History of Jagadhatri Puja of Krishnagar

History of Jagadhatri Puja of Krishnagar

Raja Krishna Chandra Roy of Krishnanagar first performed Jagadhatri Puja in Nadia district. It is said that in 1763, Nawab Alivardi Khan arrested Raja Krishna Chandra Roy since he was unable to pay the required tax of his kingdom. He was kept a prisoner at Munger.Then, when the British attacked Munger in the same year, Raja Krishna Chandra escaped from there in a small fishing boat. As he kept moving towards his kingdom in his boat, he saw the immersion of Durga idols being held and realised that it was Dashami, the last day of "the Pujas". He wasfilled with grief as no Durga Puja had taken place in his 'Rajbari' (palace) back home in Krishnanagar.As he fell asleep in his boat, thinking about this, he saw a beautiful lady with four hands, seated on a lion, carrying a conch shell, chakra, bow and arrow in each hand respectively. She told him, "Don't be upset, worship me in this form on the forthcoming 'Shukla Saptami, Asthami, Nabami tithi' (dates) when you return home and then your Durga Puja will be complete".When Raja Krishna Chandra woke up, he realised it was a dream, but he decided to make the dream come true.So, as the Raja returned to his hometown, he prepared the idol of the goddess he saw in his dream, named it Ma Jagadhatri and thus completed his Durga Puja.The diwan of ChandanNagar at that time, IndraNarayan Chowdhury, was a friend of Raja Krishna Chandra Roy. Invited to KrishnaNagar by his friend on Jagadhatri Puja, and on witnessing it, he was filled with a desire to introduce the puja in ChandanNagar also.