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An Ethereal Command
One of the main attractions and landmarks in this small state is the
Tripura Sundari temple, 55-km south of the state capital of Agartala.
Regarded as one of the 51 Peethams (Holy Sites) Of Hindu Pilgrimage, this
shrine is also known locally as "Mata Bari" (literally, the
temple of the Mother Goddess) and traces its history back to over 500
years.
Some names of deities of the Hindu pantheon, like Goddess Lakshmi,
Parvati and Saraswati, are commonly found in all parts of the country.
Some others can be identified as typical of one region or another,
although they are variations and appellations of the same Goddesses. The
name Tripurasundari is one Goddess that belongs to the latter category. It
is quintessentially South Indian and refers to Parvati, Lord Shiva's
consort.
Legend
Legend has it that king Dhanyamanikya who ruled Tripura in the closing
years of the 15th century, had a revelation one night in his dream,
ordering him to install Goddess Tripurasundari in the temple that stood on
a hilltop near the town of Udaipur. The temple was already dedicated to
Lord Vishnu, and the king was confounded initially, unable to decide how a
temple dedicated to Vishnu could have an idol of the consort of Shiva.
However, the oracle repeated the divine injunction to the king once again
the following night, thereafter the ruler decided to obey the ethereal
command, not withstanding the fact that Vishnu and Shiva typified two
different sects of religious following. Thus, the Tripura Sundari temple
came into being in the year 1501, and is now exactly 500 years old.
This legend is recounted as one of the example of how solidarity between
the two sub groups, the Vishnu and Shiva sects, was known and fostered
even during medieval times.
About The Temple
Goddess Parvati (also spelt as Partvathi) is worshipped here as
Tripurasundari, Tripureshwari and "Soroshi" (a local variation
of the name). The temple is a small, square edifice, measuring just 24
square feet (7 square metres) at the base with a height of 75 feet (24m
approximately). The structure of the shrine resembles that of a tortoise,
with a roof shaped like the humped back of a tortoise. For this reason,
the shrine is also known as "Koorma Peetha" (Koorma meaning
Tortoise).
To the east of the shrine, at the foot of the flight of stone steps that
lead uphill to the sanctum, is the Kalyansagar pond that the king had
ordered to be constructed.
Rites & Rituals
Spreading over 6.4 acres, with a length of 224 yards and width of 160
yards this large expanse of water adds a dimension of great beauty to the
temple precincts, with hills rising picturesquely in the background. The
water is full of Tortoises, some of them quite large, that come up to the
shore looking for crumbs of food that visitors buy at the nearby stalls
and feed to these amphibians, as part of the rituals.
As in other typical Hindu shrines, stalls along the approach road sell
flowers and baskets of offerings that visitors can buy and take up to be
offered to Tripura Sundari and returned as Prasadam. A specialty here is
the sweet, brown, condensed milk Pedas that devotees carry back from the
temple, to be distributed among family and friends back home. The red
hibiscus flower is also prized as an offering.
Animal Sacrifice
Tripura is largely a tribal region and some customs typical of tribal
communities have crept into the rituals of worship at the temple. One such
custom is the offering of animal sacrifices (as in Bengal and in the
famous Kamakhya temple in Guwahati). Goats are brought with garlands round
their necks, as offerings. A notice board lists the charges for buffalo
sacrifices, but these are obviously rare today. There are elements here of
the Durga cult and rites, so popular in the eastern regions including
Bengal, signifying an aggressive manifestation of the goddess as against
the "Shanta-Swaroopini" image of Parvathi's incarnations, as at
Madurai, for instance.
When To Visit
All though the shrine draws devotees of all denominations and sects all
year round (including some foreigners who are fascinated by the tribal
heritage of Tripura and adjacent states of the Northeast, the crowds are
particularly thick during Deepavali or Diwali (festival of lights), when a
major fair turns the place into a tourist attraction.
Temple Architecture
Tripura has a long history of Shiva worship, stretching back to the early
centuries of the millennium. This Tripurasundari temple is one of the
major architectural relics, but there is also the Bhuvaneswari temple on
the banks of the river Gomti, which poet Rabindranath Tagore is said to
have written about and immortalised in his songs, following a visit to the
place. The Bhuvaneswari temple too is built in the same style of
architecture as the Tripura Sundari temple, with a square shaped roof that
curves down at the corners, giving the impression of a tortoise.
King Dhanyamanikya also built a Kamalasagar Kali temple on another
hilltop, close to what is now the Bangladesh border, not far from the
Tripurasundari temple. This lake too enhances the beauty of the
hill-studded panorama. Perhaps the largest rock cut relief images of Shiva
have been recently discovered in Tripura, at a place called Unakoti in the
north, further reinforcing the history of Saivite (also spelt as Shaivite)
traditions in the state. These rock cut carvings are said to date back to
the 9th century.
India maybe as a nation, linguistically and geographically demarcated
into different states and regions, but elements of her heritage, like the
Tripura Sundari temple in Tripura, underscore the essential commodity in
our cultural and mythological heritage, between the south and north, east
and west.