Tripura is gearing up for Diwali and Kali Puja festival. The main center of attraction on Diwali in this state is the Tripureshwari temple of Udaipur Matarbari in Gomati district.
This temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths. This temple is also known as Matabari or Tripurasundari temple.
This temple was built by the Manikya dynasty of Tripura. Even today, puja offerings are made there in the name of the representative of the royal family.
Temple priest Haradhan Chakraborty said that Tripurasundari temple was established by Maharaja Dhanyamanikya of Tripura in 1501 AD.
He said that Mother Tripureswari appeared to Dhanyamanikya in a dream. The king saw in his dream that Tripureshwari was staying in Chittagong, present Bangladesh. Devi ordered to bring her from there.
She brought Devi from there. Later the temple was built.
The priests of the temple of Tripureshwari have also been performing puja through generations since the time of Dhanyamanikya.
Before this, a temple was already in Udaipur. Then its name was Krishna Mandir. In Udaipur, the Shalgram Shila still exists at the shrine of Mother Tripureshwari.
However, the temple has been hit again and again in earthquake.
The idol of the goddess in the temple is made of hard stone. In this temple, the mother is offered with a cloth, said the priest.
In front of the temple there is a lake called Kalyanasagar. Devotees feed the resident fish and turtles. It is said that the big toe of Sati’s right foot fell here.
Earlier this temple was in charge of the dynasty of Tripura. Kings used to bear the cost of puja. Now this temple is the responsibility of the government. A buffalo and 5 goats are still sacrificed by the government on the new moon. Every day at 11 a.m. devotees offer lamb sacrifice.
Diwali festivals and fairs are organized every year in Matabari.
In 1949, the state of Tripura became part of India. One of the conditions of Tripura’s queen Kanchan Prabhadevi at that time was that the government should take over the management of some temples. The government accepts it.
In 2018 The state government formed a trust to manage the Matabari temple.
This year also Dewali festival to be celebrated for three days in Udaipur Matabari.
