Goddess Mouliksha, Moluti :-
The Idol of Goddess “Mouliksha” at Maluti, Jharkhand. Goddess “Mouliksha” is said to be the elder sister of Goddess ‘Tara’ of Tarapith. A Trident of yogi Bamakhyapa still exists in his temple.The term Mouliskha has come from union of two words – Mouli (head) and iksha (to view). The Goddess does not have a body, but a red coloured gorgeous head fixed on to the wall of the temple. The idol is sculpted out of laterite stone covered with a mask of ‘gala’. The idol was worshipped by royal families of Maluti as their Main Goddess. The idol has a Buddhist influence which is not surprising as Buddhist Monks used to stay here decades ago .
Location :-
The Moluti village is just fifteen kilometers from Rampurhat railway station, where the Mouliksha Debi’s Mandir is situated. It is one of the oldest temples of this area, dated nearly 300 years ago. Though geographically, the village is in santhal oriented Dumka district of Jharkhand but people are habituated and regularized with the nearer Rampurhat of 15 kms than of their sadar district of Dumka with the distance of 55 kms. Previously, Muluti was within Birbhum only but now also the 500 families of villagers speak Bengali language and not the local language of Dumka. One third of the permanent villagers belong to backward class and the rest to the Hindus, of which Brahmins are of major class. The village is sanctified by the river Brahmani and Maa Mouliksha, the Holy Goddess. It has become a good pilgrimage for many from far around.
The village is Moluti. It is accepted that the name has derived from the old word ‘Mahulati’. This name is found in the will which was written between 1865 and 1881. This hilly terrain area of santhals, is full of Mahul trees and there were many villages named Mahul Pahari, Mahul bona etc and so it is also thought that Maluti has also come in that way, after Mahul trees. The village is situated on a high terrain. In the north flows the tiny Chumre River and on the east flows the Chandannala River. These two rivers join together in a place called Maltara and are renamed as ‘Chile’ and finally flows to Dwarka River, near Tarapith. Some hills in a wave like form and the terrain seen in the west side of the village.
The Deity :-
Vedic gods like Narayana, Shiva Lingam and goddess like Durga, Kali and also Lakshmi and Saraswati are worshipped with great awe and respect in this village. Manasa and Dharmaraj, the local two gods are also being worshipped here. Debi Mouliksha, the custodial deity of royal dynasty receives the highest latria from all around.
The main temple of the village is that of Maa Mouliksha’s temple. ‘Mouli’ means ‘head’ and ‘iksha’ means ‘to see’. These two words combine and make us see the well curved stone head fixed on the wall. Rest of the body is absent. The lustrous icon has smiling face and is made out of laterite stone. The idol is facing westward. Her colour is red. A lotus-designed halo is present behind the icons. She is the ancestral deity of the royal family. The deity is offered ‘angaraag’ (morning Holy bath) on daily basis. She is seated on alter which was made up of some old tiles. Due to daily water usage, the brick dust and lime were on the verge of broken. So, when for replacing the tiles, they were opened, mysteriously it was found that there is a deep well beneath her alter. Keeping the well intact, the place was shouldered with cement. But till date, the reason of the existence of that well is not known.
Kala Rudreshwar.
In a temple nearby the main temple, there lies the marbled statue of this great devote and beside it are kept His trident and the conch. It is that trident with which he plucked flowers from the high branches for Mouliksha Maa and that particular conch was used by Him during the Puja. He kept these two in the request of the family holders of the deity, where he was appointed. We can see these two still now.
Temple:
The temple is situated in the southern part of Maluti. The temple is of Bengal’s famous ‘do-chala’ (two-roofed) design, with a ‘verandah’ in front. The tranquility prevails all around. The temple is surrounded by a vast wall. There are numerous deciduous and evergreen trees around the temple. . The atmosphere around the temple is very calm and tranquil and is far away from din and bustle of the city. Unlike others, there is no shop for sweets and flowers to offer the deity even. The temple is situated amongst a vast land, far off from any locality except for the temple servers. The original temple was destroyed. The current temple was constructed on the original foundation.
