🛕 Shaktipeeth #14 of 52 · Matabari, Udaipur, Tripura, India · Body Part: Right Foot of Goddess Sati · Tripura Named After This Temple
🐢 Shaktipeeth #14 of 52 — Right Foot of Sati · Tripura

Tripura
Sundari

Matabari · Udaipur · Gomati · Tripura · Northeast India

Where the right foot of Goddess Sati fell upon a hillock shaped like a tortoise's back — the Kurma Pitha, the holiest of all possible forms for a Shakti temple — in the lush hills of Northeast India. So great is this Goddess that an entire state took her name: Tripura, the Three Worlds, is named for Tripura Sundari who presides here over rare sacred turtles, a placid lake, and five centuries of living devotion.

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Plan Your Visit The Sacred Legend
Right Foot
Body Part of Sati
Dakshin Charan — the stepping-forth foot
Kurma Pitha
Tortoise-Shaped Hillock
Holiest site shape for a Shakti temple
Tripuresh
Presiding Bhairava
Lord of the Three Worlds
1501 CE
Temple Founded
By Maharaja Dhanya Manikya — 500+ years old

Background & Mythology

About Tripura Sundari Shaktipeeth

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Kurma Pitha — The Tortoise-Shaped Hillock
The Matabari temple sits atop a small hillock whose shape naturally resembles the hump of a tortoise — the Kurma. In Hindu cosmology, the cosmic tortoise (Kurma avatar of Vishnu) supports the world on its back; the tortoise shape is considered the holiest possible site for a Shakti temple. This shape is called Kurmapṛṣṭhākṛti and is exceptionally rare among sacred sites. Behind the temple, the sacred Kalyan Sagar lake (6.4 acres) is home to extremely rare Bostami turtles — considered critically endangered in the wild — whose presence at the Goddess's feet is itself considered a form of divine grace.

Tripura Sundari is the fourteenth of the 52 Maha Shakti Peethas, enshrined at Matabari near Udaipur, approximately 55 kilometres from Agartala in Tripura, Northeast India. This is the sacred site where the right foot of Goddess Sati fell upon the earth of this lush northeastern state — and so profound was this consecration that the entire state of Tripura takes its name from the Goddess who presides here: Tripura Sundari, "the beautiful one of the three worlds."

The Goddess is worshipped as Tripura Sundari — also called Tripureshwari and Sodashi (literally, "the sixteen-year-old"), one of the ten Mahavidyas of Tantric tradition and the third in the great canon of divine feminine knowledge. As Sodashi, she is the Goddess in her most radiant, youthful, world-transcending form — beauty so complete it encompasses all three worlds (the material, the subtle, and the causal), all three times (past, present, and future), and all three qualities of existence (creation, sustenance, and dissolution). The presiding Bhairava is Tripuresh — "lord of the three worlds," an aspect of Shiva as the sovereign guardian of all three realms.

The temple was built in 1501 CE by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya of the royal Manikya dynasty of Tripura, following a divine dream in which the Goddess appeared and instructed him to establish her worship on a hilltop near the capital city of Udaipur. The king found an existing Vishnu temple on the hill, but a second divine appearance resolved his dilemma: the Goddess revealed to him that Vishnu and Shakti are different expressions of the same supreme reality. This founding story — a Shakta and Vaishnava temple sharing the same sacred hill — makes Matabari a living symbol of Hindu philosophical unity across sectarian boundaries.

The idol of Tripura Sundari is made of kasti stone (a reddish-black variety), stands 5 feet high, and depicts the Goddess as Shoroshi — a sixteen-year-old girl form of Kali — with a long face, small eyes, and four hands, standing upon the chest of Lord Shiva, crowned with a golden coronet. Beside her stands the smaller idol known as Chhotoma ("Little Mother," 2 feet high), identified as the Goddess Chandi, which the kings of Tripura traditionally carried into battle for protection. The temple is administered by the Mata Tripura Sundari Trust, chaired by the Chief Minister of Tripura, reflecting the Goddess's continued role as the living patron deity of the state.

