Shakti Peethas

The Shakti Peethas (Sanskrit: शक्ति पीठ, Bengali: শক্তিপীঠ, Śakti Pīṭha, seat of Shakti^[1]) are places of worship consecrated to the goddessShakti or Sati, the female principal of Hinduism and the main deity of the Shakta sect. They are sprinkled throughout the Indian subcontinent.^[2]

This goddess Shakti, the Goddess of power is the complete incarnation of Adi Shakti, has three chief manifestations, as Durga, Goddess of strength and valour, as Mahakali, goddess of destruction of evil and as Goddess Gowri, the goddess of benevolence.

Legend

When Lord Bhrahma was tired after creating the universe, he performed a yagna to please Shakti and Shiva. Goddess Shakti emerged, separating from Shiva and helped Brahma in the creation of the universe.

Then Brahma decided that one day Shakti would be given back to Lord Shiva. Therefore, Daksh (son of Bhrahma) performed several yagyas 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 Bhrahma that he would not be worshiped and also his fifth head was cut off due to his lie in front of Lord Shiva, Daksha started hating Lord Shiva and decided not to let Lord Shiva and Sati get married.

But Destiny has its own fate, series of incidents happened due to which Sati got attracted to Lord Shiva and finally one day Lord Shiva and Sati got married. This marriage only increased Daksh's hatred towards Lord Shiva.

One day, in Satya Yuga, Daksha performed a yagna with a desire to take revenge on Lord Shiva. Daksha was angry because his daughter Dakshayani also known as Sati had married the yogi God Shiva against his wish. Daksha invited all the deities to the yagna 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.

But 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 Dakshayani (the other name of Sati meaning the daughter of Daksha) invoked her yogic powers and immolated herself.

Enraged at the insult and the injury, Shiva destroyed Daksha's sacrifice, cut off Daksha's head, and later replaced it with that of a male goat as he restored him to life due to the prayers of all demi gods and Brahma. 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 requestedVishnu to intervene to stop this destruction, towards which Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra, which cut through the corpse of Sati. 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). Goddess Shakti is an aspect of the Supreme Being Goddess Adi parashakti, the mother of the trimurti, the holy trinity in Hindu mythology.

Four Adi Shakti Pithas

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, Orissa), Tara Tarini (Sthana Khanda, Purnagiri , Breasts) (Near Berhampur, Orissa), Kamakhya (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

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, 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	Shakti
1	In Puri, Orissa (inside Jagannath Temple complex)	Pada	Bimala
2	Near Berhampur-Orissa	Sthana khanda	Tara Tarini
3	Guwahati-Assam	Yoni khanda	Kamakshya
4	Kolkata- West Bengal	Mukha khanda	Dakshina Kalika

5 Orissa-Jajpur Nabhi khanda Biraja

Apart from these four there are 52 other famous Peethas recognised by religious texts. According to the Pithanirnaya Tantra the 52 peethas are scattered all over India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Pakistan. The Shivacharita besides listing 52 maha-peethas, speaks about 26 more upa-peethas. The Bengali almanac, Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika too describes the 52 peethas including the present modified addresses. A few of the several accepted listings are given below.^[3] One of the few in South India, Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh became the site for a 2nd century temple.^[4]

The 51 Shakti Pithas

In the listings below:

§  "Shakti" refers to the Goddess worshipped at each location, all being manifestations of Dakshayani, 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	Body Part or Ornament	Shakti	Bhairava
1	Kanchipuram, Kamakshi temple, Kamakoti Peetam mentioned in Lalita Sahasram, Trishati, Astothram etc.	Ottiyana (Ornament covering stomach)	Kamakshi	Kaal Bhairav
2	Nainativu (Manipallavam), Northern Province, Sri Lanka. Located 36 km from the ancient capital of the Jaffna kingdom, Nallur. The murtiof 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.	Silambu(Anklets)	Indrakshi (Nagapooshani /Bhuvaneswari)	Rakshaseshwar (Nayanair)
3	Shivaharkaray, a little distance from Sukkur Station from Karachi, Pakistan	Eyes	Mahishmardini	Krodhish
4	Sugandha, situated in Shikarpur, Gournadi, about 20 km from Barisal town, Bangladesh, on the banks of Sonda river.	Nose	Sugandha	Trayambak
5	Amarnath in Kashmir, India from Srinagar through Pahalgam 94 km by Bus, Chandanwari 16 km by walk	Throat	Mahamaya	Trisandhyeshwar
6	Jwalamukhi, Kangra, India from Pathankot alight at Jwalamukhi Road Station from there 20 km	Tongue	Siddhida (Ambika)	Unmatta Bhairav
7	Ambaji, at Anart, Gujarat, India	Heart	Ambaji	Batuk Bhairav
8	Nepal, near Pashupatinath[disambiguation needed] Temple at Guhyeshwari Temple	Both knees	Mahashira	Kapali
9	Manas[disambiguation needed], under Tibet at the foot of Mount Kailash in Lake Mansarovar, a piece of Stone	Right hand	Dakshayani	Amar
10	Bardhaman in West Bengal, India	Navel	Mata Sarbamangala Devi	Bhagwan Shiv/Mahadev
11	Gandaki in Pokhara, Nepal about 125 km on the banks of Gandaki river where Muktinath temple is situated	Temple	Gandaki Chandi	Chakrapani
12	Bahula, on the banks of Ajay river at Ketugram, 8 km from Katwa, Burdwan, West Bengal, India	Left arm	Goddess Bahula	Bhiruk
13	Ujaani, 16 km from Guskara station under Burdwan district of West Bengal, India	Right wrist	Mangal Chandika	Kapilambar
14	Udaipur, Tripura, at the top of the hills known as Tripura Sundari temple near Radhakishorepur village, a little distance away fromUdaipur town of Tripura, India	Right leg	Tripura Sundari	Tripuresh
15	On Chandranath hill near Sitakunda station of Chittagong District, Bangladesh. The famous Chandranath Temple on the top of the hill is the Bhairav temple of this Shakti Peetha, not the Shakti Peeth itself.	Right arm	Bhawani	Chandrashekhar
16	Locally known as Bhramari Devi. Behind a rice mill, near Jalpesh Temple in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India.	Left leg	Bhraamari	Ambar
17	Kamgiri, Kamakhya, in the Neelachal hills near Guwahati, capital of Assam, India	Genitals	Kamakhya	Umanand
18	yoga adya at Khirgram under Burdwan district, West Bengal, India	Big Toe (Right)	Jugaadya	Ksheer Khandak
19	Kalipeeth, (Kalighat, Kolkata), India	Right Toes	Kalika	Nakuleshwar
20	Prayag near Sangam at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India	Finger	Alopi Devi Mandiror Madhaveswari	Bhava
21	Jayanti at Nartiang village in the Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya state, India. This Shakti Peetha is locally known as the Nartiang Durga Temple.	Left thigh	Jayanti	Kramadishwar
22	Kireet at Kireetkona village, 3 km from Lalbag Court Road station under district Murshidabad, West Bengal, India	Crown	Vimla	Sanwart
23	Varanasi at Manikarnika Ghat on banks of the Ganges at Kashi, Uttar Pradesh, India	Earring	Vishalakshi & Manikarni	Kalbhairav
24	Kanyashram, Kanyakumari the Bhadrakali temple within the precincts of Kumari[disambiguation needed] temple, Tamil Nadu, India (also thought to be situated in Chittagong, Bangladesh)	Back	Sarvani	Nimish
25	Present day Kurukshetra town or Thanesar ancient Sthaneshwar, at Haryana, India	Ankle bone	Savitri/BhadraKali	Sthanu
26	Manibandh, at Gayatri hills near Pushkar 11 km north-west of Ajmer, Rajasthan, India	Two Bracelets	Gayatri	Sarvanand
27	Shri Shail, at Joinpur village, Dakshin Surma, near Gotatikar, 3 km north-east of Sylhet town, Bangladesh	Neck	Mahalaxmi	Sambaranand
28	Kankalitala, on the banks of Kopai River 10 km north-east of Bolpur station in Birbhum district, Devi locally known as KankaleshwariWest Bengal, India	Bone	Devgarbha	Ruru
