Mata Temple, Muzaffarpur – Bharat Temples

The Mata Temple in the Muzaffarpur district in Bihar is another temple where men are not allowed entry during certain days in the year. It is the time when the Mata has her periods. Only women are allowed inside with the Temple out-of-bounds, even for male priests during this time.

A Shakti Sthal, much like the Kamakhya Temple in Assam, prohibits men from entering the temple premises during the time when the Goddess is believed to be menstruating. Mata Temple in Muzaffarpur, Bihar only permits women during the time of “periods”.

During this time, the temple management also allows only women to enter the premises. The rules are so strictly followed that during this auspicious time even a male priest is not allowed to enter the temple premises, and it becomes ‘women only’.

Architecture

In the temple, Shodashi Maheshwari is the perfect deity of Shakti. It is the fourth place among the ten Mahavidyas mentioned in the Agam Shastra. This goddess with the mantra of sixteen letters has sixteen arms and two eyes. The goddess is sitting on the lotus seat emerging from the navel of Mahadev lying in a calm posture. Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra and Ishvara are situated at the bottom in order from north to south and Mahadev is lying above them, from whose navel a lotus flower has emerged as a welcome, on which Goddess Bhagwati is seated.

Legend / Local stories

The temple was established by the local religious leader Umashankar Prasad alias Bachcha Babu. Before the construction of the temple, they had only five daughters, they were not having a son.

Then he was told that Mata fulfils the wishes of the devotees, due to which he got the inspiration to build the temple of Mata. For this, he contacted Pandit Nirsan Mishra. According to his instructions, the Goddess temple was established on 28 June 1941, Ashadh Shukla Paksha Tritiya Tithi. After a few months, Bacha Babu got the son Ratna. Since then, people’s faith in the temple has increased further. The head of the temple, Dr Dharmendra Tiwari, told that this temple is the personal property of Amitabh Mehrotra, son of Bachcha Babu.

There is a story about this form of mother that once Parvati ji asked Shiva the way to get rid of sorrows, then Shiva told Bhagwati about Shodasi Shree Vidya Sadhana. It is said that Maharishi Durvasha also worshipped Shri Shodashi Mata. The wishes of the devotees are also fulfilled in the Devi temple of the city.