Chaturdasa Devata

The Chaturdasa Devata or Fourteen Gods is the Shaivite Hindu pantheon worshipped in the Indian state of Tripura.

The Chaturdasa Temple in Agartala

Overview

According to traditions, the origin for the worship of these deities was contemporary to the setting of the Mahabarata, during the reign of Yudhishthira. They state that the god Shiva, after the death of Tripur (one of Tripura's legendary ancient kings), promised to grant a son and heir to his widow. However, the god stipulated that worship of the Chaturdasa Devata be duly and regularly observed in the kingdom in return.[1][2] Historically, it is believed that the indigenous Tripuri people of Tripura had adjusted their native culture and religion with that of Hinduism when the latter's influence reached the region. The non-Brahman high priests, the Chantai, continued to minister their rites and rituals, but absorbed the important Hindu deities, resulting in their national pantheon transforming into the Chaturdasa Devata, with the deities being identified with a corresponding Brahmanical name.[3]

They became the family deities of the Manikya dynasty, the former rulers of Tripura.[4] Human sacrifices were made in their honour under monarchs such as Deva Manikya and his son Vijaya Manikya,[5][6] though this practice had died out by the latter half of the 1600s. The following century, the present temple dedicated to the deities was built in Agartala by Krishna Manikya, though an earlier structure had existed in the old capital Udaipur.[7]

Worship of the Chatursasa Devata still continues in Tripura.[7] Their festival, the Kharchi puja, is among the most prominent in the state, taking place over the course of a week in July. The first day of the celebration is declared a holiday by the government.

List of deities
Deities of the Chatursasa Devata[8]
Name Brahmanic equivalent Role
1. Hara Shiva the Destroyer
2. Uma Durga Shiva's consort
3. Hari Vishnu the Preserver
4. Ma Lakshmi Vishnu's consort and the Goddess of prosperity
5. Bani Sarasvati Goddess of knowledge
6. Kumara Kartikeya God of war
7. Ganapa Ganesha God of wisdom
8. Biddhu Chandra the Moon
9. Ka Brahma the Creator
10. Abdhi Samudra- God of the ocean
11. Ganga Ganga the river Ganges
12. Sekhi Agni God of fire
13. Kama Kamadeva God of love
14. Himadri Himavat the Himalayan mountains

References
  1. Sharma, Suresh Kant; Sharma, Usha (2015). Discovery of North-East India. 11. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. p. 3. ISBN 978-81-8324-045-1.
  2. Saigal, Omesh (1978). Tripura. Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. p. 31.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. Bhattacharjee, Priyabrata (1985). The Religious History of the Tipras on the Background of Karchipuja (PDF). Proceedings of North East India History Association. Agartala: North East India History Association. pp. 100–05.
  4. Deb, Soma; Sinha, B. (2001). Encyclopaedia of Fairs & Festivals in India: With Select Rituals, Vows, Holy Cities, Temples and Pilgrim Centers. Raj Publications. p. 122. ISBN 978-81-86208-14-4.
  5. Gait, Edward Albert (1898). "Human sacrifices in ancient Assam". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal. LXVII (III): 59.
  6. Chib, Sukhdev Singh (1988). Tripura. Ess Ess Publications. p. 9. ISBN 978-81-7000-039-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  7. Singh (2009, p. 68)
  8. Bera, Gautam Kumar (2010). The Land of Fourteen Gods: Ethno-cultural Profile of Tripura. Delhi: Mittal Publications. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-81-8324-333-9.
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