Tārāpīṭh

Goddess Tārā · Birbhum district, West Bengal

Tārāpīṭh, a village on the Dvārakā river, is dedicated to Tārā, the second of the ten Mahāvidyās. The stone image of the Goddess nursing Śiva is usually covered, and devotees see a silver mask decorated with flowers.

The nearby cremation ground has long been a place of Tantric practice and is associated with the 19th-century saint Bāmākhepā, whose devotion to Tārā is still celebrated. Many traditions count Tārāpīṭh as a Śakti Pīṭha, though not all classical lists include it. Kauśikī Amāvasyā and Kālī Pūjā are the biggest days.

Tradition says that after drinking the poison of the cosmic ocean, Śiva felt it burning in his throat, and Tārā took him on her lap and nursed him like a mother to soothe the pain — the scene shown in the temple’s inner image. Some traditions say Satī’s third eye (tārā, the pupil) fell here.

West Bengal · Mahāvidyā Tārā · Bāmākhepā · Kauśikī Amāvasyā

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