Agartala, Oct. 8: The royal Durga Bari temple, which completes a century of worship this year, was thronged by devotees on Saptami today.

Durga Puja has been held in the temple, built by king Birendra Kishore Manikya, since 1916.

The first Durga Puja in the royal palace was organised by King Dhanya Manikya (1490-1520) at his capital Rangamati (Udaipur in the 16th century).

According to Rajmala, Tripura's fabled court chronicle, the images of Durga and her retinue used to be built in disproportionately large size. But after chief queen, Maharani Sulakshana Debi, fainted at the very sight of the Mother Goddess in 1491, King Dhanya Manikya, in consultation with experts in shastras, decided to reduce the size of the idol and stop human sacrifice on Navami. Since then, the idol of mother goddess at the royal temple is much smaller and has only two hands, with the remaining eight tied behind out of sight, said royal priest Dulal Bhattacharya, 85.

Bhattacharya also said expenses of the annual puja, including the sacrifice of a buffalo on Navami, is now borne by the state government in accordance with the instrument of accession signed on September 9, 1947.

Tripura's royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarmanand queen mother Maharani Bibhu Kumari Debi visit the Durga Bari temple at least once during the four days of Durga Puja but devotees and revellers throng the temple from Sashthi, the first day.

Ratul Debbarma, a leading tribal poet and member of indigenous tribal aristocracy settled in Agartala, said Bengalis as well as a large number of indigenous people visit the royal temple to worship.