Month long Chaitra Jatra ends at Tara Tarini Hill Shrine

With the chanting of the holy names of Maa Tara Tarini, recitation of hymns, Mantras and Jagna on the Fourth Tuesday, the month long Chaitra Jatra came to an end at the famous Tara Tarini Hill Shrine near Berhampur in Odisha. Considered as one of the biggest religious fairs in India, the Chaitra Jatra at this hill shrine has centuries old history behind it. It is noteworthy that of the 4 Adi Shakti Peethas and other major Shakti Peethas in India, it is only in the Tara Tarini Peetha, considered as the Sthana Pith (Breast Shrine) of Adi Shakti that the Chaitra Jatra is held over the entire month of Chaitra whereas in most other shrines it is held for just one day or the Nine days coinciding with Navratra culminating on Ram Navami.

On the last Tuesday, following the age-old traditions, the Sevakas opened the sanctum sanctorum of the temple past the midnight on Monday. After Snana (the divine bath), Majana and Maha Arati the Amruta Kalasha or the first Bhoga was offered to the goddesses at around 3.55 a.m in the morning. Then the goddesses went for a Parikrama of the temple. After the completion of the Parikrama, large number of devotees who gathered on the hilltop to take the first glimpse of Maa were allowed for Darshan. The Darshan continued non-stop till the late evening of Tuesday.

Like other Tuesdays of this month, around two to three lakh devotees gathered on the fourth and last Tuesday of Chaitra month in the Shrine. The large gathering of devotees and their prayers filled with emotion and enthusiasm surcharged the atmosphere of the ancient Shrine.

Around one thousand barbers were engaged in tonsuring the heads of around five thousand newborn babies on this occasion.

As per traditional beliefs devotees preferred to climb the 999 holy steps to reach the hill top though transportation facilities to the hill top by Arial Rope way and special Buses were made available. They climbed 999 steps as a penance to get the blessing of the deities.

As per initial reports, so far around 20 lakh people have visited the shrine for Darshan during the month, including the four Tuesdays. People from far off places like North and South India and from the neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Chhattisgarh, many Sadhakas from the Tara Pith and other famous Shakti Shrines of India, many Buddhists and Hindu researchers from Nepal and many people from abroad were present during the Chaitra Mela.

A unique feature of this Shrine is that large number of people flocked to the Shrine from various nearby villages in their bullock carts along with their kith and kin. There were also large number of people seen feasting all across the Shrine as a thanksgiving gesture to the Goddesses. The fair comprising rural artisans had large number of buyers and onlookers. Many devotees who could not take the pain of reaching the hilltop made it a point to worship the sacred Ratnagiri Mountain (Tarini Parvat) from a distance.

It may be noted that over the years the number of visitors to this hill shrine have been growing steadily during this Chaitra festivals. As a result, large number of visitors and mainly the elderly persons who find it difficult to reach the hilltop by taking the overcrowded steps and special buses generally prefer the aerial Ropeway to the hill top which is first of its kind in Eastern India. But, the capacity of the existing aerial ropeway is limited. So, sensing the need to accommodate the ever increasing number of devotees, the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) has decided to raise the capacity and frequency of Aerial rope-way service in collaboration with ‘USHA Pvt. Ltd’ a reputed Rope Way service provider in the country. It is expected that by this time next year the carrying capacity of the Aerial rope Way will increase many folds.

On the occasion of the last Tuesday the District administration, Temple administration and Development Board made wide range arrangements like drinking water, Prasad, Transportation, Primary health care facility, traffic control, and police deployment for peaceful Darshan of the devotees. The office bearers, volunteers of the TTDB, different NGOs, voluntary organizations, media houses, corporate houses and local residents extended their helping hand through out the month to the devotees who came from various parts of the country.

