NEW TARA TARINI BHAJANAS by SARTHAK MUSIC AVAILABLE in -- FLIPKART --

10 lakhs devotees gathered on Third Tuesday of Chaitra & Navratra at Tara Tarini in Odisha

The Third Tuesday of the month of Chaitra, also considered as the holiest day in the religious calendar of the Tara Tarini Hill Shrine witnessed a sea of devotees. The massive congregation at this Shrine, also famous as the breast shrine and considered as one amongst the four major ancient Shakti Peethas in India, filled the air with religious fervor and devotion. The ongoing Navratri puja coinciding with the Chaitra festivities further added to the enthusiasm among the people. Stream of visitors thronged the famous Shakti Shrine from the wee hours till late in the evening and the police administration toiled hard to control the crowd and maintain law and order.      

                                              

The estimated number of visitors this year has far exceeded the gathering witnessed in previous years with more than 5 lakh people reaching the temple on the hill-top while an equal number of people taking part in the fair on the foothill and on the banks of river Rushikulya.

Thousands of kids tonsured their head as per the age-old belief associated with this Shrine.

Following the tradition associated with Chaitra festivals, people from far and wide were seen cooking food with their family members as thanksgiving to the goddesses on fulfillment of their desires. This is undoubtedly tradition unique of its kind in the country where such large number of people indulge in cooking and which has become an integral part of the Chaitra festivities in Tara Tarini.

The rural fair and temporary shops all across the roads leading to the Temple is another attraction which added to the rush and by noon time the heavy police deployment proved inadequate in front of a congregation of this magnitude. However, the day passed off peacefully without any untoward incident.

The development activities taken up by the Tara Tarini Development Board in recent years helped in ensuring better amenities and services for the devotees this year. Infact, some development projects were also inaugurated on this occasion including the long awaited ring road, street lighting and bathing Ghats on the banks of River Rushikulya which were thrown open for the public.

Keeping in mind the expected gathering, the temple administration made elaborate arrangements for transport, food and water with the help of large number of volunteers. The local administration took all possible measures through heavy deployment of police forces, ambulances and fire brigade. Many senior officials of the state government, district administration and peoples’ representatives visited the Shrine on this occasion to seek blessings of Maa.

Lakhs throng Tara Tarini hill shrine for Chaitra fest

Thursday, 29 March 2012 23:28 PNS | BRAHMAPUR

The Third Tuesday of the month of Chaitra, considered as the holiest day in the religious calendar of the Tara Tarini Hill Shrine, witnessed a sea of devotees.

The massive congregation at the temple, also famous as the breast shrine of Adi Shakti and considered as one among the four major ancient Shakti Peethas in India, filled the air with religious fervour.

The ongoing Navratri Puja coinciding with the Chaitra festivities further added to the enthusiasm among the people. Streams of visitors thronged the temple from the wee hours till late in the evening, and the police administration had a tough time to control the crowd and maintain law and order.

The number of visitors this year far exceeded the gathering witnessed in previous years with more than five lakh people reaching the temple on the hilltop while an equal number of people taking part in the fair on the foothill and on the banks of river Rushikulya. Thousands of children tonsured their heads as per the age-old belief associated with the shrine. .................................... Read more... Link...The Pioneer

Lakhs of devotees celebrate Third Tuesday of Chaitra at Tara Tarini Hill Shrine

Report by OrissaDiary.com bureau, Berhampur: The Third Tuesday of the month of Chaitra, also considered as the holiest day in the religious calendar of the Tara Tarini Hill Shrine witnessed a sea of devotees. The massive congregation at this Shrine, also famous as the breast shrine and considered as one amongst the four major ancient Shakti Peethas in India, filled the air with religious fervor and devotion. The ongoing Navratri puja coinciding ............... Link..Orissadiary.com

