Tara Tarini Temple

Tara Tarini Temple is a famous Hindu shrine of Adi Shakti on Kumari hills (other names of the hill is Purnagiri, Ratnagiri, Tarini Parvat) at the bank of Rushikulya river near Purushottampur in Ganjam district of Odisha. It is situated around 28km from Brahmapur city. Maa Tara Tarini is worshipped as the Breast Shrine (Sthana Peetha) of Adi Shakti Sati Devi here. The temple is one of the oldest pilgrimage centers of Mother goddesses and one of the four major Shakti Peethas and Tantra Peethas of India.

Abode of Tara Tarini

Adi Shakti Maa Tara Tarini have been regarded as the presiding deity (Ista-Devi) in many households in Odisha. This holy shrine is on the eastern coast, about 30 km from the commercial nerve centre of Odisha, Brahmapur. The historically famous Jaugada Rock Edict of Emperor Ashoka and the pious river Rushikulya, which has been described in the Rig Veda as Gangayah Jyestha Bhagini (the elder sister of the Ganga), are also present near this shrine enhancing its religious and cultural significance.

Since time immemorial, Adyashakti has been worshipped here as Devi Tara Tarini on the blue capped holy mountain of Tarini Parvat/Kumari hills/Ratnagiri/Purnagiri. At the hilltop, a beautiful stone temple is the abode of Maa. 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 two fully celebrated and beautiful brass heads as their Chalanti Pratima or their Living Image.

About Shakti Peetha

he shrine is considered one of the most revered Shakti Peethas & Tantra Peethas and major pilgrimage centres of Shakta(Shaktism)sect of Hinduism.

Shakti Peethas are holy abodes of Parashakti. This is believed to have originated from the historical story, of falling of the body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Shiva carried it and wandered. There are 51 Shakti Peethas and 26 Upa Peethas spread across the Indian sub-continent. 51 Shakti Peethas are believed to be representing the 51 letters in Sanskrit alphabet. Sati Devi’s breasts are believed to have fallen here in Tara Tarini. The Shakti of the shrine is addressed as Maa Tara Devi.

The origin of Shakti Peethas are related to the history of Daksha yajña and Sati’s self-immolation. The Shakti Peetha shrines lead to the development of Shaktism in India.

History

It is known from the Mahabharata that, before the commencement of the Mahabharata war Lord Sri Krishna had advised Arjuna to offer prayer for victory at Shridevi Kupa or Bhadrakali. Bhadrakali originated from the limbs of Sati like the other four major Adi Shakti Peethas, which existed during the time of the Mahabharata or around 6000 years ago. This is the oldest data/information we get till date, regarding the existence of the shrines originated from the limbs of the divine corpse of Devi Sati.

According to available historical sources the fall of Kalingan Empire and its capital Sampa (Samapa) in the Kalinga war around 2300 years ago by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, strengthened the grip of Buddhists in this part of India. The then Sampa was hardly 7 km from Tara Tarini Hill Shrine. So, scholars believe that Tara Tarini was worshipped as the principal deity (Ista-Devi) of the mighty Kalinga Empire. After Ashoka conquered Kalinga scholars found it a famous centre of Buddhism. The region of Ganjam near the bank of river Rushikulya was an active Buddhist site as shown from the Special Rock Edicts of Ashoka found at Jaugada at a distance of 4 km from Tara Tarini Hill Shrine. The name Tara (Buddhism), an important deity of Mahayana Buddhist Pantheon, is suggestive of Buddhist influence. An image of Buddha in meditation, present inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple lends credence to the claim of this site as an ancient centre of the Buddhist Shakta cult.

According to the texts of Mahayana Buddhists, in the initial days, the Buddhists didn’t believe in the worship of Goddesses or in Pratimapuja (Idol Worship). But, the ecclesiastical texts of Mahayana’s reveal that from 1st century AD after the fall of Kalinga, for the first time the Mahayana Buddhists accepted the worship of Mother Goddess Tara. So there is seldom any doubt that the Buddhists have learned the Tara Puja concept from this shrine. The Bouddha Tantrik texts, texts of Vajrajani sect and Hindu Tantrik texts also attest these facts. Scholars believe that in the primary days the Buddhists worshipped Tara Tarini, the principal seat of Tantrik sect in Hinduism at that time, as Bouddha Tara, and later on included ‘Tara’ as the Tantrik deity or spouse of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in their belief system. Gradually this ‘Tara’ worship spread to different parts of the world.