In the village of Billapatan (Billapattana) in Bengal there lived a devoted worshipper Bhriguram Bandyopadhyay.
One day, she appeared herself. Bhriguram was half-asleep
when suddenly he saw the Goddess sitting beside him, her face clouded with
concern.
Bhrigu immediately asked, “Mother, what troubles you?”
The Mother replied, “It was I who instructed you to stay
here in Billapatan as Abhaya (the fearless one). Everything happened as
destined. But after you, who will worship me? I wish to remain here as
Abhaya—unmoved and eternal…”
Yet Bhrigu’s words were true too—he was but a mortal
devotee, and age had already weighed him down. Who would give him a child now?
Then the Goddess gave him a divine command:
“On the night of the new moon, a young Brahmin girl shall
die from a serpent’s bite. Bring her here. When you bring her to the Shakti
Peetha (seat of divine power), do not be astonished to see what happens—place a
handful of ashes from the funeral pyre upon her face.”
What kind of dream was this!
Bhriguram sat bolt upright, startled. What could the Goddess
mean by such an order? He could not make sense of it—but disobeying her was
unthinkable.
As foretold, on a new moon night, the body of a young girl
was brought to the cremation ground. Hearing the wails of her relatives,
Bhriguram rushed out of his hut.
Disaster! This was no ordinary girl—she was the daughter of
the spiritual preceptor of the landlord of Billapatan himself.
Inwardly, Bhrigu understood everything—it was all the
Goddess’s divine play.
Seeing the sage, the grieving father fell at his feet and
cried, “I have heard you are a great saint, please, holy one, bring my daughter
back to life!”
The sage said nothing. He took a handful of ashes from the
extinguished pyre and placed it upon the girl’s face. Chanting “Jai Ma!”
(“Victory to the Mother!”), he filled the air with the sacred sound.
At once, the girl opened her eyes. Everything unfolded just
as in his dream. Bhriguram, too, felt his heart overflow with divine awe. Soon
after, the miraculous girl was married—to none other than Bhriguram himself,
amid great celebration.
It is said that the village of Billapatan, where Bhriguram
had come, became a sacred center of Tantric worship.
Every day, before bathing, Bhriguram would sculpt an image
of the Goddess with his own hands; after his bath, he would worship that very
image.
One day, after his bath, he returned to find that in place
of his simple hut stood a majestic image of Goddess Kali.
Trembling, the sage sat down at the Goddess’s feet.
The Goddess comforted him and said that from that day
onward, that very idol should be worshipped.
Thus it began… and to this day, that Goddess continues to
receive worship.
After Sri Bhriguram, the responsibility of the ritual passed
to his eldest son, Shivachandra Tor Nyalankar.