Tarapith
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Tarapith | |
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Temple town | |
Coordinates: 24°07′N 87°48′E / 24.11°N 87.80°E | |
Country | India |
State | West Bengal |
District | Birbhum |
Population | |
• Total | 5,000 |
Languages | |
• Official | Bengali, English |
Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
Nearest city | Rampurhat |
Website | tarapith |
Tarapith is a town and
Tarapith is also famous for Tantric saint
Geography
Tarapith is a village of Sahapur Gram Panchayet, Tarapith Police Station located on the banks of the Dwarka River in West Bengal.[2] It is located in the flood plains amidst green paddy fields. It looks like a typical Bengali village with thatched roof huts and fish tanks.[3] The town is located 6 km from Rampurhat Sub-Division in the Birbhum district. "Rampurhat" and 'Tarapith Road' are the nearest Railway stations.
Legend and importance
There are several legends narrated on the origin and importance of this place, all related to the goddess Tara deified in the Tarapith temple. A well-known legend relates to the Shakti Piths.
Another oral legend about the temple states that the sage Vashishtha practised austerities toward Tara, but was unsuccessful, so on the advice of a divine voice, he went to meet the Buddha – an avatar of Vishnu according to some schools of Hinduism – in Tibet. The Buddha instructed Vasishtha to worship Tara through the practices of vamachara. During this time, Buddha had a vision of Tarapith as an ideal location for a temple that would serve to enshrine the image of Tara. Buddha advised Vasishtha to go to Tarapith, the abode of Tara. At Tarapith, Vasishtha performed penance by reciting Tara mantra 300,000 times. Tara was pleased with Vasishtha's penance and appeared before him. Vasishtha appealed to Tara to appear before him in the form of a mother suckling Shiva on her breast, the form that Buddha had seen in his divine vision. Tara then incarnated herself in that form before Vasishtha and turned into a stone image. Since then Tara is worshipped in the Tarapith temple in the form of a mother suckling Shiva on her breast.[5][7]
Tarapith, Kalighat and
The shrine as a Sidhha Pith - Tarapith
The shrine gets its name being a Sidhha Pith. Sidhha Pith holy temples of Tara Maa. They are believed to have originated due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Lord Shiva carried it and wandered in sorrow. There are 51 Shakti Peeth all over South Asia is linked to the 51 letters in Sanskrit. The Shakti Peethas are associated with the mythology of Daksha yaga and Sati's self immolation. These shrines are important place of worship for Tantra practitioners.[8]
Tarapith temple
It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Tara Temple, Tarapith. (Discuss) (December 2022) |
The Tara temple in Tarapith is a medium-sized temple in the rural precincts of Bengal. Its fame as a pilgrimage centre with the deity of Tara enshrined in it.
The temple base is thick with thick walls, built of red brick. The superstructure has covered passages with many arches raising to the pinnacle with a spire (
The priests of the temple offer puja (worship) with great reverence, in order to reveal her motherly aspect to the devotees. Their worship blends the fierce North Indian depiction of the Sati myth of the goddess with the peaceful motherly visionary form of Tara, as seen by Buddha and his disciple Vasishtha of the Tantric tradition – the Buddhist Tara form.[11] At Tarapith, though the softer motherly aspect of the fierce goddess is emphasized. The chanting of hymns or stotrams in her praise is also a part of the devotional appeal made to the goddess.[11]
The devotees take a holy bath at the sacred tank(Jivita Kunda) adjacent to the temple before entering the temple premises to offer worship and even after the worship. The waters of the tank is said to have healing powers and even restore life to the dead.[11]
Blood sacrifice of goats is the daily norm in the temple. Devotees who offer such goat sacrifices seek blessings from the deity. They bathe the goats in the holy tank near the temple before the sacrifice. They also purify themselves by taking bath in the holy tank before offering worship to the deity. The goat is then tethered to a stake, the designated post in a sand pit, and the neck of the goat butchered with a single stroke by a special sword. A small quantity of the blood of the goat is then collected in a vessel and offered to the deity in the temple. The devotees also smear their forehead with a bit of blood from the pit, as a mark of reverence to the deity.[10]
Cremation ground
The cremation ground (maha smasan), amidst dark forest surroundings, is located on the river side at the end of town limits, away from the village life and practices of the Bengali social order. In Bengal, the cremation ground of Tarapith is also considered integral to the Shakti pith. It is believed that goddess Tara can be seen in shadows drinking blood of goats which are sacrificed every day at her altar, to satiate her anger and seek favours.[12]
Tantric practitioners believe that Tara is attracted to bones and skeletons and the cremation ground is her preferred residence. Goddess Tara's iconographic depictions show her amidst cremation grounds. Tantric practitioners have, therefore, been flocking these grounds for generations for performing their Tantric
Bamakhepa
A saint, held in great reverence in Tarapith and whose shrine is also located in the vicinity of the Tara temple, was
References
- ^ ISBN 81-208-1450-9. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ "Yahoo maps location of Tarapith". Yahoo maps. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ Dalrymple, pp. 210-211
- ^ Kinsley p. 109
- ^ a b c Kinsely, p. 106
- ^ ISBN 9780304338511.
- ^ Kinsley pp. 97-8
- ^ "Kottiyoor Devaswam Temple Administration Portal". kottiyoordevaswom.com/. Kottiyoor Devaswam. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ^ Dalrymple, p. 211
- ^ a b Kinsely, p. 110
- ^ a b c Kinsely, p. 109
- ^ Dalrymple, p. 205
- ^ a b c d Kinsely, p. 111
- ^ a b Dalrymple, p. 206
Bibliography
- Dalrymple, William (2009). Nine Lives. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. pp. 203–233. )
- Kinsley, David R. (1997). Tantric visions of the divine feminine: the ten mahāvidyās. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-20499-7.
External links
- Tarapith website
- Tarapith website
- Tarapith travel guide from Wikivoyage