Jagaddhatri

Jagatdhatri or Jagaddhatri or Mahadurga (, ) is an aspect of the Hindu goddess Durga, worshipped in the Indian state of West Bengal and other states like Odisha and Jharkhand. Maa Jagadhatri, the Goddess who is revered as the protector of the world. The Jagadhatri Puja and Mela at Bhanjpur Jagadhatri Podia is the biggest festival in Baripada, Odisha. Jagaddhatri Puja is particularly famous at Chandannagar, Rishra and Singur in Hooghly, Krishnanagar in Nadia and Ichhapur Nawabgunj in North 24 Parganas in West Bengal where it is celebrated as a five-day-long festival. Her worship and rituals are derived from Tantra. It is believed that her worship frees her devotees from ego and all other materialistic desires.

According to the Puranas, Jagadhatri is the incarnation of Siddhidhatri. She is also said to be the combined form of Sri Bhuvaneshwari and Durga. In some Tantras and in Shiva Purana she is known as Mahadurga. In some texts she is also known as ''Uma Haimavati''. In Bengal, her puja is celebrated as the comeback of Devi, specifically in Krishnanagar, Chandannagar, Rishra, Singur and Guptipara.

Legends

The legend of Jagaddhatri is inspired from a tale in the '' Kena Upanishad''. In the ''Katyayani Tantra'', the following legend is told. After the goddess Durga killed Mahishasura, the gods of Svarga forgot about her powers. So, in order to test them, Parvati appeared before the gods Agni, Vayu, Varuna, and Chandra, who considered themselves invincible and were engulfed by ''ahamkara'' (ego). She asked them to move a tiny blade of grass. Vayu failed to pluck it; Agni failed to burn it. Every god failed at the task. In the end, they understood that the Goddess is the source of all power in the universe; even theirs. The goddess appeared before them as Uma, riding on a lion. The goddess is equated with Brahman in the narrative. The goddess gave the ego of the gods the form of an elephant. Jagaddhatri is depicted sitting on a lion with an elephant under them. The elephant, symbolizing ''ahamkara'', lies under the paws of her ''vahana'' the lion, who symbolises courage, valour and the strength to overcome any challenges, including one's internal struggles with the ''Shada Ripus'' ("the six enemies").
She is named as ''Mahadurga'' in Shiva Purana. While in some other texts, as ''Uma Haimavati''.

Her dhyana mantra describes her weapons, vahana and her iconography. She is sitting atop a lion, wearing different jewelry, in her four hands Devi holds bow, arrow, chakra and Samkha. She is reddish like the rising sun and she is wearing a snake garland. Her reddish colour and weapons are the symbols of raja guna but this is not for destruction and going to war. Rather this is to keep the world focused on Ritam & Satyam.

In her stotram (Jagadhatri Strotram), she has been invoked as Adhara bhutah, Dhritirupah, Dhurandharah, Dhruvapadah, Shaktistah, Shaktirupah, Shaktacharpriyah, Shaktivigrahe. "You must believe in the Ishwara rupa. Do you know the meaning of Jagadhatri rupa? She is carrying the world. If she stops then the world will get destroyed" is said by Sri Ramakrishna.

She sustains the universe through her Yoga shakti. Naga/Sarpa is the symbol of Yoga & Upavitam is the symbol of Bramhin. Devi is yogini. She is using the world through her maha yoga shakti. The act of rescuing the world is her ''lila''.

It is said that she had killed the elephant demon, ''Karindrasura''. Its mention is not found in her dhyana mantra but in her idol an elephant is seen below her mount lion, who is none other than ''Karindrasura''.
It's said that once the Airavata of Indra was cursed and threfore it took birth as Karindrasura. He became a very strong demon. Once, he saw goddess Ganga and was attracted to her beauty. Hence, he lusted for her, but Ganga rejected his proposal. Karindrasur became very furious about the rejection and forced Ganga to come with her. To save her life she prayed to goddess Mahamaya and she appered in the form of Jagatdhatri. A vicious battle took palace between the goddess and the demon, where Goddess Jagatdhatri slayed Karindrasura with the help of her chakra, Bow and arrow. From then she was known as ''Karindrasurnishudini''. After that Airavat was free from the curse.

Another encounter mentions that Karindrasura became an important and powerful official of Durgamasura whom Goddess Durga killed by taking form of Jagaddhatri during the battle of Durga and Durgamasura.

