Jagatdhatri জগদ্ধাত্রী, 'Bearer of the World' is another form the goddess Durga, who is particularly worshipped in the Indian states of West Bengal. Her cult is directly derived from Tantra where she is a symbol of sattva beside Durga and Kali, respectably symbolized with Rajas and Tamas.
After creating goddess Durga all gods like Indra, Varun, Vayu and others thought they were very powerful. They thought they are almighty and can do anything with their power. So they forgot who is the real power of them. So Adi shakti took their test. She came before them as Maya and created a grass before them. She said, "Oh mighty deva's please take that grass". They were laughing, then Indra sent Vayu to take that grass out. Vayu tried and tried but failed. Every god one by one tried but failed. Then Goddess Adi Shakti came before them and told them that every power of this universe is her. She is the power of the whole world. So all the Gods understood their fault. Goddess came before them as Goddess Jagaddhatri sitting on a lion. And their ego became an Elephant. That's how we see Goddess Jagaddhatri sitting on a lion and an elephant under her.
The Jagatdhatri Puja was first started by Maharaja Krishnachandra of Krishnanagar, Nadia in Bengal. Jagatdhatri Puja is very popular in Krishnanagar, Rishra, Chandannagar, Bhadreswar, Hooghly, Boinchi , Ashoknagar-Kalyangarh. In Krishnanagar, Nadia, Raj Rajeshwary, Jagatdhatri Puja is one of the oldest Jagatdhatri Puja in Bengal.
Legend has it that once during the Nawab raj in Bengal Maharaja Krishnachandra was arrested by Nawab Siraj-ud-Dullah for not paying tax in time. He was released from Prison during the day of Vijaya Dashami due to which the entire festivity of Durga Puja in his kingdom was spoiled so to again rejoice Maharaja started the ritual of this Jagatdhatri Puja.
The Jagatdhatri puja of Bose family, Palpara, deserves a special mention in this regard. The puja of this family initially used to be held in their ancestral home in Murshidabad. Folklore has it that this puja was started in 1788. The puja was later shifted to its present location in Chandannagar, where many of the family members now live. The exact history of the deity is unknown, but family records date it back to 1640.
The beauty of the festival in Chandannagar is mainly due to the collaborative conception between the French and Bengalis. Remarkable feature remaining its procession, second largest in the world after Rio de Janeiro's, with its magnificent lightings.
Jagatdhatri figures in the semi-historical fictional work 'Anandamath' written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, from which book the national song of India "Vande Mataram" is taken. In the novel, Kali, Durga, and Jagatdhatri are depicted as three aspects of 'Bharat Mata' (Mother India) - Jagatdhatri as the mother used to be, Kali as the mother now is, Durga as the mother will be in future. The trio of goddesses are shown as the object of worship of a group of ascetics who form the protagonists of the story
Image : Jagatdhatri. Dutch Bengal. Chandanagore. The term "Dutch-Bengal School" falls under the umbrella of Company School painting and refers to works made between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries in Bengal. During this period, both British and Indian aristocrats in Bengal demanded works made by Indian artists in the Western academic style. "Dutch" suggests that practices in Holland influenced Indian artists, it actually refers to a confluence of this imposed Western realism and indigenous miniature painting practices. Paintings made in this style displayed certain elements of realism, such as light, shadow and perspective, and were stunning in scale and unique in execution. This 19th century Dutch Bengal School painting is significant for its stylistic execution and thematic relevance. Though the gentry demanded paintings in the academic style, they endorsed paintings that depicted scenes from Indian mythology, or borrowed from Indian tradition and values.