Devi Tripurasundari, Tripura, and Western Law.
This is Devi Tripurasundari, one of the deities belonging to the ten Mahavidyas. She is also considered as the most potent incarnation, or simply the saguna-roopa of Adi Parashakti (the supreme being in Shaktitva, and also the feminine aspect of Para Brahman)
Devi Tripurasundari is considered as a great unifier in Shaktism. She, along with SadaShiva (or Tripuratanka) is responsible for the Pancha-Krityas — Sristi or creation, Sthithi or protection, Samhara or destruction, Thirodhana or concealment of the world in Maya and Anugraha or final liberation.
The Ten Mahavidyas
The Mahavidyas (literal meaning “Great Wisdoms”) are a group of ten aspects of Adi Parashakti in Hinduism. Shaktas believe, “the one Truth is sensed in ten different facets; the Divine Mother is adored and approached as ten cosmic personalities,” the Dasa-Mahavidya (“ten-Mahavidyas”).
Devi Tripurasundari is worshipped in many temples across India, noteworthy being the Tripurasundari Mandir, which is in the ancient city of Udaypur, about 55 km from Agartala, Tripura.
The temple is considered to be one of the 51 Shakti Peethas; and according to the Legend of Daksha Yajna and Sati, her right leg fell here.
Maa Tripurasundari is worshipped by all people of Tripura, from the Twipras (Debbarmas, Reangs, Jamatias, Murasings) who are the original inhabitants of Tripura, and the Bengalis of Tripura, to the Tripura Royal Family, currently headed by Buba-gra (King in Kokborok) Kirti Pradyot Debbarma Manikya.
Devi Tripurasundari as a unifier in Sanatan Dharma.
When I started the #SaveOurTripurasundari campaign, I saw differences between different sects of Hindus. Some Hindus supported the ban on animal sacrifice, citing the practices of their sects they are in.
But they don’t realize that Devi Tripurasundari is a great unifier in Sanatan Dharma, especially two contrasting sects — Vaishnavism and Shaktism.
- According to Brahmanda Purana, Vishnu became the elder brother of Parvati (manifestation of Tripurasundari) and helped her to be the consort of Shiva.¹
- If you go to Tripurasundari Mandir, along with her, Vishnu is worshipped too in the form of Shaligram².
- The Tripurasundari Mandir is built atop a hillock, which is in the shape of the back of a tortoise (kurma). In Shakti traditions, this is the holiest possible site for a Shakti temple. Even some priests consider the Kurmapṛṣṭhākṛti (as it is called) as the manifestation of Kurma-avatar of Vishnu.³
- According to the legend of the temple, as written in the Rajmala,King Dhanya Manikya, who ruled over Tripura in the closing years of the 15th century, had a revelation one night in a dream in which Goddess Tripura Sundari instructed him to shift her idol from Chittagong, now in Bangladesh, and initiate her worship on the hillock near Udaypur, the then capital of the kingdom. The king found out that a temple on the hillock was already dedicated to Lord Vishnu. He was in a dilemma, unable to decide how a temple dedicated to Vishnu could have an idol of Shakti. The following night, the divine vision was repeated, with Tripura Sundari coming along with Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. The king understood that Vishnu and Shakti were different forms of the same Supreme Deity (Brahman). Thus, the temple of Tripura Sundari came into being.
So here’s some food for thought — Both Lord Vishnu and Goddess Tripurasundari are being worshipped together under the same roof. Then why the Vaishnavites are having difficulty in accepting Shakti worshippers?
Rituals, traditions, and practices may differ between sects of Sanatan Dharma. But the fundamental principle is that all of these reach to the same — the ultimate Spiritual Consciousness.
Devi Tripurasundari as an annihilator of Western thoughts.
Whenever Hindu practices are questioned and challenged, templates of Western thinking are put up. Like in the Tripura HC ban on animal sacrifice, the ritual was questioned based on animal rights.
PETA would be very proud of this court, it seems!
But then we have to ask this — Does the court have the right to decide on what Devi Tripurasundari wishes to partake in her offerings? If not, doesn’t it infringe upon her rights as a living person?
The Sabarimala judgment likewise can be questioned in the same regard — as a clash between “women’s rights” and “a person’s individual rights to allow/disallow anyone in his/her property”. I discussed this in the article below.
