Tripura Sundari Temple, Tripura

A historical temple dedicated to Devi Tripureshwari. Tripura Sundari Temple is located in the city of Udaipur, the former capital of the Tripura region of India. The Hindu temple is famously known as Matabari and is among the 51 Shakti Peethas of the Goddess Sati all over the nation. The Shakti (Goddess) is worshipped as Tripurasundari here, and the accompanying Bhairava is Tripuresh. This pithasthan is also named Kurma Pith as it is set upon a hillock that appears like the bulge of a tortoise (Kurma) and the shape is called Kurmapṛṣṭhakṛti. This amazing temple is around 500 years old, thus keeping it the oldest temple existing in the city.

History

The chief legend of Tripura Sundari relates to the creation of the Shakti Peethas. Sati, the daughter of Prajapati Daksha, was married to the god Shiva versus his wishes. Daksha arranged a great yajna but did not invite Sati and Shiva. Uninvited, Sati reached the Yajna site, where Daksha ignored Sati as well as Shiva.

Sati was not able to withstand this insult. So, Devi Sati gave her life by jumping into the fire of Havan organized by her father King Daksh. When Lord Shiva was running around the planet carrying her body Lord Vishnu divided the body into 51 parts utilizing his Sudarshan chakra. Out of those 51 parts, from which the ‘Left Toe’ of Sati fell to this place. Here Sati is called Tripurasundari and Lord Shiva is called Tripuresh.

King Dhanya Manikya was the one who established the Tripura Sundari Temple. Legend believes that he really established the temple for God Vishnu however due to a discovery in his dream in which Deity Tripura Sundari advised him to start her worship on the hill. The king realized that Vishnu and Shakti are various kinds of similar Supreme Deities (Brahman). He brought the idol of the goddess created of kasti stone from Chittagong (Bangladesh), created it, and dedicated the sanctuary to Devi Tripurasundari. The spiritual place is acknowledged as the congregation of people from various religious beliefs and cultures. The temple holds an extremely special function that people from any religious belief can offer puja to the deity. In the historical time, Shamsher Gazi attacked the town and caught it during the 18th century. In his bio “Gazinama,” it is mentioned that he also offered puja to the Goddess Tripurasundari. It is a custom that even a Muslim neighborhood of Udaipur imparts their very first crops and milk to the goddess.

Importance

Tripura Sundari temple in Udaipur (Tripura) is among the 51 Shakti Peeths, which are known to be warehouses of spiritual energy. The site of the temple is in the shape of a tortoise, which has wonderful significance in Sanatan Dharma. In spiritual scriptures ‘Kurma’ (Tortoise) represents steadiness which is a quality needed to accomplish the greatest position.

Architecture

The temple was built originally by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya in the year 1501, but, this temple was built throughout the reign of Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya Bahadur in 1896-1990.

The temple of Tripura Sundari or Matabari is west-facing. The main entrance is in the west. However, there is a narrow entryway present in the north. With a height of 75 feet, the temple is covered by 4 pillars in 4 corners. There are 7 pitchers/pots positioned holding one flag, each on the top of the temple. The construction of the temple has an extraordinary mix of middle ages Bengal with Char Chaala (4 slanted rooftops) and has a square-shaped temple with a cone-shaped dome. The main temple is integrated into the Bengali Ek-Ratna design with a cubical edifice and a three-tier rooftop with a finial. There is a religious pond considered as Kalyan Sagar on the eastern side of the temple where huge fishes and tortoises cohabitate in peace.

Kalyan Sagar in Tripura Sundari Temple

The lake of Kalyan Sagar is located on the eastern side of the Tripura Sundari Temple. It is covered in 5 acre area. It was built after the 124 years of establishment of the temple. There are various kinds of water animals that stay in the lake, such as big tortoises that come near the shore trying to find crumbs of food that tourists feed to these reptiles. The devotees who visit the temple feed biscuits and puffed rice to these reptiles. The lake is considered religious, and devotees worship the tortoises and fishes present here. The water fountain is also structured inside the lake, which makes it appear much more attractive.

Idol

2 similar pictures of the very same deity exist in the sanctum of the temple, which are identified as Tripura Sundari (5 feet high) and Chhotima (2 feet high). The sign of Maa Kali is worshiped in the form of ‘Soroshi’ and is made of Kasti stone, which is reddish black in color. She has a long face with quite little eyes, and 4 hands, standing on the chest of Lord Shiva crowned with a golden coronet. The goddess of Chhotima presents the Idol Chandi. The kings of Tripura brought it to the battleground according to the legend.

Fair & Festivals

Diwali is among the most appreciated and advantageous festivals in the town. A really well-known Mela (fair) is performed near the temple each year. It is enjoyed and celebrated with full interest and worship. More than 2 lakh devotees came from all over the nation to offer their worship to Goddess Kali during this time. The other most outstanding festivals at the temple are the time of Durga Puja and Kali Puja.

• Pilak Festival
• Kharchi Festival
• Neermahal Festival
• Diwali Festival
• Garia Puja
• Pous Sankranti
• Asokastami

Other Attractions At Udaipur

• Bhuvaneshwari Temple
• Lake City: Udaipur is referred to as Lake City because of lots of natural water bodies present here, including Dhani Sagar, Amarsagar, Kalyansagar, Mahadeb Dighi, Jagannath Dighi, etc.
• Ruins of Rajbari, Rajnagar
• Satsang Bihar, Rajarbag
• Treehouse, Tepania Eco Park

Temples near Tripura Sundari

• Tripura Sundari Temple (Matar Badi-Mothers Abode)
• Jagannath-Badi Temple
• Mahadev-Badi Temple
• Satsanga Bihar, Udaipur
• Loknath Temple
• Ramkrisna Asram
• Basanti Mandir
• Ramthakur Asram
• Bhubaneswari Temple

How to Reach

• By Air: The nearby Airport is Agartala Airport and It is 64 km from the temple.
• By Train: The nearby Railway station is Agartala railway station which is about 50 km from the temple.
• By Road: Udaipur city has good connectivity with all the main cities in Tripura. Since Agartala is located at a distance of around 60 km, it has a regular bus service, which can be taken to reach the temple.

Temple Timings

	Morning Timing	Evening Timing
Summer Time	06:00 AM to 01:00 PM	02:30 PM to 09:00 PM
Winter Time	07:00 AM to 01:00 PM	02:30 PM to 08:30 PM

Tripura Sundari Temple Video