The Right Foot of Sati Falls on the Tripura Hills
When Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra severed Sati's body, her right foot — the Dakshin Charan, the foot that steps forward with intention and purpose, the foot that leads the divine body into its chosen path — fell upon the lush forested hills of what is now Tripura. Where the Goddess's right foot touches the earth, the land becomes the Goddess's chosen direction — the territory she claimed for herself for all time. This is why the entire state takes her name.
The Dream of Maharaja Dhanya Manikya
In the closing years of the 15th century, Maharaja Dhanya Manikya, the devout king of Tripura, was visited in a dream by the Goddess Tripura Sundari herself, who instructed him to begin her worship on a hilltop near Udaipur. The king found the hillock already had a Vishnu temple — but the Goddess returned the following night to clarify: Vishnu and Shakti are not different deities but different faces of the single supreme Brahman. The king understood, carried the Goddess's kasti stone idol from Chittagong, and in 1501 CE consecrated the Matabari temple that still stands today.
The Idol Refuses to Move — Matabari Is Born
When the king's servants were transporting the Goddess's idol from Chittagong, the idol suddenly became immovable as the sun rose. No human force could shift it. The king, understanding this as the Goddess's will to reside at that precise spot, built the temple there and then. The location thus consecrated was named Matabari — "the mother's abode" — a name that still identifies the temple to its millions of devotees five centuries later.
Chhotoma — The Battle Goddess of Kings
The smaller idol in the temple — Chhotoma (Little Mother), identified with Goddess Chandi — was carried by the kings of Tripura on their hunting expeditions and into battle, worshipped in royal tents for protection during war. This practice reveals the intimate, personal, and militarily protective relationship between the Manikya royal dynasty and their patron Goddess — a relationship that spans the entire history of Tripura as a kingdom and as a state.
Shamsher Gazi's Puja — A Temple Beyond Borders
During the 18th century, when Shamsher Gazi (a Muslim commander) captured Udaipur, his own biography "Gazinama" records that he offered puja to Goddess Tripurasundari at the Matabari temple. Even today, the Muslim community of Udaipur traditionally offers their first harvest and first milk to the Goddess — a centuries-old tradition of cross-religious devotion that makes Matabari one of the most culturally inclusive sacred sites in all of India.
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Sacred Identity
Tripura Sundari of Matabari
Where the right foot of Sati fell on the tortoise-shaped hillock in Tripura's forested hills — the Goddess whose beauty spans all three worlds, who gave an entire state its name, stands eternal above her sacred turtle-filled lake.
Goddess
Tripura Sundari (Tripureshwari · Sodashi · Shoroshi)
Bhairava
Tripuresh — lord of the three worlds
Body Part
Dakshin Charan — right foot of Goddess Sati
Location
Matabari hill, Udaipur, Gomati district, Tripura
Temple Shape
Kurma Pitha — tortoise-hump hillock, holiest site form
Idol
Kasti stone · 5 ft · reddish-black · 4 hands · Shoroshi
Sacred Lake
Kalyan Sagar — 6.4 acres · rare Bostami turtles
Founded
1501 CE by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya of Tripura
Architecture
Bengali Ek-Ratna style · 75 ft · 4 corner pillars · 7 pitchers
Grand Festival
Diwali Mela (2+ lakh pilgrims) · Navratri · Kali Puja

Why People Visit

Significance of Tripura Sundari

In the green hills of Northeast India — where an entire state carries the Goddess's name, where a sacred lake holds the last wild Bostami turtles, where a Muslim conqueror offered puja and a Muslim community still gives its first harvest — Tripura Sundari is the Goddess who belongs to all three worlds and all of humanity. Pilgrims come here from across the subcontinent to receive the blessing of the one who is beautiful enough to hold all of existence in her gaze.

