Shakti Peetha

The Shakti Peetha (Sanskrit: शक्ति पीठ, Śakti Pīṭha, seat of Shakti) is a place of worship consecrated ashes of the goddess Shakti or Sati, the female principal of Hinduism and the main deity of the Shakta sect. They are sprinkled throughout the Indian subcontinent.

Legend

Shiva carrying the corpse of Dakshayani

Lord Brahma performed a yajna (Vedic ritual of fire sacrifice) to please Shakti and Shiva. Goddess Shakti emerged, separating from Shiva and helped Brahma in the creation of the universe. Brahma decided to give Shakti back to Shiva. Therefore, his son Daksha performed several yagnas to obtain Shakti as his daughter in the form of Sati. It was then decided that Sati was brought into this world with the motive of getting married to Shiva.

However, due to Lord Shiva's curse to Brahma that his fifth head was cut off due to his lie in front of Shiva, Daksha started hating Lord Shiva and decided not to let Lord Shiva and Sati get married. However, Sati got attracted to Shiva and finally one day Shiva and Sati got married. This marriage only increased Daksha's hatred towards Lord Shiva.

Daksha performed a yagna with a desire to take revenge on Lord Shiva near munimandala present Muramalla andhra pradesh. Daksha invited all the deities to the yajna except Lord Shiva and Sati. The fact that she was not invited did not deter Sati from attending the yagna. She expressed her desire to attend the yagna to Shiva, who tried his best to dissuade her from going. Shiva eventually relented and Sati went to the yagna. Sati, being an uninvited guest, was not given any respect at the yagna. Furthermore, Daksha insulted Shiva. Sati was unable to bear her father's insults toward her husband, so she immolated herself.

Enraged at the insult and the injury, Shiva in Virabhadra avatar destroyed Daksha's yagna, cut off Daksha's head, and later replaced it with that of a male goat as he restored him to life.Virabhadra didn't stop fighting he kept raging with anger .gods prayed lord vishnu.he came there and started fighting him. Still immersed in grief, Shiva picked up the remains of Sati's body, and performed the Tandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creation. The other Gods requested Vishnu to intervene to stop this destruction, towards which Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra, which cut through the Sati's corpse. The various parts of the body fell at several spots all through the Indian subcontinent and formed sites which are known as Shakti Peethas today.

At all the Shakti Peethas, the Goddess Shakti is accompanied by her consort, Lord Bhairava (a manifestation of Lord Shiva). Shakti is an aspect of the Supreme Being Adi parashakti, the mother of the trimurti, the holy trinity in Hindu religion & scriptures.

Shakti's self-immolation

Main article: Daksha Yaga

The history of Daksha yagna and Shakti's self immolation had immense significance in shaping the ancient Sanskrit literature and even had impact on the culture of India. It led to the development of the concept of Shakti Peethas and there by strengthening Shaktism. Enormous stories in Puranas & other Hindu religious books took the Daksha yagna as the reason for its origin. It is an important incident in Shaivism resulting in the emergence of Shree Parvati in the place of Shakti Devi and making Shiva a grihastashrami (house holder) leading to the origin of Ganapathy and Subrahmanya.

Shakti Peethas are shrines or divine places of the Mother Goddess. These are places that are believed to have enshrined with the presence of Shakti due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Lord Shiva carried it and wandered throughout Aryavartha in sorrow. There are 51 Shakti Peeth linking to the 51 alphabets in Sanskrit. Each temple has shrines for Shakti and Kalabhairava, and mostly Shakti and Kalabharava in different Shakti Peeth have different names.

Four Adi Shakti Pithas

The map depicts location of major (in blue) and minor (in red) Shakti Peethas in South Asia.

