Kojagari Lakshmi Puja at Ghosh Village of Mayureshwar in Birbhum, Bengal is nearly 1,500 years old. It is said to have been observed since the reign of King Harshavardhana.
What is even more astonishing is that on the day of Lakshmi
Puja, no household in the village performs a separate worship of the goddess at
home. All the villagers gather at a single temple for the rituals. It is said
that the ascetic Kamadev Brahmachari began this puja after receiving a divine
command in a dream. He was assisted by a local farmer named Sajal Ghosh.
According to the residents of Ghosh Village, at one time
Kamadev Brahmachari was wandering in search of a place to practice celibacy and
meditation. His journey brought him to Ekachakradham Birchandrapur in Birbhum.
It was the monsoon season; he swam across a river to reach the place and,
exhausted, fell asleep under a neem tree. It is believed that he later began
his spiritual practices under that very tree. After many years of intense
meditation, he received a divine vision from Goddess Lakshmi. The goddess
instructed him to worship her at that very spot and establish her presence
there.
Later, on some Kojagari Purnima, with the help of the
village farmer Sajal Ghosh, the ascetic fetched a white lotus and a floating
piece of wood from the village pond. He coated the wood with sacred clay from
the Ganges, shaped it into an idol, infused it with the life force of the
goddess, and began the worship. It is said that from that time onward, no
household in the village has performed a separate Lakshmi Puja at home.
Eventually, hearing about this, the Raja of Kandi visited the village and established a temple there. Even today, on the day of Lakshmi Puja, numerous devotees come to that temple to offer prayers. Here, nine sacred pots filled with water are used for the Nabaghata ritual. Additionally, 108 kheer laddus are offered to the goddess as naibedya.