Folk Religion and Mass Culture of Purulia - Dharmathakur
Dharmathakur (also called Dharmaraj) is a Hindu community-god, non-Aryan in origin, worshipped by villagers in the traditional Rarh region in the present day Indian state of West Bengal as one of their special village gods. He is represented by a shapeless stone daubed with vermillion, surrounded by terracotta horses, and is normally placed under a tree or placed in the open.
Symbolic sacrifice of clay horses for fulfillment of wishes or as a token of their devotion is common for many village gods and goddesses, but an assembly of terracotta horses of various shapes and sizes representing sacrifice on wish fulfillment is perhaps peculiar to Dharmathakur. It is a possibility that the horse symboloises links with the Sun-god.
Images of Bengal, India
Folk Religion and Mass Culture of Purulia - Dharmathakur
Dharmathakur (also called Dharmaraj) is a Hindu community-god, non-Aryan in origin, worshipped by villagers in the traditional Rarh region in the present day Indian state of West Bengal as one of their special village gods. He is represented by a shapeless stone daubed with vermillion, surrounded by terracotta horses, and is normally placed under a tree or placed in the open.
Symbolic sacrifice of clay horses for fulfillment of wishes or as a token of their devotion is common for many village gods and goddesses, but an assembly of terracotta horses of various shapes and sizes representing sacrifice on wish fulfillment is perhaps peculiar to Dharmathakur. It is a possibility that the horse symboloises links with the Sun-god.
Images of Bengal, India