Kharchi puja

Kharchi puja is a Hindu festival from Tripura, India. Performed in Agartala in July or August, the festival involves the worship of the fourteen gods forming the dynasty deity of the Tripuri people.^[1] The word Kharchi is derived from two Tripuri words, Khar or Kharta meaning "sin" and chi or si meaning "cleaning". Thus, Kharchi literally means "the cleaning of the sins of the people" or "the cleaning of the kingdom."

Kharchi puja is performed after 15 days of Ama pechi or Ambu bachi. According to Tripuri legends, Ama pechi is the menstruation of the mother goddess, or earth mother, and the soil is neither ploughed nor dug anywhere during this time. Among Tripuri people menstruation is considered unholy and all significant functions by women are prohibited. Any priest whose wife is menstruating is also prohibited from performing any auspicious or religious function. The Earth is therefore considered unholy after the menstruation of the earth mother during Ama pechi. The Kharchi puja is performed to wash out the sins and clean up the post-menstrual uncleanliness of the earth mother's menstruation.

Kharchi puja lasts for seven consecutive days. The festival is held at the temple of fourteen gods at Old Agartala. On the day of puja, the fourteen deities are carried by chanting members and taken to the river Saidra, bathed in the holy water, and then returned to the temple. The deities are then decorated with various flowers and vermillion is placed on each deity's forehead.

Every day large numbers of people attend the festival, and both Tripuri and non-Tripuri participate. People offer different types of prasad like goat, buffalo, sweets, etc.. Various cultural programmes are performed each evening and a large fair is organised to mark the occasion. People look to their own welfare as well as the welfare of the society and the state in general.^[2]

In 2016, Kharchi puja took place on July 12.^[3]

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