Lakhs of devotees celebrate Third Tuesday of Chaitra at Tara Tarini Hill Shrine

Berhampur (Ganjam): The Third Tuesday of the month of Chaitra, also considered as the holiest day in the religious calendar of the Tara Tarini Hill Shrine witnessed a sea of devotees. The massive congregation at this Shrine, also famous as the breast shrine . ..... Link ...Orissabarta.com

Chaitra Mela/ Chaitra yatra at Tara Tarini

Famous Chaitra festival begins at Tara Tarini Adi Sakti Peeth

Traditional Chaitra festival began at Tara Tarini hill shrine near Berhampur city, Ganjam district on Tuesday. Four Tuesdays of Hindu month of Chaitra are celebrated as a festival called ‘Tara Tarini Chaitra Jatra' at this hill shrine. Over a lakh devotees thronged to this hill shrine on the first Tuesday of Chaitra.

A new ghat road to the hill top was also opened for devotees. Apart from the road communication there is also a ropeway to the hilltop. But most of the devotees who visited the hill shrine on Tuesday preferred to trek to the hill top rather than opting for easier modes of travel. As per Pramod Panda, secretary of the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB), special buses have been arranged to transport devotees to the hill top, yet devotees including the aged, women and children preferred to climb 999 holy steep steps to reach the hill shrine. Around 95 per cent of the devotees preferred to climb to the hilltop. Flow of devotees continued from 4 a.m. when the gates of the temple were opened. It continued till evening. The TTDB authorities arranged medical facilities. A village fair also came up at the foot hill. Devotional cultural programmes continued at the hilltop and downhill.

This year, the almost complete new temple of this hill shrine attracted the visitors. According to TTDB authorities, the date for the ritualistic inauguration ceremony of the new temple would be decided a meeting to be held Thursday. Twelve senior Vedic pundits from all the nine traditional taluks of Ganjam district will attend the meeting.

Source: The Hindu

Renovated Tara Tarini adi shakti shrine to be opened in 9th March

Traditional ritualistic inaugural ceremony of the grand new temple dedicated to Adi Shakti Maa Tara Tarini will be held from March 03-09, 2011. This was decided at a general body meeting of the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) held at Tara Tarini Hill shrine around 30km away from Berhampur city in Odisha. The Law and Rural Development Minister, Government of Odisha Shri Bikram Keshari Arukh presided over the meeting. Ganjam District Collector and Vice President of TTDB, Shri V. Kartikeyan Pandian, Secretary TTDB Shri Pramod Panda and other office bearers of TTDB, members of the Technical committee TTDB and senior officials of Government of Odisha were present on the occasion.

It is believed that Taratarini Sthana Pitha (Breast Shrine) is one of the ancient most and among the four major Shakti centers in India. It bears a history of not less then 5000 years. After the formation of the Tara Tarini Development Board the oldest Shakti Shrine got the much needed attention and owing to that in the last 7 years the number of pilgrims visiting to the shrine has gone up significantly. Last year more than 20 lakh devotees and tourists visited the hill shrine during the famous Chaitra Yatra in the month of Chaitra.

The new temple on the hilltop replacing the old temple of 18th Century, built by one of the historic and iconic figures in the religious history of Odisha Shri Basu Praharaj, is being built as part of the measures initiated to transform the hill shrine into a major religious- tourist destination of the Country. It is important to mention that during its more than 5000 years old history the temple has come up again and again.

The new temple is unique as it is a modern temple completely built adhering to the tenets of ancient Odishan temple architecture. Construction of the temple started in 2003. It is a ‘Rekha' style temple and bears intricate carvings. Sculptor Padmavibhusan Raghunath Mohapatra was the master architect of this modern temple built up in ancient form. Its major building material was sandstone which was abundantly used in the ancient temples of Orissa. Like the traditional temples, large black granite slabs were used as lintels for the new temple. These black granite slabs were procured from Buguda region of Ganjam district. The finishing work of the construction is on and within next one-and-half months total construction work of the main temple will be completed. The new Rekha style temple at the hill shrine has an elevation of about 68 ft. above the hilltop. The sandstone slabs used for the construction of the temple were procured from Ganjam and Nayagarh districts.