Some of the great religious texts like the Shiva Purana, the Devi Bhagavata, the Kalika Purana and the AstaShakti recognize four major Shakti Peethas (centers), like Bimala (Pada Khanda) (inside the Jagannath temple of Puri, Odisha), Tara Tarini (Sthana Khanda, Purnagiri, Breasts) (Near Berhampur, Odisha), Kamakhya Temple (Yoni khanda) (Near Guwahati, Assam) and Dakhina Kalika (Mukha khanda) (Kolkata, West Bengal) originated from the limbs of the Corpse of Mata Sati in the Satya Yuga. The Astashakti and Kalika Purana says (in Sanskrit):

"Bimala Pada khandancha, Sthana khandancha Tarini (Tara Tarini), Kamakshya Yoni khandancha, Mukha khandancha Kalika (Dakshina Kalika) Anga pratyanga sanghena Vishnu Chakra Kshyta nacha"

Further explaining the importance of these four Pithas, the "Brihat Samhita" also gives the location of these Pithas as (In Sanskrit) "Rushikulya* Tatae Devi, Tarakashya Mahagiri, Tashya Srunga Stitha Tara Vasishta Rajitapara" (Rushikulya is a holy river flowing on the foot hill of the Tara Tarini Hill Shrine).

List of 4 Adi Shakti Pithas

In the listings below:

• "Shakti" refers to the Goddess worshipped at each location, all being manifestations of Dakshayani (Sati), Parvati or Durga;
• "Body Part or Ornament" refers to the body part or piece of jewellery that fell to earth, at the location on which the respective temple is built.

Sr. No.	Place	Body Part or Ornament
1	Puri, Odisha (inside Jagannath Temple complex)	Pada Bimala
2	Berhampur, Odisha	Breast khanda Tara Tarini
3	Guwahati, Assam	Yoni khanda Kamakhya
4	Kolkata, West Bengal (Kalighat Kali Temple)	Mukha khanda Dakshina Kalika

Apart from these four there are 51 other famous Peethas recognised by religious texts. According to the Pithanirnaya Tantra the 51 peethas are scattered all over India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Pakistan. The Shivacharita besides listing 51 maha-peethas, speaks about 26 more upa-peethas. The Bengali almanac, Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika too describes the 51 peethas including the present modified addresses. A few of the several accepted listings are given below. One of the few in South India, Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh became the site for a 2nd-century temple.

The List of 51 Shakti Pithas

In the listings below:

• "Shakti" refers to the Goddess worshipped at each location, all being manifestations of Dakshayani, Sati; later known as Parvati or Durga;
• "Bhairava" refers to the corresponding consort, each a manifestation of Shiva;
• "Body Part or Ornament" refers to the body part or piece of jewellery that fell to earth, at the location on which the respective temple is built.

