Maa Mangala Temple is situated in the city of Kakatpur on the eastern coast in the Puri district of Odisha. The name of the deity as “Kakatpur Mangala” comes from a legend that the inhabitants of the village of Kakatpur believed. The goddess Mangala remained hidden under the deep waters of the Prachi River.
Once a boatman was sailing his boat across river Prachi. At that time the river was outpouring and flooded so he was unable to sail his boat to the middle of the river. He spent the whole day and night but was not able to sail his boat and in the early morning, before dawn, Goddess Mangala came into his dream and asked him to recover her from the water and to establish her in nearby Mangalapur village. The boatman dived into the water and was able to find the deity from the bed of the river.
Then as per the direction of the Goddess he established the figure of the deity in a temple in Mangalapur village. After this, the boatman saw a black crow dived into the water and did not come out of the water for hours and days, the crow was detained inside the water of river Prachi exactly in the same place from where he recovered the figure of Goddess Mangala.
In the local Oriya language ‘Crow‘ means ‘Kaka‘ and ‘Detained‘ means ‘Atka‘. So by combining the two words it becomes ‘Kaka-Atka‘, so during the course of time the Mangalapur village is known as ‘Kakata‘ (Kaka-Atka) pur and the Goddess is known as Kakatpur Mangala.
The temple was built in the typical Kalinga style and is an important pilgrimage for devotees of Shakti worshippers. Pilgrims attend the temple in search of blessings from Maa Mangala. There is a solid stone bed on which Maa Mangala would rest after having traveled the entire universe every day. As if to testify, the bed appears worn in the same way as if it had been used for centuries.
Goddesses are worshipped in other provinces of India in different names like Mangala, SuMangala, Shree Mangala, Sarba Mangala, Pradeepta Mangala, Manga Lamba, Mangala Gauree, Mangaleswaree, Maha Mangala, Mangal Chandee and in so many other names as per SHASTRAS. Very weighty descriptions of this deity are seen in a large number of ancient Indian Sanskrit SHASTRAS. Among the 51 eminent SHAKTIS worshipped at 51 SHAKTI-PITHAS of India, she has occupied two positions in the name of Sarba Mangala at Bardhhaman of West-Bengal and Mangal Chandee at Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. Among the 18 Most-eminent SHAKTIS i.e. MAHA-SHAKTIS, she has occupied one position in the name of Mangala Gauri at Gaya of Bihar, which has been described also by Adi-Shankarachaya in his “Astadasa Saktipeetha Stotram”.
Kakatpur Mangala Devi Temple Timings:
Morning: 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Evening: 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Puri Jagannath Temple & Maa Mangala Temple Relation :
Kakatpur Maa Mangala temple is closely linked to Puri Jagannath Temple during Navakalebara. Every twelve or nineteen years, when the new wooden idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, the goddess Subhadra and Sudarshan are replaced during the Nabakalevara, the priests (Daitapati) of the temple of Puri pray to the goddess Mangala in the temple of Kakatpur to give you spiritual advice. The goddess appears in their dreams and indicates the exact location of the three sacred trees for the four deities from which the idols of the goddesses are made.
Kakatpur Mangala Devi Temple History:
There is a famous story behind the evolution of the name of the deity as ‘Kakatpur’ Mangala and believed by the local people. Goddess Mangala kept herself hidden under the deep water of river Prachi. Once a boatman was sailing his boat across river Prachi. At that time the river was outpouring and flooded so he was unable to sail his boat to the middle of the river. Goddess Mangala came in his dream and asked him to recover her from the water and to establish her in nearby Mangalapur village. The boatman dived into the water and was able to find the deity from the bed of the river. Then as per the direction of the Goddess he established the figure of the deity in a temple in Mangalapur village.
After this the boatman saw a black crow dived into the water and did not come out of the water for hours and days, the crow was detained inside the water of river Prachi exactly in the same place from where he recovered the figure of Goddess Mangala. In Oriya language the word crow means ‘kaka’ and the word detain means ‘atka.’ Thus, the village is known as ‘Kakatpur’ and the goddess is named as Kakatpur Mangala. That time i.e 500 years ago the then local Jamindar Roychudamoni family made the mandir at Kakatpur with all the Sebak arrangements. This Mandir was built by Panchanan Mitra (Roychudamoni) on 1548 AD. This goddess is very famous for all the qualities of peace, power, happiness, love, purity, knowledge & truth.
Kakatpur Maa Mangala Temple Jhamu Yatra:
Jhamu Yatra is the most popular festival of Goddess Mangala which falls on the first Tuesday of the Vaisakh every year. On this occasion, devotees collect water from river Prachi and pray to get her blessings. Then with the mud pot, filled with water, on their shoulder, they are able to walk on the surface of a burning fire spread on a long channel on bare feet. Due to their faith on Goddess Mangala and Her blessings on them, the devotees are unhurt and uninjured while performing such a risky custom. Every year thousands of devotees come to Kakatpur to celebrate the Jhamu festival.
Kakatpur Mangala Devi Temple Navakalebara:
Kakatpur Mangala temple has a close relation with Lord Jagannath Temple of Puri during the Navakalebara (Renovation of the Deities) festival. The new idols are created from a sacred wood known as “Daru”. As per the tradition, the priests of Lord Jagannath temple come to Kakatpur Mangala to pray to the Goddess to help them to find the Holy sacred wood. The priests visit the goddess and offer Her the things brought for the Banajaga Yatra and then the Goddess at night shows the direction of the holy sacred wood or daru in their dreams. This custom has been performed for years together without any deviation. This shows the power and energy of Goddess Mangala and her blessings for her devotees.
Mangala Temple Festivals:
Jhamu Jatra
Sarbanga Chandana Lagi Besa
Nabakalebara
Basanti Durga Puja
Saradiya Durga Puja
Sri Durga Sayana Utsav
Debasnana Purnima
Where to stay near Kakatpur Maa Temple :
There are many hotels and resorts available near Maa Mangala Temple. Below are some of the hotels and resorts near Maa Mangala.
Lotus Resort
Sun Temple Hotel
The Pearl
Nature Camp Konark Retreat
Marwadi Hotel and Lodge
Surya Inn
Lotus Resort Ramchand Beach
OYO Homes Konark Sun Temple
Kakatpur Mangala Temple Address:
Konark-Kakatpur Road,
Kakatpur,
Puri,
Odisha 752108
Phone: +91 9658157505
Email: kalyan.dash10@gmail.com