Umrai, near Talwara · Banswara district, Rajasthan, India
Three towns fell to dust around Her. The Mother Of the Three Remained.
Umrai, Banswara, Rajasthan The Shakti seat of Vagad Eighteen-Armed black stone Murti Open 5 am to 9 pm in summer Navratri · Garba in Her courtyard
The road out of Banswara runs through the green Vagad country toward Talwara, and at Umrai the fields give way to a walled courtyard the villagers simply call Matabari, the house of The Mother. Inside, in a sanctum nine feet square, She Waits in black stone: Eighteen Arms, each Hand Holding its own emblem, the Nine Durgas carved about Her, a Shri Yantra At Her Feet. Kings of three kingdoms once bowed here.
As the tradition tells, when Vishnu's discus parted the Body Of Maa Sati into Fifty-One pieces, a part Of Her Fell upon this ground, and Vagad has honored this Seat among the Shakti Peethas ever since. The tellings kept here do not all name the limb; they agree that She Is here.
The Murti Is black stone, about five feet, with Eighteen Arms bearing weapons and emblems. Temple and government accounts describe Her Seated Upon a lion, and some tellings say a tiger. The Nava Durgas stand carved beside Her, and the Sixty-Four Yoginis attend Her.
Devotees hold that Maa Shows Three forms in one day: Kumarika, a young girl, at morning, a radiant young woman at midday, a full-grown Mother by dusk. For this She Is called Tripura Sundari, and in older speech the people called Her Tartai Mata.
The story the Vagad hills keep
When Sati, The First Consort Of Shiva, Gave Up Her Body in the fire of Her father's insult, Shiva carried Her across the worlds until Vishnu loosed his discus and Her Body Fell to earth piece by piece, each piece becoming a Shakti Peetha. The Vagad country holds that one of those pieces Came To Rest here at Umrai, and the name the land remembers is older than the paperwork: Tartai Mata, also written Turita Mata. The fuller name, Tripura Sundari, is tied to three towns said to have stood around this ground, Shaktipuri or Sitapuri, Shivpuri and Vishnupuri, so that The Mother Ruled three cities from one Seat.
How old the shrine is, no record says. Local and government accounts hold that it stood before Kanishka, the Kushan emperor whose rule touched this region in the first century. The oldest firm witness is an inscription of Vikram Samvat 1540, about 1483 CE, and the Devasthan department notes the word Tripurari cut in a stone edict of that time. In 1157 CE the Panchal community raised a spire over Her, a second spire followed in 1930, a full restoration in 1977. The rulers of Gujarat, Malwa and Marwar worshipped at this door, and the Solanki king Siddharaj Jai Singh of Gujarat Counted Her his chosen Goddess.
What you'll actually see
1
The Eighteen-Armed Mother in black stone
The Murti Stands about five feet, cut from black stone, Eighteen Arms fanned about Her, each Hand with its own weapon or emblem. The Nine forms of Durga are carved around Her, the tradition of the Sixty-Four Yoginis attends the shrine, and a Shri Yantra, the diagram of Her own cosmos, Rests At Her Feet.
2
One Goddess, Three watches of the day
The temple's own telling is that Maa Changes with the light: a young girl, Kumarika, in the morning, a woman in her full radiance at midday, a complete Mother by evening. The name Tripura Sundari, The Beauty Of the Three, carries both this and the three vanished towns.
3
The seat kings bowed to
The rulers of Gujarat, Malwa and Marwar came to this courtyard, and Siddharaj Jai Singh, the Solanki king of Gujarat, Held Her as his favored Goddess. Through it all the Panchal Samaj chokhla has kept the shrine as its hereditary charge, from the spire of 1157 CE to the restorations of 1930 and 1977.
Shri Tripura Sundari Temple, Banswara · photo by Vedpriyaa, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
When the courtyard turns to song
Navratri at Tartai Mata's door
Twice a year, in the Navratras of Chaitra and of Ashwin, the temple keeps the full nine nights: the ghat is installed, barley is sown, the Durga Saptashati is recited before Her, and Garba and Dandiya are danced in the courtyard through the evenings. When the nights end, the sprouted jaware are carried in procession to the Mahi river.
The temple also keeps a patotsava each year on Kartik Purnima. Festival days draw the largest crowds of the year; come early.
Plan your visit
By air
Maharana Pratap Airport at Udaipur is the nearest, about 161 km by road per Rajasthan tourism sources.
By rail
Ratlam Junction in Madhya Pradesh is the nearest major railhead; sources give the distance as roughly 101 to 154 km. Confirm your onward taxi or bus at Banswara.
Timings
Summer: about 5 am to 9 pm, mangla aarti near 7 am. Winter: about 5:30 am to 8:30 pm, mangla aarti near 7:30 am. The sanctum rests from 1 pm to 2:30 pm.
Best time
Early morning, when devotees come for the Kumarika form and the mangla aarti. Navratri evenings are the fullest of the year.
Dress
Modest dress, covered shoulders and knees, as at any Shakti Peetha.
Getting there
The temple stands at Umrai village, about 5 km from Talwara and 14 to 20 km from Banswara town by road. Local buses and taxis run from Banswara.
Good to know
The site is called Matabari locally. The sanctum measures nine feet by nine feet, and the temple runs a bhojan shala for pilgrims.
Regional countings differ: some name Fifty-One Shakti Peethas, others Fifty-Two. Vagad tradition holds this Seat firmly within the count.
Accounts differ on Her mount: the temple and government pages say a lion, some tellings say a tiger. Older speech called Her Tartai Mata or Turita Mata.
Questions pilgrims ask
Which Part Of Maa Sati Fell here?
The tellings kept at this Seat do not agree on the limb. What Vagad tradition holds without wavering is that a part Of Maa Sati Fell upon this ground, and that this is the great Shakti Peetha of the region.
What are the darshan timings?
In summer the temple opens about 5 am and closes about 9 pm, with mangla aarti near 7 am. In winter it runs about 5:30 am to 8:30 pm, with mangla aarti near 7:30 am. The sanctum rests from 1 pm to 2:30 pm daily. Confirm on festival days.
How do I reach the temple?
Come by road from Banswara town, 14 to 20 km away. The nearest airport is Maharana Pratap Airport at Udaipur, about 161 km, and the nearest major railhead is Ratlam Junction in Madhya Pradesh.
Walk the sacred map
This Is one Seat among many. Her Body Fell across the whole of the old world:
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