Sri Nartiang Durga Temple
The sacrifice ritual is
performed at a Boli Garbha in the temple's basement, and it is carried out
there all the way to the river, creating a tunnel. The antique guns of the
Kings are kept at the Durga temple, which gives it a unique appearance in comparison
to other temples.
Devi's left thigh is
believed to have fallen at Nartiang in the Jaintia Hills. Hence the Goddess is
known as Jainteshwari. The Jaintia king Jaso Manik (1606–1641) had married
Lakshmi Narayana, the daughter of the Hindu Koch king Nara Narayana. It is
believed that it was Lakshmi Narayana who had influenced the Jaintia Royalty to
embrace Hinduism. King Dhan Manik made Nartiang the summer capital of the
Jaintia Kingdom about 600 years ago. One night, the goddess appeared to him in
a dream, informed him of the significance of the place, and asked him to
build a temple in Her honor. Following this, the Jainteshwari temple in
Nartiang was established. The strategic location of the temple and the presence of
weapons like cannons suggest that the temple must have been part of a fort of
the Jaintia Kings.
The most significant
celebration at this temple is Durga Puja. A banana plant is dressed up and
worshiped as the Goddess during Durga Puja. The plant is ceremonially submerged
in the Myntdu River after the four-day celebrations. On this
occasion, the Goddess also receives a gun salute.
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