Sr. No.	Place	State in India/Country	Body Part or Ornament	Shakti	Bhairava
1	Amarnath, from Srinagar through Pahalgam 94 km by Bus, Chandanwari 16 km by walk	Jammu and Kashmir	Throat	Mahamaya	Trisandhyeshwar
2	At a village also named as Attahas or Ashtahas around 2 km east of Labhpur village road in the district of Birbhum	West Bengal	Lips	Phullara	Vishvesh
3	Bahula, on the banks of Ajay river at Ketugram, 8 km from Katwa, Burdwan	West Bengal	Left arm	Goddess Bahula	Bhiruk
4	Bakreshwar, on the banks of Paaphara river, 24 km distance from Siuri Town [a district headquarter], district Birbhum, 7 km from Dubrajpur Rly. Station	West Bengal	Portion between the eyebrows	Mahishmardini	Vakranath
5	Bhairavparvat, at Bhairav hills on the banks of Shipra river in the city of Ujjaini. Local People call this temple as Gadkalika.	Madhya Pradesh	Elbow	Avanti	Lambkarna
6	Bhabanipur, located in the Upazilla of Sherpur, Bogra, Rajshahi Division. Also located at Karatoyatat, it is about 28 km distance from the town of Sherpur.	Bangladesh	Left anklet (ornament)	Aparna	Vaman
7	Chhinnamastika Shaktipeeth at Chintpurni, in Una District of Himachal Pradesh	Himachal Pradesh	Feet	Chhinnamastika	Rudra Mahadev
8	Gandaki, Pokhara about 125 km on the banks of Gandaki river where Muktinath temple is situated	Nepal	Temple	Gandaki Chandi	Chakrapani
9	Goddess Bhadrakaali on banks of Godavari in Nasik city	Maharashtra	Chin (2 parts)	Bhramari	Vikritaksh
10	Hinglaj (Or Hingula), southern Baluchistan a few hours North-east of Gawadar and about 125 km towards North-west from Karachi	Pakistan	Bramharandhra (Part of the head)	Kottari	Bhimlochan
11	Jayanti at Nartiang village in the Jaintia Hills district. This Shakti Peetha is locally known as the Nartiang Durga Temple.	Meghalaya	Left thigh	Jayanti	Kramadishwar
12	Jessoreswari, situated at Ishwaripur, Shyamnagar Upazila, Khulna Division. The temple complex was built by Maharaja Pratapaditya, whose capital was Ishwaripur.	Bangladesh	Palms of hands and soles of the feet	Jashoreshwari	Chanda
13	Jwalaji, Kangra from Pathankot alight at Jwalamukhi Road Station from there 20 km	Himachal Pradesh	Tongue	Siddhida (Ambika)	Unmatta Bhairav
14	Kalipeeth, (Kalighat, Kolkata)	West Bengal	Right Toes	Kalika	Nakuleshwar
15	Kalmadhav on the banks of Shon river in a cave over hills near to Amarkantak	Madhya Pradesh	Left buttock	Kali	Asitang
16	Kamgiri, Kamakhya, in the Neelachal hills near Guwahati	Assam	Genitals	Kamakhya	Umanand
17	Kankalitala, on the banks of Kopai River 10 km north-east of Bolpur station in Birbhum district, Devi locally known as Kankaleshwari	West Bengal	Pelvis	Devgarbha	Ruru
18	Kanyashram of Balaambika - The Bhagavathy temple in Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of mainland India, Tamil Nadu (also thought to be situated in Yunnan province, China)	Tamil Nadu	Back	Sarvani	Nimish
19	Karnat, Brajeshwari Devi, Kangra	Himachal Pradesh	Both ears	Jayadurga	Abhiru
20	Kireet at Kireetkona village, 3 km from Lalbag Court Road station under district Murshidabad	West Bengal	Crown	Vimla	Sanwart
21	Locally known as Anandamayee Temple. Ratnavali, on the banks of Ratnakar river at Khanakul-Krishnanagar, district Hooghly	West Bengal	Right Shoulder	Kumari	Shiva
22	Locally known as Bhramari Devi. In Jalpaiguri near a small village Boda on the bank of river Teesta or Tri-shrota (combination of three flows) mentioned in Puranas	West Bengal	Left leg	Bhraamari	Ambar
23	Manas, under Tibet at the foot of Mount Kailash in Lake Mansarovar, a piece of Stone	Tibet	Right hand	Dakshayani	Amar
24	Manibandh, at Gayatri hills near Pushkar 11 km north-west of Ajmer. People know this temple as Chamunda Mata Temple.	Rajasthan	Wrists	Gayatri	Sarvanand
25	Mithila, near Janakpur railway station on the border of India and Nepal	Nepal	Left shoulder	Uma	Mahodar