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The Right Foot — The Sacred Step Forward
The right foot is the foot of auspicious beginning — in Hindu tradition, one always enters a temple and begins a journey with the right foot first. Where Sati's right foot fell at Matabari, the earth holds the power of all auspicious beginnings: the blessing of the first step, the grace that attends every new venture undertaken with the right intention. Devotees visit Tripura Sundari to seek her blessing at the threshold of new beginnings — marriages, journeys, businesses, studies, and all undertakings that require the Goddess's foot on their path.
Dakshin Charan — Auspicious Beginnings
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Tripura Sundari — The Beauty of Three Worlds
As Sodashi, the Goddess is worshipped in her sixteen-year-old form — the age of complete, perfect, unspoiled beauty that transcends mortality. As Tripura Sundari, she is beautiful not merely to the eye but in the deepest cosmological sense: her beauty encompasses all three worlds (Bhu, Bhuva, Svah), all three times, all three qualities of existence. In the Tantric tradition, she is one of the ten Mahavidyas — the ten great forms of supreme divine knowledge — and represents the aspect of the Goddess as pure transcendent beauty, joy, and blessing.
Sodashi · Third Mahavidya · Tripura Beauty
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The Bostami Turtles — Living Sacred Guardians
The Kalyan Sagar lake behind the temple is home to a population of Bostami turtles (Nilssonia nigricans) — one of the rarest freshwater turtles in the world, considered critically endangered or extinct in the wild. These turtles are treated as sacred by the temple's devotees and have been under the Goddess's protection for centuries. Visiting pilgrims buy puffed rice (muri) and biscuits to feed the turtles, which swim to the shore and accept the offerings. No fishing is permitted in Kalyan Sagar. This extraordinary co-existence of rare wildlife and living devotion is unique among all 52 Shaktipeethas.
Bostami Turtles · Kalyan Sagar · Sacred Conservation
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The Temple Beyond Religion
Matabari is one of the most genuinely inclusive sacred sites in India. The 18th-century Muslim commander Shamsher Gazi offered puja to the Goddess after capturing Udaipur — and his biography records this act with pride. The Muslim community of Udaipur still traditionally offers the first fruits of every harvest and first milk to Tripura Sundari. The temple's own tradition states that people of all religions can offer puja here. This centuries-deep tradition of multi-faith devotion is not a modern ecumenical gesture but an organic sacred reality that grew from the Goddess's own power to move hearts across all boundaries.
Multi-Faith · Cross-Religious Devotion
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Bengali Ek-Ratna Architecture — Living Heritage
The Matabari temple is one of the finest surviving examples of Bengali Ek-Ratna (one jewel) style sacred architecture — a square sanctum measuring 24 × 24 feet at the base, rising 75 feet with a multi-tiered conical roof, four corner pillars, and seven sacred pitchers at the summit. The temple faces west. This style — evoking the form of a rural Bengal thatched hut elevated to the cosmic scale — is found across Bengal and Bangladesh but achieved its most sacred expression at Matabari, where it has stood unchanged since 1501 CE, with only the interior idol having been reinstalled during the Manikya period.
Ek-Ratna Style · 1501 CE · Living Architecture
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Diwali Mela — Northeast India's Grand Pilgrimage
Matabari's greatest annual festival is the Diwali Mela — held at Diwali time every year, when the famous fair near the temple draws more than two lakh (200,000) pilgrims from across Tripura, Bengal, Assam, Manipur, and beyond. The temple becomes the blazing centre of the most spectacular festival in all of Tripura — illuminated, crowded, charged with devotional music and the Goddess's living presence. The Diwali Mela at Matabari is considered by many pilgrims from Northeast India to be the must-attend sacred event of the annual calendar.
Diwali Mela · 2 Lakh Pilgrims · Northeast's Grand Festival

Getting There

How to Reach Tripura Sundari Shaktipeeth

The Matabari temple is in Udaipur, approximately 55 km from Agartala — the capital and main gateway to Tripura. Udaipur has its own railway station just 3 km from the temple. Agartala is well connected by air and rail. The drive from Agartala to Matabari takes about 1.5 hours on the National Highway through Tripura's scenic forested hills.

