Badi Patan Devi Temple, Patna
Patan Devi, also called Maa Patneshwari, is the oldest and one of the most sacred temples of Patna, Bihar. It is regarded as one of the 51 Siddha Shakti Pithas in India. According to Puranic legends, the ‘right thigh’ of the corpse of Devi Sati had fallen here when it was chopped off by Lord Vishnu with his ‘Sudarshan Chakra’. The ancient temple, originally called Maa Sarvanand Kari Patneshwari, is believed to be the abode of the goddess Durga.
The name of the city Patna is widely believed to have been derived from the name of the Badi Patan Devi Temple. Some, however, doubt whether the name of Patna is derived from this temple. According to them, the name is derived from patan, which means a town and Patna was a big place of export and import.
History
Mythology
According to the Hindu mythology, it is believed that the right thigh of Devi Sati fell in Magadh and it is said that the part of the body of Sati fell in both Maharajganj and Chowk areas in Old Patna city. At these places, the Badi Patan Devi temple and the Chhoti Patan Devi temple were built. According to the Tantra Charumani, the small images of the Bari Patan Devi Temple, Patna are the Goddess Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati. In Hindu mythology, these Goddesses protected Putraka, who was the founder of Pataliputra. A strange stone image has been found in a tank near the Bari Patan Devi Temple, Patna. That image has been kept in the eastern veranda of the main temple where this stone is being worshiped regularly.
Bari Patan Devi
The Bari Patan Devi Temple, Patna is facing the North, towards the Ganges river. The statues of the temple are all made up in black stone. At the entrance of the temple there is a portico of dimension 1.5 ft × 15 ft (0.46 m × 4.57 m). After that there is a room of about 8 ft × 8 ft (2.4 m × 2.4 m) for gods namely, Mahakali (12 in (300 mm)), Maha Lakshmi (6 in (150 mm))), Maha Saraswati (12 in (300 mm))) and Bhairav (3 in (76 mm))).All the idols are kept on simhasans (thrones) of about 4 square in cross section and have a height of about 7 feet (2.1 m)). First three goddesses are attired in sarees.
Devotees can go to the temple at any time of the day. The temple does not distinguish between any caste or creed and hence is open for all religions and castes. The temple remains open from morning 6 am to 10 pm. Tuesday is a special day for the devotees and a large number of worshipers visit the temple. Promises are being made before the Goddess and on the fulfillment of the wishes devotees offer gifts and sarees in the temple.