KIRAN ATMA: Vamakhepa

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Hinduism - Who Is Vamakhepa?

(1843–1911) His presence and supposed miraculous powers are largely responsible for Tarapith's importance as a regional sacred site (tirtha) in West Bengal.

Ascetic devotee (bhakta) of the Goddess in her fierce and powerful form as Tara; his presence and supposed miraculous powers are largely responsible for Tarapith's importance as a regional sacred site (tirtha).

Vamakhepa was preoccupied with ideas of the Goddess since he was a youngster, and from an early age, he took up residence at the Tarapith cremation site, where he practiced Tara worship.

Various stories describe his ability to heal people of all kinds of ailments, as well as his complete disregard for all accepted standards—according to legend, he once urinated on the temple's image of Tara to show his disdain for a deity made of iron, and the Goddess struck him in punishment.

~Kiran Atma

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Hinduism - Where Is Tarapith Tirtha?

"Tara's seat".

In the state of West Bengal, some 130 miles northwest of Calcutta, there is a town and a holy location (tirtha).

Tarapith is one of the Shakti Pithas, a network of holy locations dedicated to the Goddess that stretches throughout the Indian subcontinent.

Each Shakti Pitha commemorates the location where a dismembered goddess Sati's body part fell to earth and assumed the shape of a separate goddess; in the instance of Tarapith, the body part was Sati's cornea (tara).

Tara, Tarapith's pre-existing deity, is a ferocious manifestation of the Goddess with significant ties to tantra, a secret ritual-based religious practice.

In modern times, the shrine is best known for an unusual ascetic named Vamakhepa (1843–1911), who was a perfect match for Tara herself, with his apparent irrationality and lack of respect for generally accepted norms (he once urinated on the temple's image of Tara to show his contempt for a deity made of iron).

Tarapith is claimed to confer supernormal abilities (siddhis) to individuals who worship there, making it both a powerful and possibly dangerous location to visit.

E. Alan Morinis, Pilgrimage in the Hindu Tradition, 1984, is a good source of knowledge.