The Idol of Goddess “Mouliksha” at Maluti, Jharkhand. Goddess “Mouliksha” is said to be the elder sister of Goddess ‘Tara’ of Tarapith. A Trident of yogi Bamakhyapa still exists in his temple.The term Mouliskha has come from union of two words – Mouli (head) and iksha (to view). The Goddess does not have a body, but a red coloured gorgeous head fixed on to the wall of the temple. The idol is sculpted out of laterite stone covered with a mask of ‘gala’. The idol was worshipped by royal families of Maluti as their Main Goddess. The idol has a Buddhist influence which is not surprising as Buddhist Monks used to stay here decades ago .
Location :-
The Moluti village is just fifteen kilometers from Rampurhat railway station, where the Mouliksha Debi’s Mandir is situated. It is one of the oldest temples of this area, dated nearly 300 years ago. Though geographically, the village is in santhal oriented Dumka district of Jharkhand but people are habituated and regularized with the nearer Rampurhat of 15 kms than of their sadar district of Dumka with the distance of 55 kms. Previously, Muluti was within Birbhum only but now also the 500 families of villagers speak Bengali language and not the local language of Dumka. One third of the permanent villagers belong to backward class and the rest to the Hindus, of which Brahmins are of major class. The village is sanctified by the river Brahmani and Maa Mouliksha, the Holy Goddess. It has become a good pilgrimage for many from far around.
The village is Moluti. It is accepted that the name has derived from the old word ‘Mahulati’. This name is found in the will which was written between 1865 and 1881. This hilly terrain area of santhals, is full of Mahul trees and there were many villages named Mahul Pahari, Mahul bona etc and so it is also thought that Maluti has also come in that way, after Mahul trees. The village is situated on a high terrain. In the north flows the tiny Chumre River and on the east flows the Chandannala River. These two rivers join together in a place called Maltara and are renamed as ‘Chile’ and finally flows to Dwarka River, near Tarapith. Some hills in a wave like form and the terrain seen in the west side of the village.
The Deity :-
Vedic gods like Narayana, Shiva Lingam and goddess like Durga, Kali and also Lakshmi and Saraswati are worshipped with great awe and respect in this village. Manasa and Dharmaraj, the local two gods are also being worshipped here. Debi Mouliksha, the custodial deity of royal dynasty receives the highest latria from all around.
The main temple of the village is that of Maa Mouliksha’s temple. ‘Mouli’ means ‘head’ and ‘iksha’ means ‘to see’. These two words combine and make us see the well curved stone head fixed on the wall. Rest of the body is absent. The lustrous icon has smiling face and is made out of laterite stone. The idol is facing westward. Her colour is red. A lotus-designed halo is present behind the icons. She is the ancestral deity of the royal family. The deity is offered ‘angaraag’ (morning Holy bath) on daily basis. She is seated on alter which was made up of some old tiles. Due to daily water usage, the brick dust and lime were on the verge of broken. So, when for replacing the tiles, they were opened, mysteriously it was found that there is a deep well beneath her alter. Keeping the well intact, the place was shouldered with cement. But till date, the reason of the existence of that well is not known.
Kala Rudreshwar.
In a temple nearby the main temple, there lies the marbled statue of this great devote and beside it are kept His trident and the conch. It is that trident with which he plucked flowers from the high branches for Mouliksha Maa and that particular conch was used by Him during the Puja. He kept these two in the request of the family holders of the deity, where he was appointed. We can see these two still now.
Temple:
The temple is situated in the southern part of Maluti. The temple is of Bengal’s famous ‘do-chala’ (two-roofed) design, with a ‘verandah’ in front. The tranquility prevails all around. The temple is surrounded by a vast wall. There are numerous deciduous and evergreen trees around the temple. . The atmosphere around the temple is very calm and tranquil and is far away from din and bustle of the city. Unlike others, there is no shop for sweets and flowers to offer the deity even. The temple is situated amongst a vast land, far off from any locality except for the temple servers. The original temple was destroyed. The current temple was constructed on the original foundation.
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