Tarapith Tourist Places list
Site Name: Tarapith.
Site Type: Temples.
Location: Tarapith is a small temple town near
Rampurhat in Birbhum district of the Indian state of West Bengal is located at
24.11°N 87.80°E.
Nearest Railway
Station: Rampur Hat.
Nearest
Airport: Kolkata.
How to Reach: By
road - One has to travel along the Panagarh Morgram expressway. If one is
travelling from Siuri, then one has to turn right just before entering
Rampurhat and travel around 11 km to reach Tarapith. By rail - the nearest
station is Rampurhat, Burdhawan, Asansol.
Hotel: There are around 350 lodges or hotels in Tarapith, mostly catering to budget tourists. There is nothing luxurious as this is a pilgrimage centre. There is no problem in getting a place to stay but many people get back to Rampurhat or move on to other places.
- Hotel Shanti Nibas (TARAPITH). checkin: 12 noon; checkout: 11.30 am. Rs 200- 1500/-.
- Tanmoy chatterjee (9830217777)
- P.maharaj, Bolpur, ☎ 9126424605. 500
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Tarapith
is a small temple town near Rampurhat in Birbhum district of the Indian state
of West Bengal, known for its Tantric temple and its adjoining cremation
grounds where Tantric rites are performed. The Tantric Hindu temple is
dedicated to goddess Tara, a fearsome Tantric aspect of the Hindu Divine Mother
the chief temples of the Goddess-oriented Shakta sect of Hinduism. Tarapith
derives its name from its association as the most important centre of Tara
worship and her cult.
Tarapith
is also famous for Bamakhepa known as the 'mad saint', who worshipped in the
temple and resided in the cremation grounds as a mendicant and practised and
perfected Yoga and the Tantric art under the tutelage of another famous saint
known as the Kailashpathi Baba. Bama Khepa dedicated his entire life to the
worship of mother Tara. His ashram is also located close to the temple. The
Tara temple in Tarapith steeped in the narrated myths is a medium sized temple
in the rural precincts of Bengal. Its fame as a pilgrimage centre with the deity
of Tara enshrined in it is due to "the temple’s founding myths, its type
of worship (which includes blood offerings), the hymns sung there, the powers
of the nearby tank, and the inhabitants and rituals of the adjacent cremation
ground".
The
temple base is thick with thick walls, built of red brick. The superstructure
has covered passages with many arches raising to the pinnacle with a spire
(shikara). The image of the deity is enshrined under the eaves in the sanctum.
There are two Tara images in the sanctum. The stone image of Tara depicted as a
mother suckling Shiva – the "primordial image" (seen in the inset of
the fierce form of the image of Tara) is camouflaged by a three feet metal
image, that the devotee normally seen. It represents Tara in her fiery form
with four arms, wearing a garland of skulls and a protruding tongue. Crowned
with a silver crown and with flowing hair, the outer image wrapped in a sari
and decked in marigold garlands with a silver umbrella over its head. 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. The devotees offer coconuts, bananas and silk saris,
and unusually bottles of whisky. The primordial image of Tara has been
described as a "dramatic Hindu image of Tara’s gentler aspect".
The
priests of the temple offer puja (worship) with great reverence to bring out
her motherly aspect to the devotees, blending the North Indian fierce depiction
of the Sati myth of the goddess with the peaceful motherly visionary form of
Tara seen by Buddha and his disciple Vasishtha of the Tantric tradition – the
Buddhist Tara form. At Tarapith, though the softer motherly aspect of the fierce
goddess is emphasized. Chanting hymns or poems in her praise is also a part of
the devotional appeal made to the goddess.
The
devotees take a holy bath at the sacred tank adjacent to the temple before
entering the temple premises to offer worship and even after the worship. The
waters of the tank are said to have healing powers and even restore life to the
dead.
Blood
sacrifice of goats is the daily norm in the temple. Devotees who offer such
goat sacrifices seek blessings from the deity. They bathe the goats in the holy
tank near the temple before the sacrifice. They also purify themselves by
taking bath in the holy tank before offering worship to the deity. The goat is
then tethered to a stake, the designated post in a sand pit, and the neck of
the goat butchered with a single stroke by a special sword. A small quantity of
the blood of the goat is then collected in a vessel and offered to the deity in
the temple. The devotees also smear their forehead with a bit of blood from the
pit, as a mark of reverence to the deity.
According
to Hindu belief, an insulted Sati, the wife of Lord Shiva, sacrificed herself
at a yagna (fire worship ritual) which was being performed by her father
Dakshmaharaj. Angry with this incident Lord Shiva started the Tandava Nritya
(Dance of Destruction). In order to prevent destruction of all creation, Lord
Vishnu used his Sudershan charka (wheel) to cut the body of Sati into several
parts. Sati's body was scattered all over what is presently the Indian
subcontinent. There are 51 such holy spots where temples have been erected and
they are called Pithas or the Shakti Pithas. Some of the Pithas are in West
Bengal. The most popular of them are Kalighat (in Kolkata}, Bakreshwar and
Tarapith.
According
to Hindu belief, an insulted Sati, the wife of Lord Shiva, sacrificed herself
at a yagna (fire worship ritual) which was being performed by her father
Dakshmaharaj. Angry with this incident Lord Shiva started the Tandava Nritya
(Dance of Destruction). In order to prevent destruction of all creation, Lord
Vishnu used his Sudershan charka (wheel) to cut the body of Sati into several
parts. Sati's body was scattered all over what is presently the Indian
subcontinent. There are 51 such holy spots where temples have been erected and
they are called Pithas or the Shakti Pithas. Some of the Pithas are in West
Bengal. The most popular of them are Kalighat (in Kolkata}, Bakreshwar and
Tarapith.
