Jagadhatri — The Mother of Nadia – GetBengal story
Jagadhatri Puja of Krishnanagar Rajbari
When we think of Jagadhatri Puja today, the glamorous celebration of Chandannagar often comes first to mind with towering idols and spectacular light displays drawing visitors from across Bengal. But far older, quieter, and steeped in royal history is the Jagadhatri Puja of Krishnanagar Rajbari in Nadia, started nearly two and a half centuries ago under the patronage of Raja Krishnachandra Roy, and continues unbroken to this day.
The story goes back to the mid-18th century. Raja Krishnachandra, beloved king of Nadia, was once suddenly arrested by Nawab Alivardi Khan’s soldiers. It is said that the Nawab feared the Raja’s immense popularity and sought to humiliate him publicly. But the intellectual and royal families of Bengal united and paid whatever sum the Nawab demanded. He had no choice but to release the Raja.
The joy of freedom, however, was mixed with deep sorrow. It was Vijaya Dashami, and the Raja realised he had missed Durga Puja — the grand worship of Raj Rajeshwari that his forefathers had begun in 1603. As his boat touched the banks of the Jalangi river in Krishnanagar, he saw the idols being immersed. Tears rolled down his face.
That night, exhausted with grief, he fell asleep on the boat… and a divine moment occurred.
In his dream, the Raja saw a radiant teenage goddess, dressed in white, seated on a magnificent white lion that looked like a chess knight. The dream felt so real, so powerful, that upon returning to the palace, the Raja immediately instructed his trusted sculptor, Shiv Chandra, to create an idol just as she appeared.
And thus, in 1762, the first Jagadhatri Puja of Krishnanagar Rajbari was performed.
To show his devotion, Krishnachandra decided that every year he would bow before Jagadhatri Maa even before entering his own palace. A new tradition was born.
From the very beginning, the Jagadhatri worship at Krishnanagar Rajbari has followed a strict set of rituals that remain unchanged even after more than 250 years. The goddess is revered in the form of a young Kumari, never older than thirteen, and is depicted riding a uniquely front-facing white lion shaped like a horse. True to the original idol seen in Raja Krishnachandra’s divine dream, her height has always been kept below four feet. A remarkable tradition of this royal puja is that all three major rituals — Saptami, Ashtami and Navami — including the sacred Sandhi Puja, are performed together on the day of Navami itself. With unwavering devotion, the descendants of the Nadia royal family continue to preserve and honour these ancient customs, ensuring that the legacy of Raja Krishnachandra’s faith lives on with the same purity and precision even today.
Years later, Indranarayan Roy Chowdhury, a wealthy noble of Chandannagar and dewan of the French, witnessed this beautiful worship in Krishnanagar. Mesmerized, he introduced Jagadhatri Puja in Chandannagar — a celebration that has since grown massive in scale and global recognition.
Today, Jagadhatri Maa is fondly worshipped in Nadia as “Mother of Nadia,” the guardian deity of the land. Every year, the people believe that the same divine teenage goddess returns again—just as she promised Raja Krishnachandra centuries ago.
