Tarapith
Mystical Tarapith: Temple of Tara Maa
Tarapith is famous for the temple of Tara Maa and Sadhan Pith of Sadhak Bamakhyapa. This holy religious place, is situated in a village Tarapur under Rampurhat Police Station of Rampurhat Sub-Division in the district of Birbhum. It so called because the eyeball (Tara) of Sati fell here. Others say that Tarapith is not a pith but the place owes its sanctity to the fact that the Sage Basistha here worshipped the Goddess Sati in the form of Tara.
The Goddess Tara is a form of Kali with two hands, garlanded with snakes and adorned in sacred threads. But the Temple is dedicated to the destructive aspect of Shiva, which takes the form of Kali. She requires sacrifice daily to satisfy her blood lust so every morning goats are sacrifices on the altar of the Temple.
The deity of Tara is enshrined inside the temple. It is a special temple for more reasons than one. The nearby cremation ground makes this a quite rare temple, especially considering its surroundings. The worship here includes blood offerings. The strong rituals, the hymns sung here also contribute to make this temple a very special one. The temple base is made up of red brick. There are two Tara images in the sanctum. The stone image of Tara is camouflaged by a metal image which the devotees see.