The Goddess Ugratara is the tutelary deity of

Eastern Ganga dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas were a large medieval era Indian royal dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas ruled much of ...

kings of erstwhile Kalinga dynasty. Her ancient temple lies at Mulajharigarh village, Bhusandapur 65 kilometers from State capital

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, India. The icon of Mother Tara is three-eyed and Chaturbhuja, holding potent weapons as sword, dagger, blue lotus and a drinking cup in her hands. She stands over a corpse on burning flames of funeral pyre. Serpent anklets and a serpent on crown are visible which clearly dates back to the time of the 11th-century Tantrik text Sadhanamala Tantra. When later kings of Gajapati dynasty revered goddess

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

or Shyamakaali she had less importance and her worship received less attention. But many people belonging to

Vasishtha Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha an ...

Gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra fo ...

revere her as Ishta devi. She is one among ten

Mahavidya The ''Mahavidya'' ( sa, महाविद्या, , lit. ''Great Wisdoms'') are a group of ten Hinduism, Hindu Tantra, Tantric Devi, goddesses. The 10 Mahavidyas are usually named in the following sequence: Kali, Tara (Devi), Tara, Tripura Su ...

in Hindu Tantrik theology. She is very popular as Ugratara due to her fierce aspect, but benevolent to the adorers as Ekajata/Neela-Saraswati. Nearby railway station is Bhushandapur in Khordha district which is accessible from

and

Balugaon Balugaon is a town in Khordha district in the state of Odisha, India. It is situated very close to Chilika lake about from the state capital Bhubaneswar and from the Berhampur, Ganjam. It is a major economic centre of Khordha district because ...

by local passenger trains. The main festivals here are Chaitra parba,

Raja Parba Raja Parba (, ), also known as ''Mithuna Sankranti'', is a three-day-long festival of womanhood celebrated in Odisha, India. The second day of the festival signifies beginning of the solar month of Mithuna from, which the season of rains starts. ...

, Sharadiya Durga Puja. She is worshipped in tantrik way and offered all tantrik fivefold paraphrenalias.

References

the ugratara cult of UtkalShakti sadhana in Utkalthe equating relation between the buddhist and Tantric goddess Taraseek here the blessings of maa Ugra Tara

Tara Worship in Bhusandapur

Notes

the equating relation between the buddhist and Tantric goddess Taraseek here the blessings of maa Ugra Tara

Tara Worship in Bhusandapur

External links

map showing the location
Hindu temples in Khordha district Shakti temples Eastern Ganga dynasty {{Odisha-hindu-temple-stub