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Kharchi Puja | |
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Type | Hindu Festival |
Frequency | Annual |
Kharchi Puja is a Hindu festival from Tripura, India. Performed in Agartala in July or August, the festival involves the worship of the fourteen gods forming the dynasty deity of the Tripuri people. [1] Kharchi Puja is one of the most popular festivals in Tripura. It's a week-long royal Puja which falls in the month of July on the eighth day of the new moon and attracts thousands of people. This festival is celebrated at Agartala (Puran Agartala) in the temple premises of Fourteen gods. There are many legends associated with this Puja. The celebrations extend until a week and are held in the temple premises which are attended by thousands of people.
The word "Kharchi" is derived from the word "Khya" which means "Earth". Kharchi Puja is basically done to worship the earth. All of rituals are of tribal origin, which includes worshipping fourteen gods and Mother Earth. The Puja is performed to wash out the sins and to clean the post-menstrual phase of Mother Earth's menstruation. Thus the Puja is performed for seven consecutive days. On the day of the Puja, the fourteen gods are carried to river "Saidra" by the members of "Chantai". The gods are bathed in the holy water and are brought back to the temple. They are again placed in the temple by performing Puja, offering of Flowers and Vermillion. Animal sacrifice is also an important part of this festival and includes sacrificing of Goats and Pigeons. People offer sweets and the sacrificial meat to god. Both tribal and non-tribal people join and celebrate the festival in a festive mood by becoming a part of it. Plenty of other attractions along with a large fair and cultural programs are organized during this time.
Kharchi puja is performed after 15 days of "Ama Pechi". According to Tripuri legends, "Ama Pechi" is the Menstruation of the mother goddess, or Earth mother, and the soil is neither ploughed nor dug anywhere during this time. Among Tripuri people menstruation is considered unholy and all significant functions by women are prohibited. The Earth is therefore considered unclean after the menstruation of the earth mother during "Ama Pechi". The Kharchi puja is performed to wash out the Post-Menstrual uncleanliness of the Earth mother's Menstruation.
Kharchi puja lasts for seven consecutive days. The festival is held at the temple of fourteen gods at Old Agartala. On the day of puja, the fourteen deities are carried by chanting members and taken to the river Saidra, bathed in the holy water, and then returned to the temple. The deities are then decorated with various flowers and vermillion is placed on each deity's forehead.
Every day large numbers of people attend the festival and both Tripuri and Non-Tripuri participants. People offer different types of Prasāda i.e., Offerings like Goat, Buffalo, Sweets, etc.. Various cultural programmes are performed each evening and a large fair is organised to mark the occasion. People look to their own welfare as well as the welfare of the society and the state in general. [2] The Last Kharcha Puja was held on 10 July 2019.
Puja is a worship ritual performed by Hindus to offer devotional homage and prayer to one or more deities, to host and honour a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event. It may honour or celebrate the presence of special guests, or their memories after they die. The word puja is roughly translated into English as 'reverence, honour, homage, adoration, or worship'. Puja, the loving offering of light, flowers, and water or food to the divine, is the essential ritual of Hinduism. For the worshipper, the divine is visible in the image, and the divinity sees the worshipper. The interaction between human and deity, between human and guru, is called a Darshanam.
Tripura is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers 10,491 km2 (4,051 sq mi); and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 3.67 million. It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east and by Bangladesh to the north, south and west. Tripura is divided into 8 districts and 23 sub-divisions, where Agartala is the capital and the largest city in the state. Tripura has 19 different tribal communities with a majority Bengali population. Bengali, English and Kokborok are the state's official languages.
Agartala is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Tripura, situated on the banks of Haora/Saidra River, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of the border with Bangladesh and about 2,499 km (1,552 mi) from the national capital, New Delhi. According to 2022 AMC data, Agartala is the second most populous city after Guwahati in Northeast India. It is India's third international internet gateway and being developed under the Smart Cities Mission.
Kokborok (or Tripuri) is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Indian state of Tripura and neighbouring areas of Bangladesh. Its name comes from kok meaning "verbal" and borok meaning "people" or "human", It is one of the ancient languages of Northeast India.
The Tripuri are a Tibeto-Burman-speaking ethnic group of Northeast Indian state of Tripura. They are the descendants of the inhabitants of the Twipra/Tripura Kingdom in North-East India and Bangladesh. The Tripuri people through the Manikya dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Tripura for over 600 years starting from 1400 A.D. until the kingdom joined the Indian Union on 15 October 1949. The Tipra Dynasty was established in 590 AD.
The Dances of Tripura refer to several forms of folk dance performed in the state of Tripura in northeastern India. These dances are performed by the Tripuri and Mog peoples, during annual regional celebrations, such as sowing and harvesting festivals.
