2 temples and a pilgrim’s progress

Ranchi: It’s widely known that the numerous temples in and around Ranchi, in particular, and the state, at large, have had a major role in popularizing Jharkhand as a tourist destination.
Of the countless big and small temples that the state boasts of, Rajrappa and Jagannathpur, stand out.
The holy Shaktipeeth of Rajrappa temple in Ramgarh district, around 67km from Ranchi has attracted people from around the world since time immemorial.
The Jagannath temple in Ranchi, on the other hand, may be rather empty on a weekday. But come Rath Yatra, the pristine temple overlooking a hill, sees a huge rush of visitors from the state and outside.
Chhinnamasta temple in Rajrappa area of Ramgarh gets at least 5,000-7,000 visitors on a Sunday. Known for its tantrik style of architecture, visitors to this temple offer puja to the headless Kali or ‘chhinnamasta’ on a regular basis.
On a weekday,, around 1000-2000 devotees visit the temple. Occasions like mundan, wedding and amavasya have more visitors, who come to offer animals to appease the goddess. On a lean day, around 20 goats are sacrificed to the goddess by devotees whose wishes have been fulfilled.
Hazaribag resident Savita Devi, who visits the temple every month, said, “We come here quite often. This time we bought a car and house. Our family business is also doing well, so I am going to sacrifice the goat to thank Ma Kali.”
All the 100 priests in the temple have been here for generations. It is said the kings in the old days had brought the ‘pandas’ from Bengal and given them land in Ramgarh. Since then, their sons have carried on the legacy. Each priest has an hour’s duty every day and during seasons of yatri and mundan, they get little rest.
Rajrappa is beleived to be a pilgrimage for the Santals and other tribals who come to immerse the ashes of their loved ones in the Damodar. They come in hordes during December, in groups known as yatri.
“My ancestral home is in Kalighat, but now I belong to this place. Over the years, I have seen the temple grow in popularity,” said 60-year-old Deepak Panda, who sometimes does night-duty at the temple.
He added that despite the huge popularity of the temple, the infrastructure remains poor.
This is evident right in the beginning when devotees have to cross the Bhera river by foot or in a boat in order to reach the temple. The other means of reaching the temple is longer and more time-consuming for all those who come from Bengal and Bihar.
Resthouses, mandap and markets around the temple were constructed during the Madhu Koda regime and the Birla guesthouse was made during Lalu Yadav’s rule in undivided Bihar. But there are hardly any women’s toilets here. Women have to bathe in the open and have no place to change. Though ministers have promised to build latrines for women, nothing has been done in this regard so far.
The Jagannath temple of Jagannathpur in Ranchi, however, presents a study in contrast. The ruins of the older temple gave way to the new monument, which offers a spectacular view from a hill and is well-maintained and clean. This is a smaller version of the famous Jagannath temple in Puri, which has 1.5-2 lakh visitors every year on Rath yatra every year.
Brajbhushan Nath Mishra, the chief priest of the temple, said: “The temple is run by members of Jagannath Mandir Nyay Samiti, who have ensured facilities in all ways. Even foreigners come to this temple and are happy with the facilities.”
At this time of the year, there are seven people constructing the rath for the festival of Rath Yatra. Tents are also being set up to host the rath mela, which is quite different from its original counterpart. The mela has shops selling agricultural tools, catering mostly to the adivasis or tribals from different parts of the state. Tribal dances are also performed adding colour and life to the occasion.