26	Nainativu (Manipallavam), Northern Province, Sri Lanka. Located 36 km from the ancient capital of the Jaffna kingdom, Nallur. The murti of the Goddess is believed to have been consecrated and worshipped by Lord Indra. The protagonist, Lord Rama and antagonist, Ravana of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana have offered obeisances to the Goddess. Nāga and Garuda of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata; resolved their longstanding feuds after worshipping this Goddess.	Sri Lanka	Silambu (Anklets)	Indrakshi (Nagapooshani / Bhuvaneswari)	Rakshaseshwar (Nayanair)
27	Nepal, near Pashupatinath Temple at Guhyeshwari Temple	Nepal	Both Knees	Mahashira	Kapali
28	On Chandranath hill near Sitakunda station of Chittagong Division. The famous Chandranath Temple on the top of the hill is the Bhairav temple of this Shakti Peetha, not the Shakti Peeth itself.	Bangladesh	Right arm	Bhawani	Chandrashekhar
29	Panchsagar Near Lohaghat (in Champawat District of Uttarakhand) nearly 100 km from nearest railway station Tanakpur.	Uttarakhand	Lower teeth	Varahi	Maharudra
30	Prabhas, 4 km from Veraval station near Somnath temple in Junagadh district. Local People call this temple as Kali Mandir, It’s nearby triveni sangam only.	Gujarat	Stomach	Chandrabhaga	Vakratund
31	Prayaga Madhaveswari known as Alopi Mata near Sangam at Allahabad	Uttar Pradesh	Finger	Lalita	Bhava
32	Present day Kurukshetra town or Thanesar ancient Sthaneshwar	Haryana	Ankle bone	Savitri/BhadraKali	Sthanu
33	Ramgiri, at Chitrakuta on the Jhansi Manikpur railway line	Uttar Pradesh	Right breast	Shivani	Chanda
34	Sainthia, locally known as Nandikeshwari temple. Only 1.5 km from the railway station under a banyan tree within a boundary wall, Birbhum district	West Bengal	Necklace	Nandini	Nandikeshwar
35	Sarvashail or Godavaritir, at Kotilingeswar temple on the banks of Godavari river near Rajamundry	Andhra Pradesh	Cheeks	Rakini or Vishweshwari	Vatsnabh or Dandpani
36	Naina Devi temple in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh	Himachal Pradesh	Eyes	Mahishmardini	Krodhish
37	Shondesh, at the source point of Narmada River in Amarkantak	Madhya Pradesh	Right buttock	Narmada	Bhadrasen
38	Shri Parvat, near Ladak, Jammu and Kashmir. Another belief: at Srisailam in Shriparvat hills under Kurnool district	Andhra Pradesh	Right anklet (ornament)	Shrisundari	Sundaranand
39	Shri Shail, at Joinpur village, Dakshin Surma, near Gotatikar, 3 km north-east of Sylhet town	Bangladesh	Neck	Mahalaxmi	Sambaranand
40	Shuchi, in a Shiva temple at Suchindrum 11 km on Kanyakumari Trivandrum road	Tamil Nadu	Upper teeth	Narayani	Sanhar
41	Sugandha, situated in Shikarpur, Gournadi, about 20 km from Barisal town, on the banks of Sonda river.	Bangladesh	Nose	Sugandha	Trayambak
42	Udaipur, Tripura, at the top of the hills known as Tripura Sundari temple near Radhakishorepur village, a little distance away from Udaipur town	Tripura	Right leg	Tripura Sundari	Tripuresh
43	Ujaani, at Mangalkot 16 km from Guskara station under Burdwan district	West Bengal	Right wrist	Mangal Chandika	Kapilambar
44	Varanasi at Manikarnika Ghat on banks of the Ganges at Kashi	Uttar Pradesh	Earring	Vishalakshi & Manikarni	Kalbhairav
45	Vibhash, at Tamluk under district Purba Medinipur	West Bengal	Left ankle	Kapalini (Bhimarupa)	Sarvanand
46	Virat, near Bharatpur	Rajasthan	Left toes	Ambika	Amriteshwar
47	Vrindavan, near new bus stand on Bhuteshwar road within Bhuteshwar Mahadev Temple, Katyayanipeeth. Vrindavan www.katyayanipeeth.org.in	Uttar Pradesh	Ringlets of hair	Uma	Bhutesh
48	Jalandhar, from Jalandhar Cantonment Station to Devi Talab.	Punjab	Left Breast	Tripurmalini	Bhishan
49	Baidyanath Dham	Jharkhand	Heart	Jaya Durga	Baidyanath
50	Biraja Temple in Jajpur	Jajpur, Odisha	Bamonbonsham(Navel)	Biraja
51	Jugaadya, at KShirgram NEAR KAICHAR under Burdwan district	West Bengal	Great Toe	Jugaadya	Ksheer Khandak
52	Pitikapureswari, at Kakinada under Kakinada Port Town	Andhra Pradesh	Hipp Part	Purohotika
53	Ambaji	Gujarat	Heart	Amba	Batuk Bhairav
54	Jwaladevi Temple, Shaktinagar, Sonbhadra	Uttar Pradesh	Tongue	Jwala Devi
55	Danteshwari Temple, Dantewada	Chhattisgarh	Tooth or daant	Danteshwari devi	Kapalbhairav