To cater to the needs of lakhs of visitors and to improve the communication facility on the lines of Tirupati and Vaishno Devi Hill Shrines the work on the new ghat road to the hill top is also under way. The new road will be less steep and wider than the existing old road. The road is being laid at a cost of Rs. 5 crores by the Rural Development Department of government of Odisha. Another ring road is also being laid around the Tara Tarini hill Shrine. These new on going projects are also scheduled to be completed by the end of February, 2011 much before the commencement of the famous Chaitra Festival.

High-level meeting reviews the development of Tara Tarini Hill Shrine

•Hill Shrine to be developed as a national level destination

•Comprehensive development of the Hill Shrine stressed

•Land belonging to the Shrine to be recovered

•Work of the Main Temple Complex to be completed by January 2011

•To check erosion and land-slide, retaining walls to come up with state support

After the formation of the Tara Tarini Development Board the famous Taratarini Hill Shrine got the much needed attention and owing to that in the last 7 years the number of pilgrims visiting to the shrine has gone up significantly. Last year more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine during the month of Chaitra. This year the number swelled further. During five Tuesdays of the month around 20 lakh devotees and tourists visited the shrine. However, the figures available from the local media reveals that this year’s gathering has surpassed the records of earlier years and even surpassed the 20 lakh figure anticipated by the Board. Taking this growing number into consideration the Tara Tarini Development Board is expecting the number of visitors to swell further in the coming years.

However, despite the development initiatives undertaken with active participation of the people in the last 7 years, the existing infrastructure is proving inadequate and the significant growth of tourists and visitors has come as a big challenge for the Board. On the other hand, unlike Puri Jagannath Shrine the Tara Tarini hill shrine has inadequate infrastructure to support 20 Lakh visitors within a month.

A high-level meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble minister of Law GoO Shri Vikram Arukh in Bhubaneswar on April 28, 2010 to review the on going developmental works being undertaken by the Tara Tarini Development Board at Taratarini hill shrine. Issues like creating national standard infrastructure for the benefit of visitors and ways to counter the challenge posed by the consistently growing number of visitors in the coming years were discussed in the meeting.

Minister of Tourism Government of Orissa Shri Devi Prasad Mishra, Principal Secretary Urban Development, Government of Orissa Shri Arun Panda, Transport & Commerce Secretary Government of Orissa Shri Satyabrata Sahu, Secretary Law Government of Orissa and Commissioner Endowment Government of Orissa, Ganjam District Collector and Vice-President of TTDB Shri VK Pandian, all senior officials of the Department of Tourism and many other senior government officials of the state and district administration, apart from Secretary TTDB Shri Pramod Panda, Senior audit officer Shri Arun Kumar Sabat, the office bearers of TTDB, Technical Committee members of TTDB and Temple Management were present on the occasion.

Reviewing the works of TTDB, Shri Arukh said the famous Taratarini Hill Shrine the Breast Shrine of Mata Sati, is one amongst the 4 major ancient Shakti centers in India and an important prehistoric religious center. It is gradually emerging as the popular destination of visitors in Orissa. He said seeing the number of visitors in one month any body can say that it’s also emerging as a major religious-tourism destination of Orissa after Puri Jagannath.

He appreciated the work of TTDB and advised to focus on the time bound completion of the ongoing projects of the shrine and to take up developmental projects for the benefit of the growing number of visitors. Shri Arukh also gave importance to the immediate construction of outer protection walls and River-side retaining wall to check land sliding and soil erosion at the hilltop and said the Rural Development department Government of Orissa will undertake the work of both the Northern and Southern side outer protection walls to ensure the safety of the hill top. He assured all help from government side to the Development Board.