Krishna Nagar is one of the most densely populated parts of the Agartala city and located almost in the middle of Agartala.
Reang is one of the Tripuri clan of the Northeast Indian state. The Reangs can be found all over the Tripura state in India. However, they may also be found in Assam and Mizoram. They speak the Reang dialect similar to Kokborok language, which has Tibeto-Burmese roots and is locally known as Kau Bru.
The Twipra Kingdom was one of the largest historical kingdoms of the Tripuri people in Northeast India.
The Chaturdasha Temple is a Hindu temple (mandir) near Old Agartala in Tripura, India, and features the Tripuri dome patterned after the roofs of village huts in Tripura. The dome is surmounted by a stupa-like structure which reveals traces of Buddhist influence. This temple was built in honour of fourteen deities, together called the Chaturdasha Devata. Devotees visit the temple for the kharchi festival.
The Maa Sarala Temple is a Hindu temple in the district of Jagatsinghpur, Odisha, India. It is one of the eight most famous Shakta shrines of Odisha.
Lakshmi Puja is a Hindu occasion for the veneration of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and the supreme goddess of Vaishnavism. The occasion is celebrated on the amavasya in the Vikram Samvat Hindu calendar month of Ashwayuja or Kartika, on the third day of Deepavali (Tihar) in most part of India and Nepal. In Assam, Bengal, and Odisha, this puja is celebrated five days after Vijaya Dashami.
The culture of Tripura is distinct and a bit similar to other people of Northeast India. However like Assam, Manipur, Burma and Southeast Asia culture of Tripura is characterized in small portion where people live in plain and hill areas. Tripura is a state in North East India. In the 2001 census of India, Bengalis represented almost 70% of the population and the Tripuri population comprised 30% of Tripura's population. The Tripuri population comprises some clans and ethnic groups with diverse languages and cultures. The largest native group was the Tripuri who had a population of 543,848 in 2001 census, representing 16.99% of the state population and 54.7% of the scheduled tribe population. The other group of people in order of decreasing population were Chakma (6.5%), Halam (4.8%), Mog (3.1%), Munda, Kuki tribes and Garo Hajong. Bengali is the most spoken language, due to the dominance of Bengali people in the state. Kokborok (Tripuri/Tiprakok) is a common language among Tripuris and lingua franca in Tripura. Several other languages belonging to Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan families are spoken by the different tribe
Kali Puja, also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. It is celebrated on the new moon day of the Hindu calendar month of Ashwayuja or Kartika. The festival is especially popular in the region of West Bengal, and other places like Mithila, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, and Tripura, as well as the town of Titwala in Maharashtra, along with the neighbouring country of Bangladesh.
The Ambubachi Mela is an annual Hindu mela (gathering) held at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Assam. This yearly mela is celebrated during the monsoon season that happens to fall during the Assamese month Ahaar, around the middle of June when the sun transits to the zodiac of Mithuna, when the Brahmaputra River is in spate. During this time Brahmaputra River near the temple turns Red for three days.
The practice of Hindu animal sacrifice is in recent times mostly associated with Shaktism, and in currents of folk Hinduism strongly rooted in local popular or tribal traditions. Animal sacrifices were part of the ancient Vedic Era in India, and are mentioned in scriptures such as the Puranas. The Hindu scripture Brahma Vaivarta Purana forbids the Asvamedha Horse sacrifice in this Kali Yuga. However, the perception that animal sacrifice was only practiced in ancient Non-Vedic Era is opposed by instances like Ashvamedha and other rituals that are rooted in Vedas. Both the Itihasas and the Puranas like the Devi Bhagavata Purana and the Kalika Purana as well as the Saiva and Sakta Agamas prescribe animal sacrifices.
Kailashahar is the fourth largest urban area in the north eastern state of India, Tripura, located near northwest Bangladesh border. It is a Municipal council and the administrative center of the Unakoti district, this city is surrounded by unakoti hills and flows through Tripura's longest river, Manu.
Here is a list of glossary of Culture of India in alphabetical order:
Ganga puja is a religious festival of the northeastern state of Tripura in India. The tribal Tripuri people worship the Goddess of the river, and pray to be saved from epidemic diseases and for the well-being of pregnant women. The celebration involves building a temple of bamboo in the middle of the river or a water stream. The River Ganges, known locally as Ganga, is one of the fourteen prime deities worshipped in this region. The festival is popularly celebrated throughout the state. The festival is popularly celebrated throughout the state somewhere in March, April or May, with its date fixed according to the Hindu Lunisolar calendar.
The Chaturdasa Devata or Fourteen Gods is the Shaivite Hindu pantheon worshipped in the Indian state of Tripura.