Jagaddhatri Puja

What it is

Jagaddhatri is a Hindu goddess whose name means she who holds up the world. In the Puranas she appears as an incarnation of Siddhidhatri, and tradition also describes her as joining Bhuvaneshwari with Durga. Some Tantras and the Shiva Purana give her the name Uma Haimavati, while the Katyayini Tantra calls her Mahadurga. She rides a lion and carries a discus, a bow, arrows and a conch shell. Shiva is her consort. Images show her in red and green. Her rituals follow Tantra, and those who keep them say the worship loosens the grip of ego and of wanting things.

Origins and history

Accounts of how the worship began differ. The best known story credits Maharaja Krishnachandra of Krishnanagar. Held back from paying taxes, he was jailed by Nawab Alivardi Khan and came home on Vijaya Dashami, having missed Durga Puja. The goddess is said to have appeared to him, and he started the rite. Local history tells it otherwise: Chandrachur Tarkamani of Santipur had an image made for Raja Girishchandra, and idol worship began at Bramhasason in Haripur. Idols inside the Jaleshwara and Raghaveshwara temples at Shantipur, from 1665 and 1669, suggest the goddess was known in Nadia earlier.

How it is kept

The puja runs either across five days or only on the Navami tithi, the ninth day of the bright half of Kartika. Priests follow Tantric rites. In Krishnanagar the town fills with lights, flowers and pandals, and more than two hundred clubs and barowaris take part, with over five lakh devotees visiting each year. The best known image is Burima of Chasapara, begun in 1772 and nicknamed the Tirupathi of Krishnanagar. Kathalpota's Choto Maa, College Street's Mejo Maa and Malopara's Maa Jaleswari are also well known. At immersion, locals call the rite Sang.

In other places

Jagaddhatri Puja is kept in many Bengal towns, among them Tehatta, Howrah, Bhadreswar, Boinchi and Ashoknagar-Kalyangarh. Chandannagar is known for a procession with huge lighting displays, shaped by French and Bengali organisers working together, and described as the second largest of its kind after Rio de Janeiro's. In Odisha, Bhanjpur near Baripada holds the Jagaddhatri Mela, an eight to fifteen day carnival called a mini Bali Jatra. Since 2000 its pandal has copied a famous building each year, among them the Taj Mahal, the US Capitol and the Titanic.

What it means

Those who keep the puja say the goddess holds the world up, and that honouring her loosens ego and the pull of possessions. In Bengal her festival is understood as the Devi's return. Older texts connect her day in Kartika with the worship of Uma. For families who have carried the rite for generations, the image is a guardian of the household rather than only a festival figure; some line goddesses are believed to stay awake and watch over their people.

How Jagaddhatri Puja is kept

Preparation begins days ahead, with clay images made and pavilions raised. On the first day the goddess is invoked, and priests make offerings through Tantric rites drawn from texts. Offerings continue morning and evening while crowds walk from pandal to pandal. On the fifth day, or on Navami alone in towns that keep the shorter form, the final worship is held. The image is then carried out for immersion. In Krishnanagar this farewell is known as Sang, and neighbours join in.

When and where

The puja falls in the bright half of Kartika, the month that runs through October and November, and its chief day is the Navami tithi, the ninth lunar day. Some places keep it across five days, others only on that ninth day. The Baripada mela begins on Gosthastami and closes on Dashami. The luni-solar Hindu calendar fixes the dates each year.

The festival belongs to West Bengal in eastern India, and its strongest centres are Krishnanagar in Nadia district and Chandannagar. Towns such as Singur and Rishra in Hooghly district, and Ichhapur Nawabgunj in North 24 Parganas, also keep it. Other towns in Bengal do too, among them Tehatta, Howrah, Bhadreswar, Boinchi and Ashoknagar-Kalyangarh. In Odisha the town of Baripada holds its mela at Bhanjpur.

What Jagaddhatri Puja means

Those who keep the puja say the goddess holds the world up, and that honouring her loosens ego and the pull of possessions. In Bengal her festival is understood as the Devi's return. Old texts connect her day in Kartika with the worship of Uma. For families who have carried the rite for generations, the image is a guardian of the household, not only a festival figure; some line goddesses are believed to stay awake and watch over their people.

Questions people ask about Jagaddhatri Puja

See also

KathinaA Buddhist season of offering new robes and gifts to monks after the rains retreatAyudha PujaA Hindu festival blessing the tools, vehicles, books and instruments of daily workIkatA resist-dyeing craft from Southeast Asia, where yarns are tied and dyed before weavingKolhapuri chappalHandcrafted braided leather slip-on sandals from western India

Good reading and sources

• Bangla news, latest bengali news, news in bangla, বাংলা নিউজ – ht banglaHindustan Times, Article
• প্রায় ১০০ ভরি সোনায় সাজ দেবীর! তাকলাগানো মণ্ডপসজ্জা, চন্দননগরের এই পুজো না দেখলে পস্তাবেন!The Indian Express, Article
• Bangla news, latest bengali news, news in bangla, বাংলা নিউজ – ht banglaHindustan Times, Article
• প্রায় ১০০ ভরি সোনায় সাজ দেবীর! তাকলাগানো মণ্ডপসজ্জা, চন্দননগরের এই পুজো না দেখলে পস্তাবেন!The Indian Express, Article

• Jagaddhatri Puja on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.