Sunday, January 21, 2018

Bhadrakali Temple, Itkhori, Chatra

  
ॐ जयंती मंगला काली भद्रकाली कपालिनी
दुर्गा क्षमा शिवा धात्री स्वाहा स्वधा नमोस्तुते।
भद्रकाली मंदिर, इटखोरी, झारखंड
Bhadrakali Temple, Itkhori, Chatra, Jharkhand

            The Bhadrakali Temple at Itkhori, Chatra is one of the many famous Goddess temples around Ranchi, Jharkhand. The distance of temple from Ranchi is about 150 km. On the Ranchi-Barhi National Highway, there is a place Arar from where the road to Itkhori branches out towards west. 
Place for coconut breaking
             Itkhori is situated at the confluence of two rivers named 'Mahane' and 'Baksa'. Just like the temple of 'Maa Chhinnamastika' at the confluence of river 'Damodar' and 'Bhairavi' at Rajrappa, the temple of 'Maa Nagar Bhagawati' (Goddess Ugratara) near Chandwa, Latehar and the temple of 'Maa Kauleshwari' at Hunterganj -This temple of Maa Bhadrakali has been a famous place of worship of Goddess of "Shakti" from time unknown. 
 
Main Entrance Gate (Dwar) of
Maa Bhadrakali Temple, Itkhori, Chatra
Jharkhand
            Itkhori is related to three religions- Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The name of Itkhori is related to an incident with "Gautam Buddha". It is said that once "Gautam Buddha" came here after leaving his home in search of true knowledge. While he was in his "Dhyana" his aunt (Mother's sister) came here in his search. But even then his "Dhyana" did not interrupt. The aunt said "Itt Khoi" (इत् खोई) in local language which she meant that 'Here he is lost (In Dhyana)'. On these two words "
Itt Khoi", this place was called 'Itkhoi' which later changed to "Itkhori". The area is also known as Bhadauli because it is built at the banks of a river known as Bhaduli. Bhaduli is the birthplace of the tenth "Tirthankar" of Jains whose name was Shitala Swami. Some people say that Bhadauli is related to the word Bhadrakali. 
Darban Idol near Entrance Gate at
Ma Bhadrakali Temple, At Itkhori, Jharkhand
           This place is related to many tales of Hindu mythology. Ram, Laxman, and Sita had come and stayed for some time here during exile. It is also said that King Yudhisthir had also stayed here during his exile (without being discovered). So this place is related to both Ramayana and Mahabharata era.
             King Surath whose name is mentioned in "Durga Saptasati" had is capital at the hills of Kuleshwari near Hunterganj. He was defeated by a foreigner king and came here at the Ashram of Medha Rishi. At the same time, a rich businessman named Sarathi was dispossessed of all his wealth by his own family and he too came to this ashram. Both needed to know the cause of their distress. Medha Rishi told them the reason giving many examples and also told that if they want to get rid of their distress, they must pray to the Goddess Bhadrakali. Both of them went to a thick forest named Tamasin near the Mahane river and devoted themselves to prayers and penance. Maa Bhadrakali was pleased and came there to bless them. King Surath got back his desired kingdom but now the businessman Surath did not wish for his wealth but for 'moksha', that he got from the blessing of the Goddess. 
             There is another story of Maa Bhadrakali how she came in this form. There was a very powerful asura named Shankhchud who was blessed by Vishnu that no woman will kill him. When gods lost their patience over his terror, the commander of gods Kartikeya went to fight him. But Kartikeya fell to the ground by Sankhchud's attack. Seeing this the Goddess "Adishakti" took a fierce form of Bhadrakali and fought him but could not defeat him. So she began to swallow the asuras in the battlefield and in the last Shiva destroyed Sankhchud with his Trident.
                Many ancient things have been found here in the excavation. Notable among them is a pair of footwear of Jain Tirthankara Shitalnath engraved on a
Banyan Tree at
Ma Bhadrakali Temple, Itkhori,
Jharkhand
stone and also a box in which the name Shitalnath is written on a copper plate.
            There is a Stupa on which 1004 small and 4 big idols of Buddha is made.
              On the basis of the inscriptions in Brahmi like script near the feet of Maa Bhadrakali idol, it is said that it has been made during tenth to the eleventh century by the orders of King Mahendra Pal who was the king of Bengal and Magadh. 
Open Shivalaya - 
Sri Sufalnath,
Itkhori, Chatra,
Jharkhand
              Maa Bhadrakali is in the gentle form of Maa Mangala Gauri in the temple. Initially, there was an eight-handed idol of Goddess Durga beside the Bhadrakali idol but in 1968 both were stolen. Maa Bhadrakali's idol was recovered but not the other one.The Idol of Ma Bhadrakali is made of Either 'Gomed' stone or 'Ashtadhatu' and is a great quality artwork. Time has not been able to affect it.

Nandi from single rock
at Itkhori, Chatra,
Jharkhand
                             There are idols of Buddha in Dhyan Mudra at each corner of the temple campus. 417 idols were dug out from the temple campus which are kept at a museum in the campus of IB of District Board. In the present temple, there are 24 idols. Beside the main Bhadrakali idol is the idol of Vishnu. The coconuts offered to the Goddess are broken at the place marked for it behind the main building. 
Sahastra Shivalingam near
Maa Bhadrakali Temple, Itkhori,
Chatra, Jharkhand
                As the worship of goddess is complete only with the worship of Shiva, so there is an open 'Shivalaya' beside the main temple and another is on a campus which is near this campus. The Shivalingam in this temple is called "Sahastra Shivalingam" ('Sahastra' meaning a thousand in Sanskrit). There are many small Shivalingas engraved upon a big Shivalinga here. Outside near the entrance is a Nandi statue. Between these two temple campuses, there is a road to 'Sahastra Buddha Stupa'. The 'Stupa' is 15 ft high but visible only 5 ft above the ground. The peculiar fact is that it is in the shape of "Sahastra Shivalinga" with four big Buddha statues at four corners and 1004 small statues over it. 1008 is an auspicious number in Indian culture.
Sahastra Buddha at
Itkhori, Chatra,
Jharkhand
 The top of the Stupa is in a mace shape over which is a small cover which when lifted let ooze out droplets of water. 
             Near the open Shivalaya, there is a Hanuman temple. The idol of Hanuman has five heads of different creatures. Such idol is called "Panchamukhi Hanuman".   
          The stone on which the feet of 10th Jain Tirthankara are engraved is placed on the western part of the main temple. The Jains call Maa Bhadrakali as Bhadli Mata.
             Other places near the temple are "Shahi Van Pokhara" (Royal forest pond) also called "Rani Pokhar", The temple of Maa Karunamai (also called Kanuniya Mai Sthal) and Pond of Kuteshwar Sthan. "Kanuniya Mai Sthal" is a proven Tantric place.
Shilapatta at Maa Bhadrakali Temple,
Itkhori, Chatra, Jharkhand
              At present, the temple complex is also utilized for social occasions like marriage and "Mundana". The campus is green and well maintained. Many Harsingar flower trees are there on the campus. There is a good sitting place in front of the temple underneath a Banyan Tree. Near it is a hexagonal marble "Shilapatta" on which history of the temple is engraved. The main entrance gate is beautifully constructed. For parking vehicles, there are lots of space in front of the gate and shops. Reaching Itkhori is not difficult because Ranchi Barhi is National Highway. From Arar to Itkhori autos are available. But it is better to have an owned/hired vehicle than public transport. It will save time.

                Spending some time on the campus gave us a lot of peace and happiness. 
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