29	Kalmadhav on the banks of Shon river in a cave over hills near to Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India	Left buttock	Kali	Asitang
30	Shondesh, at the source point of Narmada River in Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India	Right buttock	Narmada	Bhadrasen
31	Ramgiri, at Chitrakuta on the Jhansi Manikpur railway line in Uttar Pradesh, India	Right breast	Shivani	Chanda
32	Vrindavan, near new bus stand on Bhuteshwar road within Bhuteshwar Mahadev Temple, Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India	Ringlets of hair	Uma	Bhutesh
33	Shuchi, in a Shiva temple at Suchindrum 11 km on Kanyakumari Trivandrum road, Tamil Nadu, India	Upper teeth	Narayani	Sanhar
34	Panchsagar exact location not known (thought to be near Haridwar)	Bottom teeth	Varahi	Maharudra
35	Bhavanipur union, at Karatoyatat, 28 km distance from interior Sherpur upazila, Bogra District, Bangladesh	Left anklet (ornament)	Arpana	Vaman
36	Shri Parvat, near Ladak, Kashmir, India. Another belief: at Srisailam in Shriparvat hills under Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, India	Right anklet (ornament)	Shrisundari	Sundaranand
37	Vibhash, at Tamluk under district Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India	Left ankle	Kapalini (Bhimarupa)	Sarvanand
38	Prabhas, 4 km from Veraval station near Somnath temple in Junagadh district of Gujarat, India	Stomach	Chandrabhaga	Vakratund
39	Bhairavparvat, at Bhairav hills on the banks of Shipra river a little distance from Ujjaini town, Madhya Pradesh, India	Upper lips	Avanti	Lambkarna
40	Goddess Saptashrungi (Goddess with 18 arms)]], at Vani in Nasik, Maharashtra, India	Chin (2 parts)	Bhramari	Vikritaksh
41	Sarvashail or Godavaritir, at Kotilingeswar temple on the banks of Godavari river near Rajamundry, Andhra Pradesh, India	Cheeks	Rakini or Vishweshwari	Vatsnabh or Dandpani
42	Virat, near Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India	Left toes	Ambika	Amriteshwar
43	Locally known as Anandamayee Temple. Ratnavali, on the banks of Ratnakar river at Khanakul-Krishnanagar, district Hooghly, West Bengal, India	Right Shoulder	Kumari	Shiva
44	Mithila, near Janakpur railway station on the border of India and Nepal	Left shoulder	Uma	Mahodar
45	Nalhati, known as "Nalateshwari Temple" near Nalhati station of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India	Vocal chord with part of the tracheae	Kalika Devi	Yogesh
46	Karnat, Kangra, himachalpradesh.	Both ears	Jayadurga	Abhiru
47	Bakreshwar, on the banks of Paaphara river, 24 km distance from Siuri Town, district Birbhum, 7 km from Dubrajpur Rly. Station West Bengal, India	Portion between the eyebrows	Mahishmardini	Vakranath
48	Jessoreswari, situated at Ishwaripur, Shyamnagar, district Satkhira, Bangladesh. The temple complex was built by Maharaja Pratapaditya, whose capital was Ishwaripur.	Palms of hands and soles of the feet	Jashoreshwari	Chanda
49	Attahas village of Dakshindihi in the district of Bardhaman, near the Katwa railway station, in West Bengal, India	Lips	Phullara	Vishvesh
50	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, India	Necklace	Nandini	Nandikeshwar
51	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
52	Danestwari (Kuldevi Of Bastar state ), Dantewada 80 km from Jagdalpur Tehsil, Chhattisgarh	Daant (teeth)	Danteshwari	Kapalbhairv
53	Vajreshwari, Kangra 18 km from Dharamshala Tehsil, Kangra	left Breast (teeth)	Vajreshwari	Kalbhairv
53	[Padmavati Devi] (Padmavatipuri Dham), Panns 80 km from Satna Madhya Pradesh	Padm	Padmavati Devi	Kapalbhairav
54	Tarapith, on the banks of Dwarka river, about 6 km from Rampurhat sub-division, Birbhum district, West Bengal, India	Third eye or spiritual eye (Tara)	Tara
55	Chandika Sthan or chandisthan, at Munger temple on the banks of Ganges near Ganga Darshan, Bihar, India	Left eye	Chandika or Chandi devi	Bholeshankar
56	Patan Devi, at PATNA, BIHAR, India	left shoulder with cloths	Badi Patan Devi/chhoti Patan Devi	Bhairav
57	Arbuda Devi, at Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India	Adhar	Arbuda Devi or Adhar Devi	Bhairav