Pratistha Utsav of Grand temple at Tara Tarini to be held in March

Traditional ritualistic inaugural ceremony of the grand new temple dedicated to Adi Shakti Maa Tara Tarini will be held from March 03-09, 2011. This was decided at a general body meeting of the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) held at Tara Tarini Hill shrine. The Law and Rural Development Minister, Government of Odisha Shri Bikram Keshari Arukh presided over the meeting. Ganjam District Collector and Vice President of TTDB, Shri V. Kartikeyan Pandian, Secretary TTDB Shri Pramod Panda and other office bearers of TTDB, members of the Technical committee TTDB and senior officials of Government of Odisha were present on the occasion.

It is believed that Taratarini Sthana Pitha (Breast Shrine) is one of the ancient most and among the four major Shakti centers in India. It bears a history of not less then 5000 years. After the formation of the Tara Tarini Development Board the oldest Shakti Shrine got the much needed attention and owing to that in the last 7 years the number of pilgrims visiting to the shrine has gone up significantly. Last year more than 20 lakh devotees and tourists visited the hill shrine during the famous Chaitra Yatra in the month of Chaitra.

The new temple on the hilltop replacing the old temple of 18^th Century, built by one of the historic and iconic figures in the religious history of Odisha Shri Basu Praharaj, is being built as part of the measures initiated to transform the hill shrine into a major religious- tourist destination of the Country. It is important to mention that during its more than 5000 years old history the temple has come up again and again.

The new temple is unique as it is a modern temple completely built adhering to the tenets of ancient Odishan temple architecture. Construction of the temple started in 2003. It is a ‘Rekha' style temple and bears intricate carvings. Sculptor Padmavibhusan Raghunath Mohapatra was the master architect of this modern temple built up in ancient form. Its major building material was sandstone which was abundantly used in the ancient temples of Orissa. Like the traditional temples, large black granite slabs were used as lintels for the new temple. These black granite slabs were procured from Buguda region of Ganjam district. The finishing work of the construction is on and within next one-and-half months total construction work of the main temple will be completed. The new Rekha style temple at the hill shrine has an elevation of about 68 ft. above the hilltop. The sandstone slabs used for the construction of the temple were procured from Ganjam and Nayagarh districts.

To cater to the needs of lakhs of visitors and to improve the communication facility on the lines of Tirupati and Vaishno Devi Hill Shrines the work on the new ghat road to the hill top is also under way.  The new road will be less steep and wider than the existing old road. The road is being laid at a cost of Rs. 5 crores by the Rural Development Department of government of Odisha. Another ring road is also being laid around the Tara Tarini hill Shrine. These new on going projects are also scheduled to be completed by the end of February, 2011 much before the commencement of the famous Chaitra Festival.

Devotees make beeline on the concluding day of Chaitra festival in Taratarini hill shrine

With a mammoth gathering and marked by devotional celebration on the fifth and last Tuesday of the auspicious month of Chaitra, the month long famous and biggest annual Chaitra festival at the ancient Taratarini Hill shrine came to an end. The ritualistic worship of the devotees and invocation of divine benediction charged the atmosphere with an exhilarating blend of spirituality and an all pervading solidarity.

It is notable, that all the Tuesdays of the month of Chaitra are days of celebration at this hill shrine and devotees gather in lakhs from the cross section of the country to take a glimpse of Adi Shakti Maa Taratarini (Sthana Peetha of Mata Sati and one amongst the 4 major ancient Shakti centers in India) to eradicate evil from the world and to fulfill all their worldly desires.

Like the other Tuesdays of the month there was also heavy rush on the last and fifth Tuesday on the hill top temple as it also happened to be Chaitra Purnami and the last day of the holy month of Chaitra. Darshan for the devotees started in the specially decorated sanctum sanctorum of the hill top temple after the midnight of Monday at around 3.00 a.m and continued up to late evening.

It is important to note that after the formation of the Tara Tarini Development Board this famous Breast Shrine got the much needed attention and owing to that in the last 7 years the number of pilgrims visiting to the shrine has gone up significantly. Last year more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine during the entire month of Chaitra. This year the number swelled further. During five Tuesdays of the month around 20 lakh devotees and tourists visited the Sthana Peetha. However, the figures available from various unofficial sources, particularly from the local media reveal that this year’s gathering has surpassed the records of earlier years and even surpassed the 20 lakh figure mark anticipated by the board.

