The five hundred years’ old ‘Manasa Mandir’, a temple popularly known as ‘Bijoy Gupter Manasa Mandir’, saw inauguration at Goila in Agoiljhara upazila under the district on Friday, following completion of its reconstruction.
Bijoy Gupta was the great poet of popular ‘Padma Puran’ (1484-5), the tales of ‘Padma’ ( Devi Manasa) in ‘Mangal Kavya’ trend, one of the most important composed forms of the mediaeval Bangla literature dedicated to the deities of rural and low-caste Hindus.
Poet Bijoy Gupta set up the murti (idol) of Manasa, the snake deity, at his birthplace of Goila in Agoiljhara upazila in 1494 and the Hindus started worshipping there. The devotees built there a beautiful Manasa idol with brass in early twentieth century.
Pakistan occupation army and their associates looted and destroyed the temple and idol during Liberation War of 1971.
The local devotees built a makeshift Manasa idol with sand and cement in post-liberation period. In 2003, the local people formed “Manasa Devi Murti Reconstruction Committee” to rebuild the idol in its original form along with reconstruction and renovation of the temple on about two acres of land at a cost of about Tk 1 crore.
Under that project a 27-maund brass idol of Manasa was made by Ramgopal Kangsa Banik of Dhaka Shakharipatty and placed in the temple early this year.
Following completion of other work of reconstruction and renovation of the unique dome-shaped architecture of the temple, it was opened to people on Friday by lighting mangal prodip (light of welfare) with socio-religious festivals.
The temple is known for being the holy abode of Manasa, a form of Shakti, and is said to have emerged from the Manas (mind) of the sage Kashyapa. Manasa is regarded as the sister of the Naga (serpent) Vasuki.
The term Manasa means wish and it is believed that the goddess fulfils all the wishes of a sincere devotee, the religious leaders said at the function.
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