The Rich History of Burir Pat Temple of Dinhata

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A shrine of a Hindu folk deity named “Buri Maa”, Burir Pat is located in Dinhata near Bypass Highway. The temple enjoys popularity in the town with its rich history. As per the little knowledge gathered while chit-chatting with a fellow resident of this area, this temple was built during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War by a Muslim who fled to India from the then East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) and erected this temple at Buri Maa’s behest in his dream. Ever since then Buri Maa has been worshipped both by the Hindus and the Muslims of this locality. This is truly an inspiring story which talks to us about the importance of cultural syncretism and cosmopolitanism.


Buri Maa is a special form of goddess Durga. But unlike goddess Durga, she is not accompanied by her children here. She is a symbol of good luck and prosperity. People worship Buri Maa in their houses before arranging any auspicious occasions like marriage, rice ceremony etc with a view to expecting propitious result in that occasions being arranged. Generally, one sheoda tree is decorated with sakha, paula, sidur and a saree and worshipped as the manifestation of Buri Maa. This puja is mainly performed by the Hindus in India who (or whose ancestors) emigrated from Bangladesh. So the majority of the people in India are unaware of it. The main oblation offered to Buri Maa is chhatu which is logical in that the elderly ladies are also fond of eating chhatu.


Buri puja is held every year in this temple on sankranti in the Bengali month of Aashin, which corresponds to September–October in the Gregorian calendar, with thousands of devotees who come to pay homage and reverence to the goddess. This puja is also marked by sacrifices of goats, pigeons etc. 


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