It a known fact that despite the development initiatives undertaken with active participation of the people in the last 7 years, the existing infrastructure is proving inadequate and the significant growth of tourists and visitors has come as a big challenge for the Taratarini Development Board (TTDB). Being aware of this challenge the present Tara Tarini Development Board Chairman and RDC Southern Division Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector and deputy chairman of the Board Shri VK Pandian and other board members have decided to focus on the time bound completion of the ongoing projects of the shrine and to take up more number of developmental projects for the benefit of the growing number of visitors. To keep pace with this, the Board has approved a number of new projects recently. Some of the prioritized list of works proposed by the TTDB to be taken up for the convenience of devotees and tourists are…………

• For the benefit of devotees steps would be taken next year to arrange around 5000 tents with all other basic facilities for the temporary accommodation of at least 50,000 people.

• Dedicated bus service to the hill shrine for smooth transportation.

• Permanent accommodation facility for the visitors on the foot hill.

• The work of the hill top temple complex with four Parshwa temples and boundary wall to be completed in a time bound period.

• Completion of administrative office and ultra modern lavatory complex within a month on the hilltop.

• Construction of Mundan shade on the hilltop.

• Further development of Arial Rope-way.

• Construction of outer protection walls and River side retaining wall to check land sliding and soil erosion at the hilltop.

• Construction of huge parking space at the hilltop.

• Lighting arrangements at the hilltop and the ways leading to the hill top temple.

• Widening of stone steps and arrangement of public utilities/ rest houses.

• Further widening of the existing road to the Hilltop.

• Maintenance of eco-system in and around the sacred hill by huge plantation in its nearby areas etc.

This year the biggest fair of Orissa at this shrine has passed off peacefully without any untoward incidents. TTDB thanks the local administration, volunteers, social organizations and local people for their excellent support during the month. The media (both electronic and print) which ensured that the happenings of the festivals reach those people who could not physically attend the festivities at the hill shrine of Maa Tara Tarini and their devoted work is praise worthy. TTDB appreciates their tireless efforts. By R P Tripathy

Sea of devotees throng TaraTarini Hill Shrine on 3rd Tuesday of Chaitra

Lakhs of devotees thronged Tara Tarini hill shrine near Berhampur city up by the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB); this hill shrine, on third Tuesday of Chaitra and on the first day of Navaratri. It may be noted that the four Tuesdays of Hindu month of Chaitra are days of festivity at this hill shrine. On this Tuesday more than five lakh devotees had reached the hill shrine. There was heavy rush as it was also day for the start of Navaratra festivities. There were visitors from other states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand as well as some NRI families. Following major transformation due to developmental projects taken has now become a major centre of religious tourism in south Orissa.

Chaitra month

It may be noted that last year during the month of Chaitra more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine. The TTDB authorities hope this year the devotees would increase further. The festivities had started at this hill shrine from Monday evening. Throughout the night there were cultural programmes to entertain the visitors to the shrine. Although this hill shrine boasts to be having the only ropeway to a hilltop in the State, yet most of the devotees due to their traditional belief decided to climb to the top of the hill shrine. They walked on the ghat road or used the steep stair case. They climbed 999 steps as a penance to the deities.

Rural fair

A rural fair was on at the foothill. Urbanites who had reached the spot as picnickers enjoyed the village fair. Forgetting mental blockades related to hygiene for some time they relished fresh sugarcane and colourful sweets sold by the roadside vendors at this rural fair. The beautification and developmental works were taken up at the hill shrine by the TTDB from donations from the public. The State government in cooperation with the Ganjam district administration has formed the TTDB for development of this hill shrine into a major tourist destination. This board includes eminent persons of Orissa especially from southern region. The TTDB has now replaced the old temple with a new one in the traditional ‘Rekha' style of Orissa.

Source: The Hindu

Source: The Anupam Bharat