The legacy of Goddess Bhattarika worth defying

Nestled in the village of Sasanga of Badamba tehsil at the foothill of Ratnagiri on the bank of River Mahanadi, the shrine is dedicated to Goddess Bhattarika, a manifestation of Shakti. The mother Goddess is considered the presiding deity of Badamba.

As per a legend, in the Tretaya yug, Parashuram (God with an axe and considered one of the ten manifestations of Lord Vishnu of Hindu Trinity) had visited Ratnagiri. He could feel here the presence of some sort of divine power after his axe fell from his hand. He started meditating and sensed presence of Goddess Bhattarika and sought her blessings. Hence the place is also called Parsuram pitha.

Locals say, long ago tradition of human sacrifice was prevalent here. As per the ancient ritual, the prey would be left alone (to die) at the place as an offering. However, after a while, he would be found alive near the temple. Belief is that since the mother Goddess doesn’t accept her son as an offering, she returns the human, unharmed. Every year a boy drowns in the nearby river. However, to everybody’s astonishment the same boy is found later in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple after being left by a consecrated crocodile.

Ritual of Goddess Bhattarika begins at 3 am every day. Fish, Khechudi, and pitha are offered to the Goddess.

The major festival of Bhattarika pitha is observed from Mulastami to Dusshera every year. On the eighth (Ashtami) day the Goddess manifests into the body of the priest (Agrapujaka). He hails a long sword and enters the sanctum sanctorum of the temple to perform certain secret rituals. A huge number of devotees flock to the destination on this occasion.