Jagaddhatri

Her story mainly found in Kena Upanishad and Katyayani Tantra. Generally, after Devi Durga killed Mahishasura, the gods of Svarga forget about her powers. So Adi shakti, maa Parvati took their test. Here, Devi appeared before Agni, Vayu, Varuna & Chandra. They thought themselves as almighty and they can do anything with their power. Like we see in Kena Upanishad, here too Devi told them take out a grass but Vayu failed. Then Agni failed to burn it. Every god one by one tried but failed. In the end, they understood that every bit of power in the universe belongs to Devi alone and their power also belongs to her. She is the power of the whole world. So all the Gods understood their fault. Goddess came before them as Goddess Uma sitting on a lion. And their ego became an Elephant. That's how we see Goddess Jagaddhatri sitting on a lion and an elephant under her.

This story has been taken is where we find mention of Devi where she has been called Jagadhatri for the first time. She is told to be the manifestation of Saguna Bramha and symbol of Sattwa Guna. Even though the world is witnessing destruction & creation every moment but it never gets destroyed totally. The reason is the Maha Shakti who protects and sustains it. She's the eternal, unaffected by the waves of time. Devi Jagadhatri is the manifestation of that Maha Shakti.

"You must believe in the Ishwara rupa. Do you the meaning of Jagadhatri rupa? She is carrying the world. If she stops then the world will get destroyed" is said by Sri Ramakrishna.

Her dhayana mantra describe her weapons, vahana and her Iconography. She is sitting atop a lion, wearing different jewelry, in her four hands devi holds bow, arrow, chakra & Samkha. She is reddish like morning sun and she is wearing snake garland. Her reddish colour and weapons are the symbols of raja guna but this is not for destruction and going for war. Rather this is to keep the world focused in Ritam & Satyam.

She sustains the universe through her Yoga shakti. Naga/Sarpa is the symbol of Yoga & Upavitam is the symbol of Bramhin. Devi is yogini. She is using the world by her maha yoga shakti. The act of rescuing the world is her lila.

In her stotram, She has been invoked as Adhara bhutah, Dhritirupah, Dhurandharah, Dhruvapadah, Shaktistah, Shaktirupah, Shaktacharpriyah, Shaktivigrahe.

Jagatdhatri Puja at Krishnanagar Royal Palace

The Jagatdhatri Puja was first started by Chandrachur Churamoni of Santipur. He was the man who first created the idol of goddess Jagadhatri. Raja Krishnachandra of Krishnanagar, Nadia in Bengal.That time only Ghat Puja Happened, But First Murti(Idol) Puja started in Bramhasason Gram, Which is located in Haripur Gram in Santipur, Nadia, Jagatdhatri Puja is very popular in Krishnanagar, (Sutragarh-Santipur), Tehatta, Rishra, Chandannagar, Bhadreswar, Hooghly, Boinchi, Ashoknagar-Kalyangarh, Kagram. In Krishnanagar, Nadia, Raj Rajeshwary Jagatdhatri Puja is one of the oldest Jagatdhatri Puja in Bengal. Legend has it that once during the Nawab raj in Bengal Maharaja Krishnachandra was arrested by Nawab Siraj-ud-Dullah for not paying tax in time. He was released from Prison during the day of Vijaya Dashami due to which the entire festivity of Durga Puja in his kingdom was spoiled so to again rejoice Maharaja started the ritual of this Jagatdhatri Puja.[1] Primarily, this puja was done by one Raj Rajeshwary (Raj Mata) Bengali language. and before start a Jagatdhatri Puja was donated by Maharaja Krishna Chandra called Maa Jaleshwary at Malopara Barowary.

But, Jaleshwara temple of Shantipur(1665) & Raghaveshwara temple(1669) has Jagadhatri vigraha inside & temple walls too have them. So, she may be known in Nadia long before Krishna Chandra.

The Jagatdhatri puja of Bose family, Palpara, deserves a special mention in this regard. The puja of this family initially used to be held in their ancestral home in Murshidabad. Folklore has it that this puja was started in 1788. The puja was later shifted to its present location in Chandannagar, where many of the family members now live. The exact history of the deity is unknown, but family records date it back to 1640.[2]

Researcher Mohit Roy has noted that Jagadhatri vigraha from Barisal(BD) is from 8th Century. Currently the vigraha is in Ashutosh museum(Kolkata). One must note that such simha-vahini vigrahas have been discovered a plenty particularly from western Bengal.

However first mention of Jagadhatri puja comes from "Kalviveka" of Smarta Shulapani(1375-1460) and later Smarta's like Brihaspati Raymukut & Srinatha Acharya Churamani too have mentioned Devi in their work.

The date in which she is worshipped, Navami of Shukla Paksha is very auspicious. In ancient times, it was known as Chandika Puja. According to Smritisagara and Mahamohopadhhaya Panchanan Tarkaratna it is the day to worship Uma.

