At Kshirgram of Mangalkot, Bardhaman, Bengal, famous for Maa Jogadya Mandir, all pandals worship on Nabapatrika during Durga Puja; no idol of Goddess Durga is worshipped here. There, the Nabapatrika itself is considered the living embodiment of the Goddess.
This is because the original idol of Maa Jogadya Mandir is
submerged in water and is taken out only during specific occasion. Following
this tradition, Nabapatrika is worshipped as Goddess Mahishasura Mardini Durga.
Because of the Nabapatrika and Shakambhari traditions,
agricultural activities—especially ploughing—were once halted before and after
the Boishakh Festival in the main temple. Jogadya Durga is regarded as a
manifestation of Shakambhari, the Goddess of vegetation and crops, and thus
worshipped as the patron deity of agriculture. That is why, during the five
days of Durga Puja, she is worshipped through the Nabapatrika, which symbolizes
maternal protection, harvest, fertility (the banana cluster), and abundance.
Maa Jogadya Mandir at Kshirgram is a Shakti Peetha (sacred
seat of the Goddess). According to legend, the right big toe of the Goddess
fell here.
Ancient stories tell that in the past, human sacrifice was
offered here during the worship of the Goddess. Every year, a child from a
different household would be chosen for sacrifice. One year, when the turn came
to an elderly Brahmin couple, they wept before the Goddess and fled with their
child. The Goddess appeared before them and decreed that human sacrifice should
henceforth be replaced with the sacrifice of a buffalo.
The ancient idol of the Goddess was lost over time, but
later it was recovered from a pond. Since then, worship of the idol takes place
only on six special days of the year. The ancient image of Maa Jogadya is the
original ten-armed Mahishamardini Durga. The lost idol is believed to be more
than 1,200 years old.
It is said that on the ghats (riverbanks) of this very
village, Uma (Parvati) once wore conch bangles as a bride. Therefore, during
the Baishakh Festival, the Goddess is adorned with conch bangles. The ancient
form of the Goddess is Dashabhuja (Ten-Armed) Maheshwari Durga, the
Mahishasuramardini who does not have her four children with her, and who is
seen subduing and destroying the buffalo demon.
According to tradition, the Goddess here is also revered as Patal Bhairavi, worshipped by both Ravana and Mahiravana. Therefore, she is believed to dwell under water throughout the year. On certain special days, she is brought out of the water for worship—one such day being Baishakh Sankranti. On that evening, she is returned to her watery resting place. On the fourth day of the month of Jyeshtha, the Goddess once again takes her place upon the earth.