About Maa Mangala Temple, Kakatpur
Maa Mangala Temple is situated in the city of Kakatpur at eastern coast in Puri district of Odisha, India. The Temple is dedicated to Goddess Maa Mangala, a phenomenon of the Mother Goddess Durga, who is believed to have came here to save mankind from struggle and sorrows of Kalinga. The temple is built in typical style of Kalinga and is a major excursion for devotees of Shakti denomination. There is a bed made of solid stone on which it is said Goddess Mangala takes rest after touring the entire nature everyday. As if to attest to this the cot looks worn out in just the same way it would if it were in use for centuries. One day during the war with Mahisasura, she became annoyed but the demon Mahisasura was full of energy and he dropped her in middle of ocean. Durga lived out and gave birth to a baby girl, who suddenly grew to yet another goddess to goddess Maa Mangala.
It is said in ancient times the Goddess Mangala kept herself hidden under the waters of the River Prachi.One day a boatman was unable to cross the river in full spate when Maa Mangala told him in a dream to recover her from the middle of the river and establish her in the village of Mangalapur(kaka-atka). He dived and recovered her goddess and committed the temple to her. The boatman later saw a crow dive into the exact spot in the river from where the deity was recovered but the crow never came out. From this came the name Kakatpur from Kaka for Crow and Atka for stuck.
How effected to Lord Jagannath Temple, Puri?
Maa Mangala temple has a close relation with Lord Jagannath Temple of Puri during the Navakalebara. Every twelve to nineteen years when the new wooden Idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Sudershan are replaced during the Nabakalevara, Priests (Daitapati) of the temple in Puri pray to Goddess Mangala in the Kakatpur temple to give them spiritual guidance. The goddess show up in their dreams and say the accurate location of the three sacred trees for the four deities from which idols of the Goddesses are made.
Rituals and Festivals
The famous festival in the temple is “Jhamu Yatra”, which begins in the month of Vaisakh (April to May) of every year. This falls first to fifth Tuesday of month Vaisakh. On that occasion devotees (ghanta patua) collect revered water from river Prachi and pray the idol to get her blessings, then with the earthen pot , filled with revered water, on their soldier, they are able to walk on the surface of burning fire spread on a long channel on bare feet. Due to their confidence on Maa Mangala and their Mother’s blessing on them, the Devotees are unhurt and uninjured while performing such a tricky custom. Every year thousands of pilgrims come to Kakatpur to celebrate the Jhamu festival (jhamu yatra).