Temple History

Situated on the banks of the River Dwarka, Tarapith Mahasmashan is the most important spiritual site in the Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum. The Tara Tantra and the Rudrayamala Tantra narrate the story of Sage Vashishtha’s unsuccessful attempt to attain Siddhi at this site. After thousands of years of fruitless penance, enraged Sage Vashishtha was about to curse this peetha. However, Goddess Tara intervened and commanded him to visit Tibet to learn the Vamachara path for Tara Siddhi. It is said that Sage Vashishtha learned the ideal methods of worshipping Goddess Tara from Lord Vishnu (in his Buddha Avatar) and ultimately attained Siddhi at this very site. This holy land is also famously associated with the life of Saint Bama Khyapa, a revered and eccentric devotee of Maa Tara. Tarapith, as said already, is an ancient site, and the temple was built by different people at different times, such as Jay Datta, the king of Ratnakar, and King Ramjiban Ray. However, the current ‘Aat Chala’ style temple was erected by King Jagannatha Ray of Mallarpur around 1818-1819 CE (1225 Bangabda).