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By Air
Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport, Agartala
Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport (IXA) in Agartala is the nearest airport, approximately 65 km from the Matabari temple — about 1.5–2 hours by road. It is connected by direct flights from Kolkata (45 min), Guwahati, Delhi, Mumbai, and other major Indian cities. IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet operate regular services. From the airport, taxis and hired cars reach Udaipur / Matabari directly. During the Diwali Mela season, special transport services operate between Agartala and Matabari.
✈️ Agartala Airport (IXA) ~65 km · Kolkata ~45 min by air
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By Train
Udaipur Railway Station
Udaipur (UDPU) railway station, on the Agartala–Sabroom rail line, is just 3 km from the Matabari temple — the closest railway station to any Shaktipeeth in Northeast India. DEMU trains run between Agartala and Udaipur (approximately 50 minutes, fare ₹10). Agartala railway station is connected to Guwahati (~12 hrs) and Kolkata (~36 hrs via the Northeast lines). From Udaipur station, autos are readily available for the 3 km journey to the temple at ₹15–20.
🚂 Udaipur Station (UDPU) ~3 km · Agartala ~55 km (~1.5 hrs)
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By Road
NH8 / Agartala–Sabroom Highway
Agartala to Udaipur is 55 km on NH8 — approximately 1.5 hours by road. Tripura State Transport Corporation (TSTC) buses run frequently from Agartala Bus Station to Udaipur. Private taxis and app-based cabs from Agartala are the most comfortable option. From Udaipur town, local autos reach Matabari in minutes. During the Diwali Mela, the highway is extremely busy — allow extra travel time and plan to reach well before the festival peak hours.
🛣️ Agartala ~1.5 hrs · Udaipur town ~3 km to temple
🗺️ Getting Around Udaipur / Matabari
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Auto-Rickshaw
Autos are the primary transport from Udaipur railway station (3 km) and Udaipur town to the Matabari temple. Fare approximately ₹15–20. Easily available at the station and town centre throughout the day.
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Hired Taxi
Hire a cab from Agartala for a full Tripura pilgrimage circuit: Matabari, Udaipur's Lake City (Jagannath Dighi, Amarsagar, Dhani Sagar), Neer Mahal water palace, Ujjayanta Palace, and the Bhuvaneswari temple. A full day covers all these sites comfortably.
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On Foot
The Matabari complex — hillock temple, Kalyan Sagar lake and turtles, the approach path — is compact and beautiful on foot. A slow, barefoot circumambulation of the hillock, pausing at the lake to feed the sacred turtles, is one of Northeast India's most tranquil pilgrimage experiences.
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TSTC Bus
Tripura State Transport buses connect Agartala to Udaipur regularly and are inexpensive. During the Diwali Mela, special pilgrimage bus services run directly to Matabari from Agartala and other towns across Tripura.

Visitor Guidelines

Dos and Don'ts

Matabari is a living temple beloved by people of all faiths and backgrounds in Tripura. Come with the openness this Goddess invites — she who accepted the puja of a Muslim ruler, whose lake harbours the last wild specimens of a nearly extinct turtle, and whose beauty is said to encompass all three worlds without excluding any.

