At Udaipur in Tripura, atop a hillock shaped like a tortoise, stands the temple of Tripura Sundari — known affectionately as Matabari — one of the revered Shakti Peethas of the eastern land. In the tradition of the Peethas, the right foot of Sati is said to have fallen here, and the Goddess is worshipped as Tripura Sundari, a supremely beautiful and sovereign form of the Devi, with a smaller image of Chhoto-Ma beside the main deity.
Built in the sixteenth century by a king of the Manikya dynasty, the temple in the Bengali hut-roofed (chala) style sits beside the broad Kalyan Sagar lake, whose waters teem with fish and tortoises fed by devotees. Worshipped in the tantric Sri Vidya tradition as Shodashi, the Goddess is the guardian deity of the region.
Especially thronged at Diwali, when a great mela gathers at her feet, Matabari is the spiritual heart of Tripura and a cherished seat of the Mother.
