The Cult of Magdesvari

Abstract

The Buddhists and Hindus of Chittagong worship the deity Magdesvari with some peculiar rites. Among the Hindus it is mostly the non-Brahman castes that worship this goddess) and in the regular rites a Brahman priest is not employed. No image of the goddess is made at the time of the worship, neither can any be found in the area where this cult is prevalent. In a few rare cases Brahman are also found to offer worship to Magdesvari, but this practice is of comparatively recent origin.