Maa Tarini

Maa Tarini is one of the embodiments of Shakti and is one of the chief presiding Goddesses in Odia culture. Her chief shrine is in Ghatagaon, Keonjhar District, Odisha.

Maa Tarini is the presiding deity for all Shakti and Tantra peeths or shrines in Odisha. The origin of Shakti or worship of the Earth as a female embodiment of power is found across many cultures all over the world. In Odisha which has a high density of tribal population whose religious practices have been assimilated into the mainstream Hindu faith, the worship of natural formations such as rocks, tree trunks, rivers is widespread among the tribes.

Maa Tarini is always depicted as a red face with two large eyes and a mark in the middle which serves as an indication for a nose and also a tilak. This primitive conception is symbolic of the simplicity of tribal beliefs and ceremonies. The red colour has been attributed to dyes made out of iron ores or ocher which are quite plentiful in the state and would thus have been used by the tribes for anointing and decorating the sacred figures of worship. The ornate letters in the background mean "Maa" or Mother in the Odia language. They were a much later addition although the Odia script did change very slightly over the millennia.

In this form she is very similar to the conception of the Goddess Kali at Kalighat. Although the two are embodiments of the same divinity, Kali is the Goddess of death and destruction whereas Maa Tarini is the force of life. Interestingly, two of the names of Kali are Maa Tara and Maa Tarini. The famous Hill Shrine of Maa Tara Tarini the breast shrine of adi Shakti in Ganjam district of Odisha represents the force of Both Kali and Tarini and known as Maa Tara Tarini.

Kalinga, the ancient kingdom whose domain overlaps to a great extent with modern-day Odisha, was initially ruled by Jains. Jainism was the state religion for millennia with occasional breaks notably the reign of Ashoka who played a major role in propagating Buddhism around the world.

Although the residents of the cities and towns of Kalinga were either Jains or Buddhists, the tribes who populated the hinterland maintained their primitive religions and do so to this day. With the advent of Hinduism, a lot of the rites, customs and even Gods of the tribes were admitted into the Hindu pantheon, chief among them being Lord Jagannath and Maa Tarini. While Jagannath was pronounced as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Dwapara Yuga, the Goddess was decreed as one of the embodiments of Shakti herself.

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