Minister of Tourism Government of Orissa Shri Devi Prasad Mishra said Taratarini is an important and ancient Shakti centre of Orissa. Goddesses Tara-Tarini not only have been regarded as the presiding deity (Ista-Devi) in almost every household in South Orissa but also is one among the principal centers of worship in the state. Taratarani attracts thousands of devotees, picnickers and visitors throughout the year. He said so far as tourism is concerned this place has enough potentials and as expected its also emerging as a major tourist destination in eastern India. He assured all support to TTDB and regular attention from his ministry to strengthen the infrastructure of the holy shrine and sanctioned Rs. 70 lakh in the first phase for the overall development of the shrine.

On this occasion the Principal Secretary Urban Development, Government of Orissa Shri Arun Panda presented the keynote address. He gave a proposal to reserve the land in front of the hill shrine for future development of the shrine and it was immediately accepted by the high level committee. Shri Panda also suggested the Board to take the help of reputed NGOs for maintenance of sanitation in and around the shrine and construction of more numbers of Lavatory complexes for tourists.

Transport & Commerce Secretary Government of Orissa Shri Satyabrata Sahu presented the plan for the overall development of the ancient shrine and put emphasis on the early completion of the main temple, side temples, boundary wall, Bhog Mandap and other necessary constructions of the main temple complex on the hill top with in a time bound period. He gave a number of proposals for the development of the shrine area through PPP mode. Ganjam District collector and Vice-President of TTDB Shri VK Pandian delivered the welcome address.

Lastly, in the meeting it was unanimously decided that some of the prioritized list of works proposed by the TTDB and sanctioned by the technical committee of TTDB will be commenced soon for the convenience of devotees and tourists. That are:

1. The work of the hill top temple complex with four side temples and boundary wall will be completed by January 2011.

2. Dedicated bus service to the hill shrine for smooth transportation and the construction of a bus Stand on the foot hill will be started soon.

3. Permanent accommodation facility for the visitors on the foot hill to be arranged.

4. Completion of administrative office and ultra modern lavatory complex on the hilltop of the shrine within December 2010.

5. Further widening of the existing Ghat road from Keshpur to the Hilltop at a cost of around 5 crore to be completed by the end of this year.

6. Construction of North and South side outer protection walls and River side retaining walls to check land sliding and soil erosion at the hilltop at a cost of 1 crore will be started soon by the Rural development dept. GoO.

7. The tourism department in the first phase will sanction 71 lakhs for the overall development of the shrine area. A high-level team will visit the shrine area soon for this purpose.

8. It was also decided that Ministry of Law govt. of Orissa will take immediate steps to recover all the donated cultivated and uncultivated land (Around 300 acres in Gajnam district and around the same size in other parts of the state) scattered in various parts of the state on the line of Jagannath Temple, Puri.

Devotees make beeline on the concluding day of Chaitra festival in Taratarini hill shrine

With a mammoth gathering and marked by devotional celebration on the fifth and last Tuesday of the auspicious month of Chaitra, the month long famous and biggest annual Chaitra festival at the ancient Taratarini Hill shrine came to an end. The ritualistic worship of the devotees and invocation of divine benediction charged the atmosphere with an exhilarating blend of spirituality and an all pervading solidarity.

It is notable, that all the Tuesdays of the month of Chaitra are days of celebration at this hill shrine and devotees gather in lakhs from the cross section of the country to take a glimpse of Adi Shakti Maa Taratarini (Sthana Peetha of Mata Sati and one amongst the 4 major ancient Shakti centers in India) to eradicate evil from the world and to fulfill all their worldly desires.

Like the other Tuesdays of the month there was also heavy rush on the last and fifth Tuesday on the hill top temple as it also happened to be Chaitra Purnami and the last day of the holy month of Chaitra. Darshan for the devotees started in the specially decorated sanctum sanctorum of the hill top temple after the midnight of Monday at around 3.00 a.m and continued up to late evening.