Chudamani Haridwar at Chudiyala Village

Historical notes

First relating to Brahmanda Purana, one of the major eighteen Puranas, it mentions 64 Shakthi Peetha of Goddess Parvati in the Bharat or Greater India including present day India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and parts of southern Pakistan. Another text which gives a listing of these shrines, is the Shakthi Peetha Stotram, written by Adi Shankara, the 9th-century Hindu philosopher.

According to the manuscript Mahapithapurana (c. 1690 – 1720 CE), there are 52 such places. Among them, 23 are located in the Bengal region, 14 of these are located in what is now West Bengal, India, 1 in Baster (Chhattisgarh), while 7 are in what is now Bangladesh.

Rishi Markandeya composed the 'Devi Saptashati' or the seven hundred hymns extolling the virtues of the Divine Goddess at the shaktipeetha in Nashik. The idol is also leaning a little to the left to listen to the sages composition. The Saptashati or the "Durga Stuti" forms an integral part in the vedic form of Shakti worship.

The third eye of Mata Sati fell below a tree in a mortuary in the Ishan corner of Vakreshwar. This is on the bank of the north flowing Dwarka river in the east of Baidyanath. Here Mata Sati is called Chandi Bhagwai Ugra Tara and Bhairav is called Chandrachur. This Shaktipeeth is called Tarapith in Birbhum district West bengal , India

Preserving the mortal relics of famous and respected individuals was a common practice in ancient India - seen in the Buddhist stupas which preserve the relics of Gautama Buddha. It is believed by some that these 64 peethas preserve the remains of some ancient female sage from whom the legend of Kali could have emerged and then merged with the Purusha - Prakriti (Shiva Shakti) model of Hindu thought.

18 Maha Shakti Pithas

The modern cities or towns that correspond to these 64 locations can be a matter of dispute, but there are a few that are totally unambiguous, these are mentioned in the Ashta Dasa Shakthi Peetha Stotram by Adi Shankara. This list contains 18 such locations which are often referred to as Maha Shakthi Peeths.

Sr. No.	Place	Appellation	Part of the body fallen	Shakti
1	Trincomalee (Sri Lanka)	Sankari Peetham	Heart	Sankari devi
2	Kanchi (Tamil Nadu)	Kanchi Kamakodi Peetham	Eyes	Kamakshi Devi
3	Pandua (West Bengal)	Pradyumna Peetham	Stomach	Srigala Devi
4	Mysore (Karnataka)	Krounja Peetham	Hair	Chamundeshwari devi
5	Alampur (Telangana)	Yogini Peetham	Upper teeth	Jogulamba devi (Yogamba devi)
6	Srisailam, (Andhra Pradesh)	Srisaila Peetham	Neck part	Bhramaramba devi
7	Kolhapur (Maharashtra)	Shri Peetham	Left hand	Mahalakshmi devi
8	Mahur (Nanded District, Maharashtra)	Renuka Peetham	Back part	Renuka Devi
9	Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)	Ujjaini Peetham	Tongue	Mahakali devi
10	Pithapuram (Andhra Pradesh)	Pushkarini Peetham	PEETA	Puruhutika devi
11	Jajpur (Odisha)	Oddyana Peetham	Naval(Navi)	Biraja Devi
12	Draksharamam (Andhra Pradesh)	Draksharama Peetham	Navel	Manikyamba devi
13	Guwahati (Assam)	Kamarupa Peetham	Vulva	Kamarupa devi
14	Prayaga (Uttar Pradesh)	Prayaga Peetham	Fingers	Madhaveswari devi
15	Kangra, Jwalamukhi (Himachal Pradesh)	Jwalamukhi Peetham	Head Part	Vaishnavi devi
16	Gaya (Bihar)	Gaya Peetham	Breast part	Sarvamangala devi
17	Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)	Varanasi Peetham	Throat	Vishalakshi devi
18	Kashmir	Saraswati Peetham	Lips	Saraswati devi

[*]Sharada Peeth: This temple is currently non-existent*. Only ruins are found in these places. Its ruins are near the Line of Control (LOC) between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled portions of the former princely state of Kashmir and Jammu. Instead, Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri in Karnataka even though not a Shakti Peetha is this aspect of the goddess. Requests have been made by the Hindu community in Pakistan to the Pakistani government to renovate the temple, the issue was raised by former Indian Home minister L. K. Advani to the Pakistan authorities as a confidence building measure, by increasing the people to people interaction cross border.

