Poramatala, Nabadwip, West Bengal

Poramatala is one of the sacred religious center in Nabadwip. Hundreds of devotees offer prayer here. And on special occasions the number swells into thousands. This place is unlike any typical temples. A huge banyan tree covers this place like an umbrella. The idol of goddess Porama is located in the cavity of the banyan tree. It is said there is also a tunnel beneath the tree. There are other two temples of godddes Bhabotarini and lord Shiva. It looks like the roots of the banyan tree is holding the temple of goddess Bhabotarini and lord Shiva.

On the left hand side of ma Porama mandir, is the temple of Goddess Bhabotarini, an avatar of goddess Kali. The idol of goddess Bhabotarini is so beautiful though angry faced. For her even fish is offered. For her, prayer is offered only once a day.

On the right hand side is the temple of lord Shiva. The shiva linga here is one of the largest I have seen. The structure of the temple is typical Bishnupur (Bengal) style.

The temples are said to be very old one. One story goes that, once the banyan tree caught fire and ma Porama shown dream to one local priest that she is living in the tree and to arrange for prayer there. This place teems with activity from early morning till evening. Flower vendors, prasad (sweets etc) sellers, god’s cloth sellers, imitation ornament sellers all have shops here. The place around Poramatala is also the commercial center of Nabadwip.

I have been lucky to visit this place few times. But this time, I tried to notice this place closely. I would like to share an interesting incident which happened an early morning. I was there at 4.30 am. Around 5 am, the the pujari (monk) of the temple who is supposed to open the temple started cleaning the temple. One huge black Ox and a white color spotted cow entered the premises of the temple and headed to one of side of Ma Porama mandir where some hay and flower remained. Here in the hay remained slept 3 dogs who found warmth in the winter night of February. A while later I noticed that after cleaning the temple, the Pujari and people started throwing the used flowers there. So the Ox and the Cow knew about the time and what is up for grab. Looks like they are regular visitors here.

At very few places I have heard people calling god or goddess from the bottom of their heart. One can heard calls like Ma tomar joy hok – sab samay hok (Mother win shall be yours – all time yours).  People call her mother like their own mother!

In the backdrop of Porama mandir