It is important to note that after the formation of the Tara Tarini Development Board this famous Breast Shrine got the much needed attention and owing to that in the last 7 years the number of pilgrims visiting to the shrine has gone up significantly. Last year more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine during the entire month of Chaitra. This year the number swelled further. During five Tuesdays of the month around 20 lakh devotees and tourists visited the Sthana Peetha. However, the figures available from various unofficial sources, particularly from the local media reveal that this year’s gathering has surpassed the records of earlier years and even surpassed the 20 lakh figure mark anticipated by the board.

It a known fact that despite the development initiatives undertaken with active participation of the people in the last 7 years, the existing infrastructure is proving inadequate and the significant growth of tourists and visitors has come as a big challenge for the Taratarini Development Board (TTDB). Being aware of this challenge the present Tara Tarini Development Board Chairman and RDC Southern Division Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector and deputy chairman of the Board Shri VK Pandian and other board members have decided to focus on the time bound completion of the ongoing projects of the shrine and to take up more number of developmental projects for the benefit of the growing number of visitors. To keep pace with this, the Board has approved a number of new projects recently. Some of the prioritized list of works proposed by the TTDB to be taken up for the convenience of devotees and tourists are…………

• For the benefit of devotees steps would be taken next year to arrange around 5000 tents with all other basic facilities for the temporary accommodation of at least 50,000 people.

• Dedicated bus service to the hill shrine for smooth transportation.

• Permanent accommodation facility for the visitors on the foot hill.

• The work of the hill top temple complex with four Parshwa temples and boundary wall to be completed in a time bound period.

• Completion of administrative office and ultra modern lavatory complex within a month on the hilltop.

• Construction of Mundan shade on the hilltop.

• Further development of Arial Rope-way.

• Construction of outer protection walls and River side retaining wall to check land sliding and soil erosion at the hilltop.

• Construction of huge parking space at the hilltop.

• Lighting arrangements at the hilltop and the ways leading to the hill top temple.

• Widening of stone steps and arrangement of public utilities/ rest houses.

• Further widening of the existing road to the Hilltop.

• Maintenance of eco-system in and around the sacred hill by huge plantation in its nearby areas etc.

This year the biggest fair of Orissa at this shrine has passed off peacefully without any untoward incidents. TTDB thanks the local administration, volunteers, social organizations and local people for their excellent support during the month. The media (both electronic and print) which ensured that the happenings of the festivals reach those people who could not physically attend the festivities at the hill shrine of Maa Tara Tarini and their devoted work is praise worthy. TTDB appreciates their tireless efforts. By R P Tripathy

With 300% increase in number of visitors on 4th Tuesday, Chaitra festivities reach a crescendo at Tara Tarini Hill Shrine

On the sacred occasion of Fourth Tuesday of the famous Chaitra festival around five lakhs devotees thronged Tara Tarini hill shrine from various parts of the state and outside. It may be noted that all the Tuesdays of the month of Chaitra are days of festivity at this hill shrine and this is the biggest fair held here in honour of the twin goddess.

Like the Third Tuesday (Around 7 lakh devotees gathered on that day) there was also heavy rush on the Fourth Tuesday on the hill top temple of Adi Shakti Maa Taratarini as coincidentally it was also Mahastami day of Navaratri festivities.

On this Tuesday, the massive gathering broke all records of previous years as it saw a three fold increase in the number of visitors as compared to the last year. There were visitors from far of places like Assam, North eastern States, and Tamilnadu apart from states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.

The festivities had started at this shrine from Monday evening. Throughout the night there were cultural programmes to entertain the devotees. After some ceremonial works the sanctum of Maa Tara Tarini opened at around 2 a.m in the morning and darshan started after that. As per the report available on that occasion at least 50,000 people offered the hair of newborn babies at the Shrine similar to the practice found at Tirupati Balaji.

It may be noted that last year during the month of Chaitra more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine. So, sensing that the devotees would increase further, the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) has carried out a lot of development works and made wide arrangements for the smooth darshan of devotees.

