Tarapith Temple

The Tarapith Amavasya Annual Festival is the most important festival here which is celebrated in August every year.

Prarthana in Tarapith Temple

Early morning at 4’O clock Devi Tara wakes up from her sleep with the symphony of shahnai and other musical instruments and after that the process of her worship gets start. According to rules, a group of followers open the door to the garbha griha or sanctum sanctorum, wash her feet, clean the room and undo her bed. After this ghee, honey and aromatic oil are applied to the sacred stone idol before washing it with the water of the pure Jivitkund. After bathing the idol it is embellished with a saree, mask and a garland of skulls. Then starts the mangalarti and the morning bhog or morning food offering. Again in the afternoon puja is commenced and annabhog or rice offering is presented according to the norms of tantric sadhana. The annabhog consists of atap rice, five kinds of dishes, fried fish, meat of sacrificed goat, payesh or rice pudding and karanbari or alcoholic beverage. After the annabhog, the temple is closed for some time for the deity to take some rest. The sandhya aarti takes place in the evening followed by the making up of her bed for sleeping on a beautifully adorned bedstead.

Tarapith Temple is usually crowded by the poor from the nearby villages waiting for their daily free meal. The priests adorn vermillion on the forehead of the goddess. Speck of this vermillion is put on every devotee’s forehead as Ma Tara’s blessing. Devotees offer food, silk sarees and sometimes bottles of whiskey to the goddess. Puja is done to bring out the peaceful motherly nature of Ma tara for the benefit of her devotees. After a ritual sacrifice, sometimes devotees smear a little blood on their forehead as a mark of respect for the goddess.

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.

Tarapith Temple Daily Pooja Schedule

Open all days of the week: 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM