Divine Maa Tara Temple Tarapith Birbhum, West Bengal
Shakti Peethas, as I explained in my post Bakreswar Shakti Peetha, are places where body parts of Goddess Sati are believed to have fallen after Lord Shiva refused to give up her dead body. Goddess Sati is believed to have immolated herself after her father Daksha humiliates her husband Lord Shiva. So deep is His love for His wife that He is angry and goes into a trance with Her dead body on his shoulders. Lord Vishnu cuts down the corpse little by little till nothing is left and Lord Shiva calms down.
Tara Temple in Tarapith Shakti Peetha
Tara in Bengali language means, eye ball; it is believed Goddess Sati’s eyeballs have fallen here, hence the name ‘Tarapith’. This is the third Shakti Peetha in my blog, you can see the others here: Shakti Peeth, India. Kankalitala, Bakreshwar.
The old form of the temple was totally worn out and in bad shape. Consequently in the year 1225 the temple was renovated and provided aatchala (8 roofs) form. We got to see a freshly painted facade. The panel depicts the statue of Goddess Durga and her full family, the left panel depicts the war of Kurukshetra (Mahabharata) and on the right there are stories from Ramayana.
The temple gets huge number of visitors everyday. The stories associated with this temple are many and hence people visit this sacred place with different sankalp (resolutions).
Two forms of Tara in Temple
There are two Tara images in the sanctum.
One of them is: During manthan (churning of cosmic ocean) for nectar Shiva had drunk the poison that had emerged to save the universe. To relive him of the intense burning in his throat, Sati – in the form of Tara – breast fed Shiva to relieve him of the effect of poison in his throat.
The stone image of Tara depicted as a mother suckling Shiva is the primordial image. This image is camouflaged by a three feet metal image.
Other is the Goddess in Fiery form. We get to see this metal image.
It represents Tara in her fiery form with four arms, wearing a garland of skulls and a protruding tongue. She is crowned with a silver crown and with flowing hair. This outer image is wrapped in a sari and decked in marigold and red hibiscus garlands. The forehead of the metal image is adorned with red kumkum (vermilion). Priests take a speck of this kumkum and apply it on the foreheads of the devotees as a mark of Tara’s blessings.
How to Reach Tarapith Shakti Peetha
We reached Tarapith from Siuri, which is 50kms approx to its north-east. The roads were good in April 2013. There are plenty of hotels there. Accommodation there shouldn’t be a problem.
Tarapith Temple is 220kms north of Kolkata. It can take 6hours approx by road. Kolkata airport is well connected by air from all over. There are frequent trains and buses to Siuri and Tarapith. Alternately you can hire a private car too. We did that.
Nice info indrani ,I have been to 2 shakti peeth only ,mansadevi and kangradevi
Beautiful Place!!! Thanks for sharing…
I love that you provide so much information and history behind these lovely temples. That makes these places you visit more intriguing and interesting. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Quite informative!
Nice post …have been there so many times..the photographs are wonderful! what I think Indrani Tarapath -er bikhyato misTi ( especially lyangcha ) chhobi gulo-o dite paarte..it would be fun 😀
truly amazing photographs!
As I have always highlighted , You tend to go deep into things and observe things which usually escape the normal eyes…
I went to Tarapeeth during my childhood. Still remember blood flowing in the drain from the animal sacrifice. Have they stopped it yet ?
Great descriptions of shakti peethas with photos. Nice to know about one more Shakti peeth 🙂
Oh the temples of India! Beautiful sculptures….
Amazing
Indrani, thank you for sharing the info on this Shakti Peethas. The Temple is beautiful! Happy Holidays and enjoy your week!
Nice post. I too have visited few shaktipeetas.
What festive colours and lovely shots!
I really like the details and colour on the building. Very nice.
Have a Merry Christmas 🙂
Beautiful temple. The painting and miniature sculptures are awesome.
Interesting post and great shots of the temple.
Amazing photos!
Welcome Indrani!
Very beautiful legend. Fantastic post.
Absolutely wonderful photos.
Greetings from far away Polish.
Lucia
Nice Post on Tarapith.I have visited a few times.
Such a beautiful and colorful temple!! Wonderful captures and a fascinating post as always, Indrani!! Wishing you a lovely holiday season and a very Happy New Year!
Sylvia
Nice post!
How nice to see the renovated and freshly painted facade . It's a beautiful piece of architecture 🙂
Such fascinating legends.
Amazing ones, superr
Well written post Indrani! Happy holidays…
Very Nice Beautiful, A G+ for ur Post and Have a Nice Day. . . 🙂
Another beautiful post on a Shakti Peetha. Wishing you Merry Christmas and very Happy, Joyous and Prosperous New Year. Best Wishes Ram
Amazing. I am so bad at mythology, I did not have the faintest clue of something like this.