Meanwhile, Orissa Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik has also taken steps for the development of this Shrine. As part of the development programme, on the eve of the commencement of Chaitra festivities at the Shrine the CM has inaugurated a multifunctional complex and a lavatory complex on the foot hill of the Shrine and another ultra modern lavatory complex is also coming up on the hill top for the benefit of devotees. Appreciating the developmental projects taken up by the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB); which led to major transformation of this ancient hill shrine Shri Patnaik expressed his satisfaction with the progress made so far which has led to the emergence of this Adi Shakti Peetha as a major centre of religious tourism in Orissa.

Principal Secretary Urban Development Government of Orissa Sh. Arun Panda, RDC Southern Division and Chairman of TTDB Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector Shri VK Pandian, Collectors of many other districts, BMC Commissioner Sh. Veemsen Manseth, Superintendent of Police Berhampur and Ganjam and many other senior state and central government officials, apart from the office bearers of TTDB were present on the Fourth Tuesday.

On the sidelines a meeting was held where the Principal Secretary Urban Development Government of Orissa Sh. Arun Panda and all office bearers of TTDB participated.

• It was decided that for the benefit of devotees next year steps would be taken to arrange around 5000 tents with all other facilities on temporary basis for the accommodation of atleast 50,000 people.

• More number of buses would ply for the smooth transportation on to the hill top.

• It was also decided that retaining walls would be constructed on both sides of the hill top to protect the area from land sliding.

• And the work of the hill top temple complex with four Parshwa temples and boundary wall will be completed in a time bound period.

Principal Secretary Urban Development Government of Orissa Sh. Arun Panda, RDC Southern Division and Chairman of TTDB Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector Shri VK Pandian assured all help from government side to the Development Board.

The Ganjam District administration made elaborate arrangements for the visitors. The volunteers of the TTDB, different NGOs and voluntary organizations, the temple management and local residents extended their helping hand to devotees who came from various parts of the state and other neighbouring states.

____________________________

R P Tripathy

Media & Publicity In-Charge

Tara Tarini Development Board

Berhampur

Orissa

 

Sea of devotees throng TaraTarini Hill Shrine

Lakhs of devotees thronged Tara Tarini hill shrine near Berhampur, on third Tuesday of Chaitra and on the first day of Navaratri. It may be noted that the four Tuesdays of Hindu month of Chaitra are days of festivity at this hill shrine. On this Tuesday more than five lakh devotees had reached the hill shrine. There was heavy rush as it was also day for the start of Navaratra festivities. There were visitors from other states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand as well as some NRI families. Following major transformation due to developmental projects taken up by the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB); this hill shrine has now become a major centre of religious tourism in south Orissa.

Chaitra month

It may be noted that last year during the month of Chaitra more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine. The TTDB authorities hope this year the devotees would increase further. The festivities had started at this hill shrine from Monday evening. Throughout the night there were cultural programmes to entertain the visitors to the shrine. Although this hill shrine boasts to be having the only ropeway to a hilltop in the State, yet most of the devotees due to their traditional belief decided to climb to the top of the hill shrine. They walked on the ghat road or used the steep stair case. They climbed 999 steps as a penance to the deities.

Rural fair

A rural fair was on at the foothill. Urbanites who had reached the spot as picnickers enjoyed the village fair. Forgetting mental blockades related to hygiene for some time they relished fresh sugarcane and colourful sweets sold by the roadside vendors at this rural fair. The beautification and developmental works were taken up at the hill shrine by the TTDB from donations from the public. The State government in cooperation with the Ganjam district administration has formed the TTDB for development of this hill shrine into a major tourist destination. This board includes eminent persons of Orissa especially from southern region. The TTDB has now replaced the old temple with a new one in the traditional ‘Rekha' style of Orissa.

Source: The Hindu

Source: The Anupam Bharat