In the Tripurasundari judgment, the same clash of Western ‘virtues’ can be seen — between “animal rights” and “a person’s rights to eat anything he/she desires”.
But then, all of these can be discussed only when this aspect of our rituals is established in any such debate — Pranā-prāthistha. Our gods living in our mandirs aren’t just idols. They are living deities. They are alive, and interact with us directly when we are close to attaining spiritual consciousness.
Studying the case of animal sacrifice ban in Tripurasundari Mandir
On 26th September 2019, The Hon’ble Tripura High Court has banned animal/birds sacrifice in the temples of the state observing that the animals also have the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
“Sacrifice of an animal in a temple, not being an essential part of religion, is also violative of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”
I suspected some lacunae in its judgment, especially being the generalization of Sanatan Dharma like a white band, while our religion is essentially a spectrum. Hence, I read through the details of it, which I have elaborated in a twitter thread given below.
One of the biggest problems which I had in accepting this judgment was that it was not a religious debate on the court, which it should have been as it was deciding on a particular ritual in the worship of Devi Tripurasundari. Instead, it became a social debate, where discussion on animal rights, aesthetics, constitutional morality was discussed. Also, no expert in Hindu scriptures was called in for the debate.
The judges, as well as the petitioner, had a gala time in chiding and terming our rituals as “superstitious”. They also stated that the right to freedom of religion is guaranteed, but is restricted subject to “public order, morality, and health”. But the Hon’ble Tripura High Court has no objections in the miracles, believes and superstitions of other religions.
What is more distressing was the comment that sacrifice cannot be permitted as Tripureswari temple is being promoted as an “international tourist destination” for people of all beliefs and faiths.
This legislation isn’t limited to this.
The ban on animal sacrifice extended to all Hindu temples in Tripura, and also in the annual Durga Puja festival too.
Another prominent temple where the ban has been implemented is the Chaturdasha Mandir. Literally meaning “the temple of 14 deities”, here 14 Kokborok deities, which has later been amalgamated with Hindu deities, are worshipped.
The fourteen deities were the royal deities of the Tripura Royal Family, which is equally revered by all people of Tripura. They are -
- Brahma (Burasa),
- Vishnu (Lampra),
- Shiva (Bikhatra),
- Durga (Akhatra),
- Lakshmi (Thumnairok),
- Kartikeya (Sangroma),
- Saraswati (Bonirok),
- Ganesha (Twima),
- Samudra (Songram),
- Prithvi (Mwtaikotor),
- Agni (Mailuma),
- Ganga (Noksumwtai),
- Himadri (Swkalmwtai)and
- Kamadeva (Khuluma).
The Kharchi Puja is an amalgamation of Hindu and Kokborok customs. The main festival of Kharchi falls in the month of Ashara, which falls between June and July. The festival stretches over seven days. During this puja, goats and buffaloes are sacrificed to appease the deities. This has also been banned, hurting the religious feelings of Twipra tribals.
The immediate aftermath
According to a Hindustan Times report, the head priest at the temple Chandan Chakraborty said that they received the order from the local administration on 5 October, the day of Saptami on Durga Puja. The priest maintained the stance that the puja was incomplete without the sacrifice.
“Without animal sacrifices, puja is not completed as it is a part of the puja in Matabari (Tripura Sundari temple). The ban on animal sacrifices is affecting our puja,” said Chakraborty.
The ban has also affected the people associated with this ritual, as the drummers and helpers have also lost their jobs in the temple.
Conclusion
The worship of Devi Tripura Sundari in Tripura spans five centuries. This is the place of convergence of Vaishnava and Shakta followers of Tripura. We do not view it as a tourist attraction, but we bow down to it in spiritual reverence. It’s an attack on our religious beliefs by institutions bred in Western standards, which has an inferiority complex over the Indic traditions. It’s an overstepping by our judiciary, who are arbitrarily enforcing Constitutional Morality without proper discussions and debate.
I am not a native of Tripura. I believe it’s my duty as a Hindu to support my fellow Hindus in Tripura, who too feel that this one-sided judgment has been an injustice.
My sincere request to all Hindus — Please dissociate yourself from any differences between each other and unite to #SaveOurTripurasundari.
Thank you.
