Things To Know About Maa Taratarini Pitha

Insight bureau: The Maa Taratarini Temple is one of the Adi Shakti Pitha found on the Kumari Hills of Odisha. The exact location of the Taratarini Temple is on the Kumari Hills by the banks of sacred river Rushikulya in the Ganjam District in Odisha near the commercial city of Berhampur. The tale state that after the death of Lady Sati the Blue Lord lamented and enraged in loss, danced with Lady Sati’s corpse resulting in scattering of the body parts in 51 spots across India. Each of these spots became a source of pure primal energy known as 51 Shakti Pitha and among them places where tantric power is greatest is referred as Adi Shakti Pitha according to the Shaktism cult.

The tradition  of Shakti worship in India  can be traced  back to the period of  antiquity. Shakti is the mother of Universe  the highest primal power transferred to  powerful  Goddess  representing the creative force, Matrika, later  developed to Shakti or  Prakriti  under  various  names of Sati or Devi (Durga / Parvati)ad depicted in Purana-etihasa  and Tantra literature. Worship  of  Shakti , as  a  pan -Indian phenomenon ,  predates  Sanskrit influences of every kind. There  are  a  number  of  important Shakta centers in India Among those Orissa has been considered  to be one of the most  important Shakti center and  Tara-Tarini at Kumari hills on the bank of River  Rushikulya near  Purushottampur in Ganjam District is one of  the most ancient Shakti  Pithas of Odisha.

Goddesses Tara-Tarini have been regarded as the presiding deity(Ista-Devi)in almost every house in  South  Orissa. This important and famous Shakta Pitha is situated on a hill top at a distance of 30 Kms towards north of Berhampur on the south bank of river  Rushikulya. The  height of the    hill    is approximately  708ft. and the  total area spreading over 180 Acres of land. The hill is popularly known as Tara Tarini Hill(Parvata) and is surrounded   by natural beauty . The picturesque  scenery  of   the temple, from the hill top down to the bank of  river Rushikulya gives  immense pleasure and a  thrilling experience of nature and divinity to each pilgrim – visitor and often  captivates its mind  and   soul. There are 999  steps on the  front side of the hill leading to  the  temple  and also a pucca road  for vehicle  on the  backside of  the hill facilitating devotees  to   reach  at the  Pitha.  Provisions of electricity, drinking water  and  a  small   market complex at the site with articles of  puja /Archana are additional features of this Pitha.

At the hill top in a small but  beautiful temple  appears  the  famous Shrine of Tara-Tarini. Worship at this important Centre of Shakta cult has been continuing since time  immemorial . Two  stones anthropomorphized  by  the  addition  of  gold  and silver  ornaments and  shaped  to be seen  as human faces are the main Shrine   of  this  temple  which represents the Goddesses Tara and Tarini. In between them are placed two fully celebrated and  beautiful brass heads  as their Chalanti Pratima. It has been said that from a tribal cult Tara-Tarini have  been transformed into Shakti cult through the process of aryanisation.Of course the name Tara, the Primordial deity of the Mahayana Buddhist Pantheon , indicates Buddhist influence of element  in  the Tara – Tarini worship which seems to suggest the incorporation of a tribal  cult  and  Buddhist  influence before its Hinduisation.

There are many interesting stories, myths legends and folklore relating to the origin of  the Tara-Tarini Shrine  at  the  hill  top.  One of the legends  of the  puranic  tradition  connects  the Shrine to  the  Daksha Yagyan from which the famous Shakta Pitha of   Tara-Tarini  originated  from the limbs of  the Corpse of  Devi or Sati. According to this  legend once Daksha  Prajapati  the  father of Goddess  Devi  or  Sati  performed a Yagyan to which he  deliberately  did  not invite his  daughter and her husband  Lord Siva . When  Devi  knew this from Narada she  took the permission of her  husband and came  to  the  Yangyan  site  to  enquire  why her father did not invite her husband Lord Siva to  the Yagyan. Daksha spoke  insulting words to Lord  Siva which were not tolerable  to Sati. As a   result of this  she  jumped   into   the   Yagyan  Kunda  and sacrificed  her life. When Lord Siva  knew  this he became very angry and taking  the dead body of Sati he started  tandaba nrutya which  could have caused Mahapralaya ( vast destruction).  On the request of the Devatas,  Lord Brahma, Vishnu and  Sani entered the corpse of Sati and  disposed it  part  by part. Consequently Shakta Pithas originated on the places where the  organs  of  Sati  had fallen. It is said that the breasts  of Sati fell at the Kumari Hills on the  bank  of river  Rushikulya  and  thus   the famous  Tara Tarini  Shakta  Pitha  arose  at  this place.