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Dos
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Buy puffed rice (muri) or biscuits from the temple stalls and feed the Bostami turtles in Kalyan Sagar — this is the most beloved ritual unique to Matabari. The rare turtles swim to the shore and receive the offerings from devotees. Feeding the sacred turtles is considered an act of blessing, an offering to the Goddess through her most ancient and protected creatures, and a contribution to the survival of a species that exists almost nowhere else on earth.
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Offer red hibiscus flowers (rakt jaba) to the Goddess — the red hibiscus is the most prized offering at Matabari and is widely available from the stalls along the approach path. Red is the colour of the Goddess's shakti and of auspicious beginnings. A garland or handful of red hibiscus placed before Tripura Sundari is one of the most traditional and powerful devotional offerings at this Peetha.
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Circumambulate the hillock (parikrama) as part of your complete Matabari darshan — walking around the Kurma Pitha, the tortoise-shaped hillock, in a devotional pradakshina is the traditional Tantric completion of the pilgrimage here. The parikrama path offers changing views of the lake, the hills, and the temple's west-facing facade.
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Combine your visit with Udaipur's Lake City attractions — Udaipur, Tripura is known as the "Lake City" for its numerous natural water bodies: Dhani Sagar, Amarsagar, Kalyansagar (behind the temple), Mahadeb Dighi, and Jagannath Dighi. Neer Mahal — Tripura's spectacular water palace built in the middle of a lake — is just 25 km away and is one of Northeast India's most extraordinary architectural marvels.
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Plan your visit for October–March — the winter season is the best time for Tripura's lush hills, pleasant temperatures, and the Diwali Mela season. November to February offers the most comfortable climate and the most active pilgrimage calendar. The Diwali Mela (October–November) is the grandest single occasion, drawing 2+ lakh pilgrims.
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Approach Matabari with openness to the Goddess's multi-faith nature — at this temple, the tradition of cross-religious devotion is ancient and honoured. Come as you are, from whatever background, with whatever form of sincere reverence you carry. The Goddess of the three worlds welcomes all three worlds of humanity.
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Don'ts
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Do not attempt to fish in Kalyan Sagar or disturb the Bostami turtles. Fishing is strictly prohibited in the sacred lake. The Bostami turtles are under the Goddess's protection and are among the rarest turtles in the world. Any attempt to harm or disturb them is not only illegal but a profound desecration of the Goddess's most living and visible expression of her grace at this Peetha.
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Do not wear footwear on the hillock or inside the temple premises. Remove shoes at the designated stands before ascending the Kurma Pitha. The tortoise-shaped sacred hillock is a complete sacred space — barefoot contact with this ancient ground is itself a form of reverence and pilgrimage.
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Photography inside the inner sanctum is not permitted. The kasti stone idol of Tripura Sundari and the Chhotoma are sacred objects of worship, not tourist attractions. Photography at the inner sanctum entrance and outside the temple complex is generally acceptable with sensitivity; always check with the temple priests if uncertain.
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Do not bring leather or non-vegetarian food into the temple precincts. Maintain purity of diet and conduct throughout your temple visit. Non-vegetarian food and leather items (shoes, belts, bags) must be left outside the sacred zone. The temple's Sattvic atmosphere is its most tangible spiritual quality.
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Do not visit the Diwali Mela without planning well in advance. The Mela draws 2+ lakh pilgrims to the relatively small Matabari / Udaipur area — accommodation in Udaipur is very limited and books out early. Most pilgrims stay in Agartala (55 km) and travel to Matabari for the day during the Mela. Book your Agartala accommodation weeks ahead, arrange your own transport, carry water and snacks, and expect a very large, joyful crowd.
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Do not underestimate Tripura as a travel destination. Many pilgrims treat Matabari as a single-stop visit and miss Tripura's extraordinary offerings: Neer Mahal water palace, Ujjayanta Palace (now a museum), the indigenous tribal culture of the Tripuri people, the Chabimura rock carvings, the Unakoti ancient rock-cut sculptures, and the bamboo craft markets of Agartala. Plan at least 2–3 days in Tripura to experience the full richness of this remarkable northeastern state.
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Do not miss the evening aarti. The Matabari evening aarti, as the temple is lit against the darkening Tripura hills and the Kalyan Sagar lake catches the last light, is one of the most serene and beautiful devotional moments in all of Northeast India. Temple timings: Summer (1 Mar–15 Oct) 5:00 AM–9:00 PM; Winter (16 Oct–28 Feb) 5:30 AM–8:30 PM. Plan to be at the temple at least 30 minutes before closing for the full evening ceremony.
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Come to the State That Carries the Goddess's Name

In the green northeast — where a king followed his dream, where the Goddess's foot claimed a land so completely that the land became her name, where sacred turtles glide through a lake behind the temple and a Muslim community still brings its first harvest to the Goddess — Tripura Sundari stands on her tortoise-shaped hillock, beautiful beyond all three worlds, waiting to receive every sincere heart that makes the journey to her ancient and luminous abode.

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