Stories
Tripura Royal Family's 250-Year Tradition: Two-Armed Durga, Nagrai Shoes on Asura-Kartik!
- •In Chanduli, Katwa, a 250-year-old tradition of the Tripura royal family sees a two-armed Goddess Durga worshipped.
- •The Goddess here is not ten-armed but appears in a serene and gentle two-armed form.
- •Asura and Kartik wear Nagrai shoes, a unique feature reflecting old royal attire.
- •Hatuballav Mitra, a senior manager of the Tripura royal family, established this Durga temple around 1755.
- •While animal sacrifices, including buffalo sacrifice on Navami, were once practiced, they have been stopped; however, jatra (folk theater) continues.
Key Questions Answered
Unlike the traditional ten-armed depiction, the Goddess here is two-armed, reflecting a serene form rooted in Tripura's royal family history. Additionally, the Asura and Kartik figures wear distinctive Nagrai shoes as part of the old royal attire maintained by the Mitra family.
The tradition began around 1755 when Hatuballav Mitra, a senior naib of the Tripura royal family, returned to his birthplace Chanduli in Katwa and established a temple. He modeled the worship after a two-armed form of the Goddess seen in a dream by Rani Sulakshana, wife of King Krishnakishore of Tripura.
While animal sacrifices were once performed for all four days along with a tradition of buffalo sacrifice on Navami, buffalo sacrifice has since been stopped by a family decision. Cultural practices have also evolved, with traditional theater stopping, though folk theater or jatra is still organized during the festival.
