Hinjilicut - Tourist Places

Tourist Places

• Taratarini Temple

It is situated on Taratirini hill near Purusottampur which is at a distance of 35 km from Berhampur. Twin Goddess Tara and tarini are worshiped in the temple on the top of a hill. River Rushikulya flows at the foot of the hill. The shrine draws huge crowd throughout the year especially on every Tuesday in the month of Chaitra. The place is well connected by regular bus service from Berhampur.

Highlights of the History of Tara Tarini Hill Shrine (Breast Shrine of Adi Shakti)

There is plethora of information available in the Hindu Religious texts, Bouddha Tantras and Hindu tantric texts regarding this shrine. Folklore, folk songs, folk stories, historical data, travel accounts and ancient literature also supply a lot of information about the origin and about the root of this ancient most Shrine. The following narrative based on these sources unveils the historicity and traces out the origin of this oldest destination of Shakti worship in India.

According to the Mythological Puranas the origin of Maa Tara Tarini is directly attributed to Daksha Prajapati’s Jagna in Satya Yuga. The famous Shakti Peethas of Bimala, Tara-Tarini, Dakshina Kalika and Kamakshi originated from the limbs of the divine Corpse of Devi Sati. Mythological sacred texts such as the Shiva Purana, the Kalika Purana, and the Devi Bhagabat (a contemporary text of the Mahabharata written by Shri Vyasa Dev around 6000 years ago) attest to this fact.

It is known from the Mahabharata that before the commencement of the Mahabharata war Lord Srikrishna advised Arjuna to offer prayer for victory at Shridevi kupa or Bhadrakali. Bhadrakali originated from the limbs of Sati like the other four major Shakti Peethas, which existed during the time of the Mahabharata or around 6000 years ago. This is the oldest data we have regarding the existence of the Shrines that originated from the limbs of the divine Corpse of Devi Sati.

According to historical sources, the fall of the Kalingan Empire and its capital Sampa (Samapa), caused by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in the Kalinga war around 2300 years ago, strengthened the grip of Buddhists in this part of India. Sampa (as it was known then) was hardly 5 km away from Tara Tarini Hill Shrine. Consequently, scholars believe that Taratarini was worshiped as the principal deity (Ista-Devi) of the mighty Kalinga Empire.

Scholars believe that after Ashoka conquered Kalinga, it became a famous centre of Buddhism. The region of Ganjam near the bank of river Rishikulya was an active Buddhist site. This was shown from the Special Rock Edicts of Ashoka found at Jaugada at a distance of 5 km from Tara-Tarini Hill Shrine. Some scholars believe that the name Tara (Buddhism), an important deity of Mahayana Buddhist Pantheon, is suggestive of Buddhist influence in Tara Tarini. An image of Buddha in meditation, present inside the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine, lends credence to the claim that this site was 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 the 1st century AD, after the fall of Kalinga, for the first time, the Mahayana Buddhists accepted the worship of Mother Goddess "Tara" and the Tara worship is prevalent in many countries like Tibat, Srilanka, Mangoliya, some parts of India etc. However, in some other countries like Japan the same “Tara” is been worshiped as “Tarni” by Buddhists. 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 to these facts. Scholars believe that in the primary days the Buddhists worshiped Tara Tarini, the principal seat of the 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.

The "Maritime History" of Kalinga also suggests the worship of Tara by the Sadhavas, merchants and seamen, before launching their sea voyage from the great sea ports at Dantapura (Gopalpur), Pallur near Chilika Lake, kalingapatna and river Rishikulya. It is important to mention that all these major Sea ports of the ancient world were very near to the Tara Tarini hill Shrine.

According to folk lore, it is around the 8th Century AD when Jagadguru Sankaracharya toured the whole country, that he discovered this Shrine. But, it did not exist in its present form at that time. After lengthy effort, Sankaracharya came to know that this ancient Shakti centre was under the control of Buddhist tantrikas. He released this Peetha from the control of Bouddha tantrikas and handed it over to Hindus.

It is known from available sources that till the 17th century, this place was out of the sight of the common man. But, according to a folk story once Maa Taratarini appeared as two sisters in the house of Shri Basu Praharaj. Basu Praharaj was a learned Brahmin of Kharida Vira Jagannathpur village in Ganjam District and one of the great devotees of the Mother Goddess, but he childless. After staying for some years, both sisters disappeared suddenly from the house of Basu Praharaj. According to the account of the villagers both the sisters traveled up to the Tarini Parvat/ Ratnagiri and disappeared there.

Basu Praharaj searched for the two sisters but did not find any trace of them. His heart broke down with grief and pain. On that night he saw a dream in which the Goddesses Tara and Tarini informed Basu Praharaj that the sisters were actually not his daughters. Instead, they were the Adi Shakti, Goddesses Tara and Tarini. The Goddesses ordered Basu to come out of his grief. They said that the time had arrived for Basu, with full devotion, to renovate the temple on the Hill Top of Tarini Parvat and to establish the deities according to the Vedic tradition.

After that divine direction Basu discovered the tracings of the ancient most presence of Goddesses Tara -Tarini on the sacred Hill Top and immediately took steps to reconstruct the temple and the Shrine.

>>Since that time, with its magnetism and sanctity, this Sthana Peetha (Breast Shrine) of Mata Sati became a centre of faith and reverence for countless numbers of people, who are in search of peace, tranquility, guidance and spiritual energy. The temple's fame spread like wild fire and it became one of the popular religious destinations for millions of devotees. (Excerpts from R P Tripathy's Research article)

The holy hill Tarini Parvata is surrounded by natural beauty. The picturesque scenery of the Shrine from the hill top down to the bank of river Rishikulya gives a thrilling experience of nature and divinity to each visitor and often captivates its mind and soul. There are holy 999 steps on the front side of the hill leading to the hill top temple and also a Pucca ghat road for vehicle on the backside of the hill facilitating devotees to reach at the Peeth.

• Karaisuni

The most beautiful and sacred place near Hinjilicut just 4 km away. It comes under Kharida panchayat. The sangam of Rishikulya and Ghodahad is there. The bamboo jungle near karaisuni is really attractive.

• Potagarh

Potagarh is a historical place which was built by Britishers in the 18th Century. Situated close to river Rusikulya, the fort is surrounded by a moat. The remnants of fort houses and a buried tunnel specks, the melody of glorious past of Ganjam city, which was cursed by a dreadful epidemic plague in the year 1815 AD. The place attracts students, scholars and history lovers due to its best geographical location close to the confluence of location close to the confluence of river Rusikulya with Bay of Bengal, it is often opted as a picnic spot too.

Sikiri Some of the import locations in Sikiri are

• Sangam- Rishikulya and Ghodahada
• Gopinath Mandir
• Madan Mohan mandir
• Shiv Mandir
• Geeta Mandir
• Thakurani Mandir

Once upon a time Sikiri was the most important place in sense of tourist attraction. The people of Sikiri used to celebrate Krishna Leela in every 12 years. Oeople throughout the country used to visit the Krishna Leela. Around 5 lakh people visit in each krishna Leela. But in the name of development the ancient monuments are demolished. And the sign of the last krishna Leela was deliberately nullified by some persons.