanja refused to move any further. Whatever may be the real reason it is here that Bhanja and thus Hindu society as a whole was introduced to Maa Tarini and she was admitted into the Pantheon.
, after Sita was abducted by Ravana, Lord Rama and his brother Lakshmana started searching for her. When they reached the forest, near which later Vijayanagar was founded, Rama worshipped Devi Durga and sought her help. The Goddess instructed Rama while he was meditating that he must not see her when she appears or she will turn to stone. Rama could not control himself and saw her and the Goddess was embodied as a stone idol. She told Rama not to worry and call her later when she would definitely aid him.
This second puja was performed by Ravana himself near Rameswaram before the Vanara Sena
could cross over to Lanka. Ravana was deemed fit because this ceremony was performed in order to achieve victory in the war to follow. In order to defeat a warrior like Ravana, the performer had to be a Brahmin
who performed the ritual of Trisandhya
everyday without fail. At that time, Ravana was the only such Brahmin in all of Creation.
After Lord Rama left, the stone idol was worshiped by the local tribes. Thus the ancient tribal Goddess was described as a Hindu Goddess.
Mythological accounts hold that Maa Tarini agreed to follow Bhanja provided he never looked backed all the way from Puri to Keonjhar. Bhanja agreed and the two left on horseback. Near the Baitarini river in modern Keonjhar district, Bhanja could no longer hear the following horse. He looked back and Maa halted then and there and asked Bhanja to construct her temple and worship her there.
is associated with all manifestations of Shakti throughout the Indian subcontinent. Utkal, a coastal kingdom which was carved out of the former Kalinga
is described to have many important shrines and areas for the practice of Tantra. Maa Tarini is the presiding deity.
, Orissa and Bengal
. Although both human sacrifices are banned and criminal, sporadic incidents do occur. Tribes in many parts of India sometimes sacrifice virgins to the Goddess.
Sacrifice of large animals like buffaloes are banned but goats are still sacrificed in some remote temples.
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...
and is one of the chief presiding Goddesses in Oriya culture. Her chief shrine is in Ghatagaon, Keonjhar District, 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...
.
Conceptualisation of Maa Tarini
Maa Tarini is the presiding deity for all Shakti and Tantra peeths or shrines in Orissa. The origin of Shakti or worship of the Earth as a female embodiment of power is found across many cultures all over the world. In Orissa which has a high density of tribal population whose religious practices have been assimilated into the mainstream Hindu faith, the worship of natural formations such as rocks, tree trunks, rivers is widespread among the tribeTribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s.
Maa Tarini is always depicted as a red face with two large eyes and a mark in the middle which serves as an indication for a nose and also a tilak. This primitive conception is symbolic of the simplicity of tribal beliefs and ceremonies. The red colour has been attributed to dyes made out of iron ores or ocher which are quite plentiful in the state and would thus have been used by the tribes for anointing and decorating the sacred figures of worship. The ornate letters in the background mean "Maa" or Mother in the Oriya language. They were a much later addition although the Oriya script did change very slightly over the millennia.
In this form she is very similar to the conception of the Goddess Kali at Kalighat
Kalighat
Kalighat is a locality of Kolkata, India. One of the oldest neighborhoods in South Kolkata, Kalighat is also densely populated and vibrant -- with a rich history of cultural intermingling with the various foreign incursions into the area over time....
. Although the two are embodiments of the same divinity, Kali is the Goddess of death and destruction whereas Maa Tarini is the force of life. Interestingly, two of the names of Kali are Maa Tara and Maa Tarini. The famous Hill Shrine of Maa Tara Tarini the breast shrine of adi Shakti in Ganjam district of Orissa represents the force of Both Kali and Tarini and known as Maa Tara Tarini.
Maa Tarini.Maa Tarini.Maa Tarini.Maa Tarini.Maa Tarini.Maa Tarini
Entry into Hinduism
Kalinga, the ancient kingdom whose domain overlaps to a great extent with modern day Orissa, was initially ruled by JainsJainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
. Jainism was the state religion for millennia with occasional breaks notably the reign of Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
who played a major role in propagating Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
around the world.
Although the residents of the cities and towns of Kalinga were either Jains or Buddhists, the tribes who populated the hinterland maintained their primitive religions and do so to this day. With the advent of Hinduism, a lot of the rites, customs and even Gods of the tribes were admitted into the Hindu pantheon, chief among them being 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...
and Maa Tarini. While Jagannath was pronounced as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...