Anyway, the oldest temple of Jagadhatri is in Somra(hooghly). It's known as Mahavidya temple. It was established in 1621 CE. The oldest Jagadhatri puja that I know of is 450+ years old. It takes place in the Dekhuria village, Birbhum. Jagadhatri puja of Baligram village(Jiaganj, Murshidabad) is older than Dekhuria village. It's more than five hundred years old. Bandyopadhyay family of Mirhat of Kalna are observing Jagadhatri puja for more than four hundred years. Jagadhatri puja is the main Puja of Dhatrigram, Baidyapur & Mirhat of Kalna. 350 year old Chandrapati family's kuladevi is Jagrata to say the least.

The Goddess of Jagatdhatri at Chandannagar day of Navami puja

The beauty of the festival in Chandannagar is mainly due to the collaborative conception between the French and Bengalis. Remarkable feature remaining its procession, second largest in the world after Rio de Janeiro's, with its magnificent lightings[3]

Jagatdhatri figures in the semi-historical fictional work 'Anandamath' written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, from which book the national song of India "Vande Mataram" is taken. In the novel, Kali, Durga, and Jagatdhatri are depicted as three aspects of 'Bharat Mata' (Mother India) - Jagatdhatri as the mother used to be, Kali as the mother now is, Durga as the mother will be in future. The trio of goddesses are shown as the object of worship of a group of ascetics who form the protagonists of the story.

The Jagadhatri puja of Krishnanagar is a thing to see. During this time the city adorns itself with lots of lights, flowers, pandals and the likes. Each year more than 5 lakh devotees come Krishnanagar to be a part of this grandiose festival. There are about 150-175 clubs and barowaris which organise Jagadhatri puja in the city. The Jagadhatri puja of Krishnagar is a perfect blending of devotion, emotion and celebration. The most popular Jagadhatri goddess is the Burima of Chasa Para(In Bengali Chasa means farmer). This deity is called the Tirupathi of Krishnanagar. Each year the idol is embellished with 150 kg gold and 150 kg silver ornaments with more 10 benarasis and jamdanis. Besides Burima, Choto Ma (the deity of Kathalpota Barowari),Mejoma (the deity of College Street Barowari), Jaleswari (the idol of Malo para Barowari) are also very famous.

The Trinayani Jagadhatri Puja Committee started the first sarbojanin ( for all )Jagadhatri Puja in Bankura district. Although they started the first pujo in 2017, first committee was formed in 2019. Here, the goddess Jagadhatri is known as Boroma. On the Shukla Navami tithi in the month of Kartika (sometimes in Agrahayana), Trikalin Puja is performed . On the eleventh day, the mother idol is emerson in Padmapukur with Dhunuchi dance, with ancient Bengali dhank and procession. The main attraction of this pujo committee is that pujo is performed in a specific area but people from different location of Bankura are associated with this pujo. In their words, "Para jar jar Boroma Sobar". Along with Pujo, this committee also does various social work. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present in the mandapa as the chief guest of the Trinayani Jagadhatri Puja in 2020. The Trinayani Jagadhatri Puja Committee is becoming popular among the people of Bankura.

Idol of Maa Jagadhatri at Bhanjpur Jagadhatri Mela, Baripada(2012)

Jagadhatri Puja Torana 2012 designed as Lalitha Mahal, Mysore

After Ratha Yatra, Jagadhatri Mela at Bhanjpur Jagadhatri Podia, is the biggest mela of Baripada, Odisha. It is the festival of Maa Jagadhatri, Goddess of the whole world. There is an 8–15 days mela (carnival) also known as mini Bali Jatra named after Cuttack's Bali Jatra which takes place at Jagadhatri Mela Podia, Bhanjpur, near the Bhanjpur railway Station during the month of October–November. It is celebrated on Gosthastami. It is also referred to as another Durga Puja as it also starts on Asthami tithi and ends on Dashami tithi. The date of the puja is decided by the luni-solar Hindu calendar.

In 2012, the sarbajanina Maa Jagadhatri puja[4] has been started from 21 November. But the mela continued from 26 November to 7 December (for the first time it was for such a long period of 13 days). As the puja was celebrating its Diamond Jubilee for completing 60 years.

In 2013, the sarbajanina Maa Jagadhatri puja has been started from 11 November. But to commemorate the loss of Odisha, specifically Mayurbhanj district and Baripada due to Phailin and post Phailin flood, there will be no Cultural Program or Live telecast of this(2013) year's Jagadhatri Puja and Mela on Blue Sky (Local Cable Provider). But Mela will continue from 14 to 25 November 2013.

Every year its main attraction is the Puja Torana(Pendal) and the Mela. The Pendal is decorated as a famous monument like in 2011 it was a miniature of US Capitol Building, United States. This year, it is Lalitha Mahal, Mysore. From year 2000 it has been a tradition to decorate the torana as a special infrastructure. Tajmahal, Agra; Victoria Memorial (India), Kolkata; Titanic Ship; Lotus Temple, New Delhi; Golden Temple, Punjab etc. were also mimicked in the previous years since 2000 to 2006. As a tribute to 26/11 Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai attack victims, the torana of year 2009 is a lookalike of that hotel. The pictures showing here are the toranas decorated from 2007 to 2012 as previous year's pictures are not available.

• McDermott, Rachel Fell (2011). Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal: The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jagaddhatri.

• How Chandannagar celebrates Jagadhatri Puja?: An article by Dr. Subhendu Prakash Chakrabarty