Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday inaugurated the week-long Kharchi Puja, one of the state’s largest and most significant religious and cultural festivals, marking the beginning of the annual celebrations in Agartala.
The inaugural ceremony was attended by Agartala Mayor Deepak Majumder, local MLA and Tripura BJP president, along with several public representatives and dignitaries.
Extending greetings to devotees and visitors, Saha said the festival reflects Tripura’s rich cultural heritage and traditions while promoting communal harmony and social unity.
Thousands of devotees, tourists and local residents participated in the inaugural celebrations, offering prayers and taking part in traditional rituals. The state administration has made extensive arrangements to ensure the smooth conduct of the festival and facilitate the movement of visitors during the week-long event.
Kharchi Puja, one of Tripura’s most revered festivals, is dedicated to the worship of the Chaturdasha Devata, or the 14 deities regarded as the ancestral deities of Tripura’s erstwhile royal family and deeply revered by the state’s indigenous communities.
Celebrated annually during the month of Ashadha, the festival is observed on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the waxing moon, when the 14 deities are worshipped together at the historic Chaturdasha Devata Temple in Old Agartala. The occasion is regarded as an important expression of the state’s religious traditions and cultural heritage.
According to local tradition, the origins of the festival are linked to Queen Hirabati, who is believed to have brought the 14 deities to the royal palace after protecting them from danger. The deities subsequently became the patron gods of Tripura’s royal family, and their worship has continued through generations.
The present Chaturdasha Devata Temple in Old Agartala was built by King Krishna Kishore Manikya (1760–1783) after the capital was shifted from Udaipur due to repeated Mughal invasions.
The temple’s chief priest, known as the Chantai, conducts the annual rituals dedicated to the 14 deities, who are revered in the indigenous tradition and are also associated in the Bengali tradition with deities including Shiva, Uma, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartikeya, Ganesha and Brahma, reflecting a unique blend of tribal, Vedic and Puranic religious traditions.
Kharchi Puja attracts thousands of devotees and visitors from across the country every year and is regarded as one of Tripura’s most important festivals, showcasing the state’s cultural diversity and centuries-old religious heritage.
(With ANI inputs)