, the Goddess was decreed as one of the embodiments of Shakti herself.
History of The Shrine at Ghatagaon
The exact sequence of events which led to the installation of the Goddess at her chief shrine in Ghatagaon are still a matter of debate among historians. The reason is that the events have been recorded by poets in devotional works dedicated to her which thus also include some mythological events. Nevertheless the gist is as below:
Near about 1475 A.D. King Purusottam Dev ruled Kalinga. Once on a trip to South India he chanced upon Princess Padmavati of Kanchi and proposed marriage. The proposal was accepted and the minister of the king of Kanchi traveled to Puri to finalise the arrangements. The Rath Yatra was in full swing and he saw the king sweeping the chariots of the deities. Marriage to a sweeper was unacceptable and hence the marriage was called off. Insulted, the King of Puri declared war on Kanchi. He was defeated in the first war. He prayed to Lord Jagannath and it is believed that he was directed to appoint one Govinda Bhanja as his Senapati or General of his army. Bhanja was in fact the son of the king of Keonjhar and was staying in Puri because of differences with his father.
Under the command of Bhanja, the army marched towards Kanchi. In the forests near Vijayanagar, the horse of Bhanja refused to move any further. Whatever may be the real reason it is here that Bhanja and thus Hindu society as a whole was introduced to Maa Tarini and she was admitted into the Pantheon.
Mythological origin of the Goddess
In the RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, after Sita was abducted by Ravana, Lord Rama and his brother Lakshmana started searching for her. When they reached the forest, near which later Vijayanagar was founded, Rama worshipped Devi Durga and sought her help. The Goddess instructed Rama while he was meditating that he must not see her when she appears or she will turn to stone. Rama could not control himself and saw her and the Goddess was embodied as a stone idol. She told Rama not to worry and call her later when she would definitely aid him.
This second puja was performed by Ravana himself near Rameswaram before the Vanara Sena
Vanara Sena
According to Hindu beliefs the Army of Monkeys or vanaras, helped Lord Rama fight the armies of Ravan of Lanka in the epic Ramayana.It also was the name of an organization of young Indian boys and girls created by the young Indira Gandhi in the late 1920s and early 1930s, as the children's wing of...
could cross over to Lanka. Ravana was deemed fit because this ceremony was performed in order to achieve victory in the war to follow. In order to defeat a warrior like Ravana, the performer had to be a Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
who performed the ritual of Trisandhya
Trisandhya
Trisandhya is a 1972 Bollywood drama film directed byJohn Abraham and Raj Marbros. The film stars Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury and Waheeda Rehman....
everyday without fail. At that time, Ravana was the only such Brahmin in all of Creation.
After Lord Rama left, the stone idol was worshiped by the local tribes. Thus the ancient tribal Goddess was described as a Hindu Goddess.
Continuation of the History
Bhanja thus worshiped the Goddess for her blessings in the war to follow. Bhanja was victorious and both the princess and the Goddess were brought back to Puri. After the king of Keonjhar died, Bhanja returned to his state and took the idol of the Goddess with him.Mythological accounts hold that Maa Tarini agreed to follow Bhanja provided he never looked backed all the way from Puri to Keonjhar. Bhanja agreed and the two left on horseback. Near the Baitarini river in modern Keonjhar district, Bhanja could no longer hear the following horse. He looked back and Maa halted then and there and asked Bhanja to construct her temple and worship her there.
Rites and rituals
The practice of TantraTantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
is associated with all manifestations of Shakti throughout the Indian subcontinent. Utkal, a coastal kingdom which was carved out of the former Kalinga
Kalinga
Kalinga is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Tabuk and borders Mountain Province to the south, Abra to the west, Isabela to the east, Cagayan to the northeast, and Apayao to the north...
is described to have many important shrines and areas for the practice of Tantra. Maa Tarini is the presiding deity.
Sacrifices - Human and Animal
Sacrifices have been offered to many deities all over the world and the same is true in India. The practice however persisted well into the 20th century in many shrines in AssamAssam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Orissa and Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. Although both human sacrifices are banned and criminal, sporadic incidents do occur. Tribes in many parts of India sometimes sacrifice virgins to the Goddess.
Sacrifice of large animals like buffaloes are banned but goats are still sacrificed in some remote temples.