Maa Tarini - History of The Shrine at Ghatagaon

History of The Shrine At Ghatagaon

The exact sequence of events which led to the installation of the Goddess at her chief shrine in Ghatagaon are still a matter of debate among historians. The reason is that the events have been recorded by poets in devotional works dedicated to her which thus also include some mythological events. Nevertheless the gist is as below:

Near about 1475 A.D. King Purusottam Dev ruled Kalinga. Once on a trip to South India he chanced upon Princess Padmavati of Kanchi and proposed marriage. The proposal was accepted and the minister of the king of Kanchi traveled to Puri to finalise the arrangements. The Rath Yatra was in full swing and he saw the king sweeping the chariots of the deities. Marriage to a sweeper was unacceptable and hence the marriage was called off. Insulted, the King of Puri declared war on Kanchi. He was defeated in the first war. He prayed to Lord Jagannath and it is believed that he was directed to appoint one Govinda Bhanja as his Senapati or General of his army. Bhanja was in fact the son of the king of Keonjhar and was staying in Puri because of differences with his father.

Under the command of Bhanja, the army marched towards Kanchi. In the forests near Vijayanagar, the horse of Bhanja refused to move any further. Whatever may be the real reason it is here that Bhanja and thus Hindu society as a whole was introduced to Maa Tarini and she was admitted into the Pantheon.

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