Another story tells that when Mahishasura took form of an elephant during the battle with Goddess Katyayini, he came to be known as ''Karindrasura'', who was slayed by Goddess in form of Jagddhatri with Chakra, bow and arrow. In this encounter Mahishasura and Karindrasura are indifferent, just with different animal forms.

History of worship

There are variations regarding the history of worship of the goddess in Bengal. The popular narrative states that the worship was begun by Maharaja Krishnachandra of Krishnanagar, Nadia. However, as per local history, the worship of goddess Jagatdhatri was first established by Chandrachur Tarkamani of Santipur who made an idol of the goddess at the behest of Raja Girishchandra. At the time only ''ghat puja'' was conducted at Krishnanagar, Nadia in Bengal. Idol worship of the goddess was initiated in the village of Bramhasason, which is located in Haripur in Santipur, Nadia. Furthermore, the Jaleshwara temple of Shantipur (1665) and Raghaveshwara Temple (1669) have the idol of the goddess inside the sanctum sanctorum as well as carved on the temple walls. So, her worship may have been known in Nadia long before Krishna Chandra.

At Krishnanagar, Raj Rajeshwary Jagatdhatri Puja is one of the oldest in Bengal. As per local history, Maharaja Krishnachandra was arrested by Nawab Siraj-ud-Dullah once for not paying taxes on time. He was released from prison during the day of Vijaya Dashami. Having missed the entire festivity of Durga Puja in his kingdom, Maharaja became extremely sad. Seeing her devotee sad, the ultimate mother, Goddess Jagaddhatri gave Maharaja a vision and the king commenced the ritual of Jagatdhatri Puja in his native place. The puja was performed by Raj Rajeshwary (Raj Mata in Bengali language) and before the start, a Jagatdhatri Puja was donated by Maharaja Krishna Chandra named Maa Jaleshwary at "Malopara Barowary". The worship of the goddess was later resumed by Sarada Devi, wife of Ramakrishna.

The Jagatdhatri puja of Bose family and Chatterjee family, Palpara and Bhavanipur, deserves a special mention in this regard. The puja of Bose family initially used to be held in their ancestral home in Murshidabad. Folklore has it that this puja was started in 1788. The puja was later shifted to its present location in Chandannagar, where many of the family members now live. The exact history of the deity is unknown, but family records date it back to 1640. In Chatterjee family this puja originates from 1700 in Srirampur which later was shifted to Chatterjee's official ancestral home in 1936 by Hari Mohan Chatterjee. For over 40 years it remained the centre of attraction during the festivities. After the demise of Hari Mohan Chatterjee the puja was continued by 3 generations by Shashanka Chatterjee, Nilanka Chatterjee (Son of Late Shashanka Chatterjee) and at present by Tirthanka Chatterjee and Ankita Chatterjee (children of Nilanka and Jayeeta Chatterjee). In 2023 the puja got shifted again for the 2nd time in 200 years to Bangalore, marking a historic shift to South of India. The Puja is continued by Chatterjees with all grandeur and tradition dating back centuries.

Researcher Mohit Roy has noted that Jagadhatri vigraha from Barisal is from the 8th Century. Currently, the vigraha is in the Ashutosh Museum (Kolkata). One must note that such Simha-Vahini vigrahas have been discovered plenty, particularly from western Bengal.

The first textual mention of Jagadhatri puja comes from '' Kalviveka'' of Smarta Shulapani, dated approximately from 1375 to 1460. Later Smartas "Brihaspati Raymukut" and "Srinatha Acharya Churamani" have mentioned the goddess in their work.

The time in which she is worshipped, Shukla Paksha of the pious month of Kartika, especially the Tithi of Navami, is very auspicious. In ancient times, it was known as Chandika Puja. According to Smritisagara and Mahamohopadhhaya Panchanan Tarkaratna, it is the day to worship Uma.

The oldest temple of the goddess is in Somra (Hooghly), also known as Mahavidya temple. It was established in 1621 CE. The worship of the goddess takes place in the Dekhuria village as well in Birbhum. Still older is the Jagadhatri puja of Baligram village (Jiaganj, Murshidabad), dated back to five hundred years ago. Bandyopadhyay family of Mirhat of Kalna are observing Jagadhatri puja for more than four hundred years. Jagadhatri puja is the main Puja of Dhatrigram, Baidyapur & Mirhat of Kalna. The 350-year-old Chandrapati family's kuladevi is Jagrata.

