Situated at a distance of about 8 km from Agartala, stands the famous temple Chaturdasa Devata Mandir. The temple was built by the Maharaja of Tripura, Govinda Manikya in the year 1667- 1676 A.D. The temple houses 14 idols of  Gods and Goddess including Siva, Durga, Han or Vishnu, Ma or Lakshmi, Vani or Saraswati, Kumar or Kartikeya, Ganapa or Ganesha, Brahma, Prithivi, Abdhi or Samudra, Ganga, Sikhi or Agni, Kamadeva and Himadri.

Location Tripura , West Tripura, Agartala

Legend

According to the legends, the tyrant King Tripur was killed by Lord Shiva. Once his widow, Harabari came to the river to bath when she found that the fourteen Gods are chased by a maddened buffalo. She helped the Gods to fight and win against the buffalo. The Gods decided to visit the palace with Harabari as a token of gratitude and lived there. Thus, during the annual Kharchi Festival, buffaloes are sacrificed since then.

Architecture

When King Krishna Manikya Debbarma moved to his new capital at Agartala, he created a new temple for the Fourteen Gods. The newly built temple was designed like a Bengal aatchala architecture. The flat roof with a taper in the middle reminds one of the Buddhist stupa.

Culture

Tripura, one of the notable North-Eastern states of India, stands apart for enshrining their century-old heritage and the lineage of their culture. Once, the princely state, Tripura maintained its independence even during the British Raj in India. In 1974, Tripura accepted to be recognized as an Indian State.

70% of its population is Bengalis and the rest of the 30% belongs to the different tribes, residing in this area over the centuries and much before the Vedic times.

Tripura is accredited for its enriched culture including dance, music, musical theater and other performing arts. The people here are grateful to the great poet Rabindranath Tagore for promoting Tripura in his various literary creations like Rajarshi, Mukut, and Visharjan.

Their handicrafts, way of flamboyant dressing entice travelers from other states and abroad.

Talking about their temples, the Manikya Dynasty established almost all the important Hindu shrines across Tripura.

Darsan Info

Devotees visit this temple at Tripura during the Kharchi Puja only in the month of July and August, during the month of Shravana every year.

Darsan Dresscode

Though, no such restrictions are there for dress code, it is suggested to wear conservative clothes for both men and women when they are visiting the temple.

Famous Festival

July -    Kharchi Puja

Temple Rituals

The 7-day Kharchi Puja is observed during the month of Shravan to clean Mother Earth after her Mensturation during the Ambi Bachi.

Special Rituals

The Kharchi Puja is one of the primary festivals celebrated by the Hindus in Tripura. This is a 7-day ritual that is observed from the 15th day post Ambu Bachi or locally called Amu Pechi. Ambu Bachi is believed to be the time during when Mother Earth menstruate. The Kharchi puja which means "cleaning sin" is observed at the Fourteen Gods temple at Tripura since its hay days of consecration in order to clean of the unholy Mother Earth post- menstruation. Menstruation is considered unholy per Hindu traditions and many conservatives strongly follow such rules even today. Thus, this century-old tradition of recovering the holiness of the Gods and Mother Earth is observed with the Kharchi Puja.

One of the main rituals that is followed during this Karchi Puja is the "Snana". All the 14 Gods, consecrated in the form of heads are taken to the nearby Gomti River to bathe. The images of the Chaudadevatas (14 Gods) are made of Astadhatu (eight metals including gold, silver, lead, tin, copper, iron, antimonyand and zinc.)

Additional Info

 

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