Among these, the Shakti Peethas at Kamakhya, Gaya and Ujjain are regarded as most sacred as they symbolise three most important aspects of mother Goddess viz. Creation (Kamarupa Devi), Nourishment (Sarvamangala Devi/Mangalagauri) and Annihilation (Mahakali Devi).

When observed carefully one can see that they lie in a perfect straight line from Kamakhya to Ujjain via Gaya symbolizing that every creation in this universe will annihilate one day without fail. With concepts like Hinduism and Ecology gaining importance, the geographical features of these temples are gaining importance.

Ashta Dasa Shakthi Peetha Stotram

durga

Lankayam Shankari devi, Kamakshi Kanchika pure Pradyumne Shrinkhala devi, Chamunda Krouncha pattane

Alampure jogulamba, Sri Shaile Bhramarambika Kolha Pure Maha Lakshmi, Mahurye Ekaveerika

Ujjainyam Maha kali. Preethikayam Puruhutika Odhyane Girija devi, Manikya Daksha vatike

Hari Kshetre kama rupi, Prayage Madhaveshwari Jwalayam Vaishnavi Devi, Gaya Mangalya gourika

Varanasyam Vishalakshi, Kashmire tu Saraswati Ashtadasha shakti Peethani, Yoginamapi durlabham

Sayamkale pathennityam Sarva Shatru vinashanam Sarva roga haram divyam, Sarva sampatkaram shubham

Translation of the stotra

Goddess Shankari in Sri Lanka, Kamakshi in Kanchipuram Goddess Shrinkhala in Pradymna and Chamunda in Mysore

Goddess Jogulamba in Alampur, Goddess Brhamarambika in Sri Shailam Goddess Maha Lakshmi in Kolhapur and Goddess Eka Veera in Mahur

Goddess Maha Kali in Ujjain, Purhuthika in Peethika Goddess Girija in Odhyana and Manikya in the house of Daksha

Goddess Kama Rupi in the temple of Vishnu, Madhaveshwari in Allahabad Goddess giving flame in Jwala Mukhi and Mangala Gowri in Gaya

Goddess Vishalakshi in Varanasi, Saraswati in Kashmir These are the 18 houses of Shakti, which are rare even to the Devas

When chanted every evening, all the enemies would get destroyed all the diseases would vanish, and prosperity would be showered.

See also

• Maihar
• Kalika Mata Temple, Pavagadh

Notes

Heart Ambaji Gujarat Devi Patan Locate at Tulsipur Disctt. Balrampur Uttar Pradesh not in Patana Bhihar

References

• Phyllis K. Herman, California State University, Northridge (USA), "Siting the Power of the Goddess: Sita Rasoi Shrines in Modern India", International Ramayana Conference Held at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL USA, 21-23 September 2001.
• Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions (ISBN 81-208-0379-5) by David Kinsley
• com/navratra/Shaktipeeth.html 51 Nav Durga Shaktipeeths- Legend and listing Zee News
• [1]

External links

• Shaktipeeth - Website on Shakti peethas
• 52 shakti peethas map
• 51 Shakti Peethas of Ma Durga
• 18 shakti peethas map
• Sri Swamiji visits Sri Lanka for Shankari Temple Darshan
• Comprehensive guide on 51 Shakti Peethas
• Daksha Yagna - The story of Daksha's sacrifice and the origin of the Shakti Pithas
• Gayatri Shaktipeeth, Vatika: An Introduction
• Maa Vramri Devi Shaktipeeth, Left Toe of Devi Sati