On the Kumari hills above the Rushikulya river near Berhampur in Odisha, the twin goddesses Tara and Tarini are worshipped as one of the four Adi Shakti Peethas — the primordial seats recognised in the Shiva Purana, Devi Bhagavata, and Kalika Purana. In the tradition of the Peethas, the breasts of Sati fell here (the Sthana Khanda), and so the hill shrine is revered as the seat of the Mother as nourisher and protector.
The two deities, worshipped as a pair of adorned heads, are honoured as manifestations of the Adi Shakti who sustain and shield their devotees like a mother. Reached by a long flight of stone steps or a ropeway up the hill, the shrine draws its greatest crowds during the Chaitra festival, when tens of thousands climb to seek the Mother's blessing.
Tara Tarini is the great Shakta heart of southern Odisha — ancient, twin, and deeply beloved.
