Mangala Temple

Share:

Overview

The Maa Mangala Temple is located in Kakatpur, Puri,Orissa. This temple is associated with the Puri Lord Jagannath temple. During renovations, old deities are buried in the temple and new idols are shaped for Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra. The idols are made from a very sacred wood, called the Daru Brahma. Nobody knows from where to find the sacred wood to create the new idols, so as per the tradition the priests of Lord Jagannath temple come to Kakatpur Mangala to pray the Goddess to help them to find the sacred wood. The priests sleep in front of the Goddess with their face down and then Goddess Mangala come in their dream and tells the exact location of the three sacred trees for the three deities.

About the temple

Maa Mangala Temple is built in typical Kalinga style and is a major pilgrimage for devotees of Shakti cult. Pilgrims frequently visit the temple seeking boons from Maa Mangala. Kakatpur Mangala Temple is also known as the Sarba Mangala Mandir. It is among the most celebrated Shakti Peeths in Puri. It is also called the Bata Mangala Temple.

Legend and stories

The story behind the evolution of the name of the deity as ‘Kakatpur’ Mangala is that Goddess Mangala stayed hidden under River Prachi. Once, a boatman sailed across River Prachi. At that time, the river was flooded. He couldn’t sail his boat to the middle of the river. Goddess Mangala appeared in his dream and asked him to recover her from the water and to establish her in Mangalapur. The boatman did so. After this, the boatman saw that a black crow had dived into the water and did not come out of the water for hours and days. He saw that the crow was detained inside River Prachi exactly in the same place from where he recovered the figure of Goddess Mangala. In Oriya, the word crow is ‘kaka’ and the word detains means ‘atka.’ Thus, the village is known as ‘Kakatpur’.

Festivals

Jhamu Yatra

The Jhamu Yatra is the most popular festival of Goddess Mangala. This day falls on the first Tuesday of the Vaisakh every year. Devotees collect water from River Prachi and pray to her. With mud pots filled with water on their shoulders, they walk on the surface of burning fire spread on a long channel on bare feet. Due to their faith on Goddess Mangala and her blessings on them, the devotees are unhurt and uninjured while performing such a risky custom. Every year thousands of devotees come to Kakatpur to celebrate the Jhamu festival. Maa Mangala Temple has a close relation with Lord Jagannath Temple of Puri during the Navakalebara (Renovation of the Deities) festival. New idols are created from a sacred wood known as “Daru”. Priests of Lord Jagannath temple come to Kakatpur Mangala to pray the Goddess to help them to find the sacred wood. The priests visit the goddess and offer her the things brought for the Banajaga Yatra and then Goddess at night shows the direction of the sacred wood or daru in their dreams.

Dhanu Yatra

This is a popular drama festival held at Bargarh in Western Odisha. The play is the story of Lord Krishna and his demon uncle King Kansa. The Lord visits Mathura to witness the ceremony of “Bow” or “Dhanu” organized by evil Kansa. The play continues for 7 to 11 days and attracts large number of viewers. Dhanu Yatra is celebrated for eleven days of the month from the fifth day of the bright fortnight till the full moon day.  

Temple Rituals

Mangala is Arupa (formless) and has become Sarupa (took form). Throughout the year, and days the ‘Niti’ ‘Puja’ is being done in ritualistic manner. ‘Prasadams’ are available for the devotees. Many patients come to remain in “Dharana” in prostrate form to get themselves cured.

Accommodation

There are many good hotels and resorts available near Maa Mangala Temple for the accommodation.

Where to Eat

There are numbers of local dhabas serving vegetarian and non-vegetarians food.

Accessibility

The nearest airport is in Bhubaneshwar. Puri is the nearest railway station from the temple. Kakatpur Mangala Temple is 50 Km from Puri. The bus stand near the Gundicha Temple provides connections to Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, service every 10-15 minutes.

Temple Address