Chaturdasha Temple

Tripura is called the land of the fourteen Gods. As per legend and the description in the royal chronicles regarding Chaturdasha temple history, king Tripur was killed by Lord Shiva because of his irreligious acts and conduct. Harabati, the widow of Tripur, had gone to bathe in the river when she saw the fourteen Gods being chased by a wild buffalo and taking refuge on a cotton tree. Harbati helped the gods to kill the wild buffalo and save themselves. The fourteen gods and goddesses were so pleased with Harabati that they came to stay in the royal palace at Udaipur and were worshipped there. The sacrifice of a wild buffalo at the Kharchi festival has come down as a tradition since then.

The city of Udaipur fell to Muslim invaders under the command of Samser Gaji. The Muslim invaders occupied the city, and the Tripuri king had to shift his capital to Agartala on the banks of the river Haora. It is said that when King Krishna Manikya Debbarma set up a new capital at Agartala after leaving his original capital Udaipur behind, the gods and goddesses also wanted to leave the place and come with him to his new adobe. The king took their request to heart and brought them to Agartala and installed them at the newly built temple.

The King installed the heads of the fourteen deities he had worshipped in Udaipur. All idols were originally made of alloy. When one of the heads got washed away while being bathed in the river, it was replaced by a head made of silver. The temple that he had built for the fourteen deities had a flat roof that was similar to the architecture followed in Bengal at that time but has two domes that taper upwards like Buddhist stupas. The one at the back is higher than the one at the front.

All fourteen are the presiding deities of this temple as they were the gods and goddesses that were originally worshipped by the royal family of Tripura. The ritual of worshipping all of them together has been handed down from the days when kings used to rule this region. Each of them represents a god or goddess who is very important in the Hindu religion. They all have equal stature as far as the worship at the temple is concerned and are worshipped with equal reverence and together during the festivals.

The idols were originally tribal but were later inducted into Hindu customs. The typical characteristics of the idols that distinguish them from other temples are their form that signifies tribal influence. The deities are worshipped in the form of heads only i.e. none of the idols have any trunk with hands and legs. The formations of the idols start from the shoulder upwards up to the crowns that sit on the top of their heads. The idols are made of alloy except one which is made of silver. This idol is of Lord Shiva.

The fourteen deities make up the main attractions of the temple. The king of Tripura had started worshipping only these fourteen deities. The custom of worshipping only these fourteen gods and goddesses have been prevalent for a long time, and there is no other God that the people of this region worship. It is this reason there are no other shrines in the vicinity of this temple.

The images present in the temple represent only the heads of the gods and goddesses worshiped. It is only during Karachi Puja that all the fourteen gods are brought in the open for devotion in public. Thousands of pilgrims and devotees from tribal and non-tribal communities visit this place during festival. The temple consists of a Nat Mandapa and Garbhagriha.

The roof of the temple is flat, on which rise two tapering domes, the upper one stepped slightly behind the lower one. The top of the dome is crowned with Kalasa (pitcher) including Pataka (flag).