Smaller
temples at Tarapith
Bama
Niketan at Tarapith
It
is believed that the eyeball of Sati fell down at Tarapith. In Bengali, the eye
ball is called 'Tara' and that is why the name of the village was changed from
the earlier Chandipur to Tarapith.
It
is said that in ancient times Saint Bashistha attained his divinity by
meditation under a Simul tree on the bank of river Dwaraka. He attained his
divinity by worshipping the Goddess Sati or Tara (in the form of Kali)and
sitting on tha panch mundi ashan or the sitting place surrounded by 5 skulls of
different animals,like human,owl,elephant,black snake and monkey. That Simul
tree is no more there and river Dwaraka has moved away. Subsequently a number
of saints like Saint Bamakshyapa (19th century devotee) and Kamalakanta (18th
century devotee, who composed many songs, still sung) came here to worship the
Goddess for their spiritual salvation.
The
old temple of Goddess Tara is somewhat damaged. The present temple with eight
roofs was built in 1225 by one Jagannath Ray of Mallarpur village. On the main
gate of the temple the statue of Goddess Durga and her full family are carved.
On the left the war of Kurukshetra (Mahabharata) and on the right stories from
Ramayana are depicted.
Legend and
importance: There are several legends narrated on the origin and importance
of this place, all related to the goddess Tara deified in the Tarapith temple.
A well-known legend relates to the Shakti Piths. Goddess Sati, the consort of
Shiva, felt insulted when her father Daksha did not invite Shiva to the great
yagna (fire-sacrifice) he organized. Unable to bear this humiliation, Sati gave
up her life by jumping into the yagna fire. Infuriated by this tragic turn of
events, Shiva went wild. Then, god Vishnu, in order to pacify Shiva decimated
the body of Sati with his discus (Chakra). Sati's body part fell all over the
Indian subcontinent. The places where the body parts fell – have become centres
of worship of the Goddess in different manifestations. There are 51 such holy
temples which are called the Shakti Piths; in West Bengal there are many such Piths
namely the Kalighat. Sage Vasishtha had seen this form and worshipped goddess
Sati in the form of Tara. Another legend narrates: Shiva had drunk the poison
that had emerged by the churning of the cosmic oceans, 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. Another
local narration is that Vasishtha chose this place for worship of Sati as it
was already known as a Tarapith.[1][9] Among piths, Tarapith is a siddha pith,
which 
grants enlightenment, wisdom, happiness and siddhis ("supernatural
powers").
Another
oral legend about the temple states that sage Vasishtha practised austerities
to Tara, but was unsuccessful, so on the advice of a divine voice, he went to
meet the Buddha – an Avatar of god Vishnu – in Tibet. Buddha instructed
Vasishtha to worship Tara by the left-handed Tantric worship using five
forbidden things like wine and meat. During this time, Buddha had a vision of
Tarapith as an ideal location for enshrining the image of Tara in a temple
there. Buddha advised Vasishtha to go to Tarapith, the abode of Tara. At
Tarapith, Vasishtha did penance by reciting Tara mantra (hymn) 300,000 times.
Tara was pleased with Vasishtha’s penance and appeared before him. Vasishtha
appealed to Tara to appear before him in the form of a mother suckling Shiva on
her breast, the form that Buddha had seen in his divine vision. Tara then incarnated
herself in that form before Vasishtha and turned into a stone image. Since then
Tara is worshipped in the Tarapith temple in the form of a mother suckling
Shiva on her breast.
Tarapith
(related to Shaktism), Kalighat and Navadvip (related to Vishnu worship) are
considered the most important tirthas (holy places with a sacred water body)
for Bengali Hindus.
History: A
saint, held in great reverence in Tarapith and whose shrine is also located in
the vicinity of the Tara temple, was Bamakhepa (1837–1911) popularly known as
the "mad saint". Bama-khepa, literally means the mad
("khepa") follower of "left handed" ("Bama" or
"Vama" in Sanskrit) path – the Tantric way of worship. Bamakhepa,
goddess Tara's ardent devotee lived near the temple and mediated in the
cremation grounds. He was a contemporary of another famous Bengali saint
Ramakrishna. At a young age, he left his house and came under the tutelage of a
saint named Kailsahpathi Baba, who lived in Tarapith. He perfected yoga and
Tantric sadhana (worship), which resulted in his becoming the spiritual head of
Tarapith. People came to him seeking blessings or cures for their illness, in
distress or just to meet him. He did not follow the set rules of the temple and
as result was even once roughed up by the temple priests for taking food meant
as offering for the deity. It is said: Tara appeared in the dream of Maharani
("Queen") of Natore and told her to feed the saint first as he was
her son. After this incident, Bamakhepa was fed first in the temple before the
deity and nobody obstructed him. It is believed that Tara gave a vision to
Bamakhepa in the cremation grounds in her ferocious form and then took him to
her breast.Place of Interest:
- Temple of Tarama
- Cremation ground
- Bamdev Sangha Asram - a few yards from Tarama temple.You can see a graceful environment at Bamdev Sangha Asharam.At first Sri Bamakhapa idol established by Maharshi Sri Susil Kumar Bandhopadhaya in Bamdev Sangha Ashram.
Shop: There
are many shops trying to attract attention of the pilgrim-tourists.
A
good book is available at Bamdev Sangha Ashram called "Tarapith
Bhairav" by Maharshi Sri Sushil Kr Bandopadhaya.You can buy many spiritual
books from here.For any other information please contact Sri Kalayan Kr
Ghosh(secretary of Bamdev Sangha)phone No:-9830660504.Bamdev Sangha Office
Address:- 8,Pramanick Ghat Road,Baranagore,Kolkata=700036 & phone no:-
(033)2556-9696
Directions kolkata to Tarapith 219km in Google Satellite
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