Festivities

Jagatdhatri Puja is very popular in Krishnanagar, Chandannagar, Tehatta, Rishra, Singur, Howrah, Bhadreswar, (Sutragarh-Santipur), Boinchi and Ashoknagar-Kalyangarh.

The beauty of the festival in Chandannagar is mainly due to the collaborative conception between the French and Bengalis. Remarkable feature remaining its procession, second largest in the world after Rio de Janeiro's, with its magnificent lightings.

The Jagadhatri puja of Krishnanagar is a visual and spiritual celebration to see. During this time the city adorns itself with lots of lights, flowers, pandals and the likes. Each year more than 5 lakh devotees come to Krishnanagar to be a part of this grandiose festival. There are about 150-175 clubs and barowaris which organise Jagadhatri puja in the city. The Jagadhatri puja of Krishnagar is a perfect blending of devotion, emotion and celebration. The most popular Jagadhatri puja is the "Burima" of "Chasa Para", which was started in 1772. This deity is called the Tirupathi of Krishnanagar. Each year the idol is embellished with 150 kg gold and 150 kg silver ornaments with more than 10 benarasis and jamdanis. Besides "Buri Maa", "Choto Maa" (the deity of Kathalpota Barowari), "Mejo Maa" (the deity of College Street Barowari) and "Jaleswari" (the idol of Malo para Barowari) are also very famous.

Jagadhatri Mela

After ''Ratha Yatra'', ''Jagadhatri Mela'' at Bhanjpur ''Jagadhatri Podia'', is the biggest ''mela'' of Baripada, Odisha. It is the festival of Maa Jagadhatri, Goddess of the whole world. There is an 8–15 day mela (carnival) also known as mini ''Bali Jatra'' named after Cuttack's ''Bali Jatra'' which takes place at ''Jagadhatri Mela Podia'', Bhanjpur, near the Bhanjpur railway Station during the month of October–November. It is celebrated on ''Gosthastami''. It is also referred to as another ''Durga Puja'' as it also starts on ''Asthami tithi'' and ends on ''Dashami tithi''. The date of the ''puja'' is decided by the luni-solar Hindu calendar.

In 2012, the "Sarbajanin Maa Jagadhatri Puja" has been started from 21 November. But the ''mela'' continued from 26 November to 7 December (for the first time it was for such a long period of 13 days). As the ''puja'' was celebrating its Diamond Jubilee for completing 60 years.

In 2013, the "Sarbajanin Maa Jagadhatri Puja" was started on 11 November. But to commemorate the loss of Odisha, specifically Mayurbhanj district and Baripada due to Phailin and post Phailin flood, the Cultural Program and it's live telecast on Blue Sky was cancelled. Still. the "mela" was held from 14 to 25 November 2013.

Every year its main attraction is the ''Puja Torana'' (''Pandal'') and the ''Mela''. The ''Pandal'' is decorated as a famous monument in 2011 it was a miniature of US Capitol Building, United States. This year, it is Lalitha Mahal, Mysore. From the year 2000 it has been a tradition to decorate the ''torana'' as a special infrastructure. Tajmahal in Agra, Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, the ''Titanic'', Lotus Temple in New Delhi, Golden Temple in Punjab and many other monuments were also mimicked in the previous years since 2000 to 2006. As a tribute to 26/11 Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai attack victims, the ''torana'' of the year 2009 is a lookalike of that hotel.

In literature

Goddess Jagatdhatri has been mentioned in many novels by Bengali authors, poets and novelists. Goddess Jagatdhatri figures in the historical fiction '' Anandamath'' written by Bengali novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. It is the same literary work from which the national song of India ''Vande Mataram'' originates. In the novel, Kali, Durga, and Jagatdhatri are depicted as three aspects of 'Bharat Mata' (Mother India) – Jagatdhatri as the mother used to be, Kali as the mother now is, and Durga as the mother will be in future. The trio of goddesses are shown as the object of worship of a group of ascetics who form the protagonists of the story.

References

Further reading

* McDermott, Rachel Fell (2011).
Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal: The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals
'

External links

How Chandannagar celebrates Jagadhatri Puja?: An article by Dr. Subhendu Prakash Chakrabarty

{{Authority control

Hindu goddesses
Forms of Parvati
Durga Puja
Religious festivals in India
Festivals in West Bengal
Festivals in Odisha
Hindu festivals
Bengali Hindu festivals
Odia culture