§  Chandi Mandir in (near Memari Rail station) Memari, Bardhaman, Westbengal, Fullara in Birbhum district are also considered to be a shakti peetha.^[5]

§  Naina Devi Temple. Nainadevi in Himachal Pradesh (Bilaspur) is also considered a shakti peetha, where Sati's eyes fell.

§  Sharda Devi Temple at Maihar near Satna Dist. Satna is also considered a shakti peeth where the necklace of Sati fell.

§  Bhadrakali Temple in holy city Kurukshetra(Haryana)is also considered as one of the 51 holy Shakti peethas. The temple is dedicated to Bhadrakali a form of shakti. This is considered to be one of the fifty one Shakti pithas of India. It is believed that the right ankle of Sati fell here in the well. The "consort of Savtri is called Sthanu". Hence, the city is called "Staneshwar" meaning abode of Shiva. It is believed that the mundun (hair removing) ceremony of Srikrishna and Balarama was also performed in this temple.^[6]

§  Mahakali temple at Pavagadh near Vadodara in Gujarat is also consdiered shakti peeth where a part of Sati's foot is said to be fallen.^[7]

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, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Another text which gives a listing of these shrines, is the Shakthi Peetha Stotram, written by Adi Shankara, the 9th century Hindu philosopher.^[8]

According to the manuscript Mahapithapurana (circa 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 (Chattisgarh), 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.

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^{[citation needed]} 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.^[9] This list contains 18 such locations which are often referred to as Maha Shakthi Peeths.^[10]

Sr. No.	Place	Part of the body fallen	Name of Shakti
1	Trincomalee (Sri Lanka)	Groin	Shankari devi
2	Kanchi (Tamil Nadu)	Back part	Kamakshi Devi
3	Tuljapur (Maharashtra)	face	Tulja Bhavani
4	Mysore (Karnataka)	Hair	Chamundeshwari devi
5	Alampur (Andhra Pradesh)	Upper teeth	Jogulamba devi
6	Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh)	Neck part	Bhramaramba devi
7	Kolhapur (Maharastra)	Eyes	Mahalakshmi devi[11]
8	Mahur (Nanded District, Maharastra)	Right hand	Renuka Devi
9	Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)	Upper lip	Mahakali devi
10	Pithapuram (Andhra Pradesh)	Left hand	Puruhutika devi
11	Purnagiri Temple, Tanakpur State Uttrakhand India])	Navel	Purnagiri temple Tanakpur , Uttrakhand India
12	Draksharamam (Andhra Pradesh)	Left cheek	Manikyamba devi
13	Guwahati (Assam)	Vulva	Kamarupa devi
14	Prayaga (Uttar Pradesh)	Fingers	Lalita devi
15	Katra, Jammu and Kashmir	Head part	Vaishnavi devi
16	Gaya (Bihar)	Breast part	Sarvamangala devi
17	Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)	Wrist	Vishalakshi devi
18	Kashmir*	Right hand	Saraswathi devi

[*]This temple is currently non-existent. Only ruins are found in these places. Instead, Sringeri in Karnataka is believed to be the Shakti Peeth of this aspect of the goddess.

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.

Notes

1.     ^ Fuller, Christopher John (2004). The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-691-12048-5.

2.     ^ Article, from Banglapedia.

3.     ^ 52 Pithas of Parvati - From Hindunet

4.     ^ Shakti Pitha sites in India

5.     ^ "Labhpur". Birbhum District administration. Retrieved 2007-08-24.

6.     ^ http://www.bhadrakalishaktipeeth.com/

7.     ^ "Pavagadh-a Shakti Peeth". K. Kannikeswaran. Retrieved 5 September 2012.

8.     ^ Shakthi Peetha Stotram Vedanta Spiritual Library

9.     ^ Ashta Dasa Shakthi Peetha Stotram From Hindupedia

10.   ^ html ASTADASA MAHA SAKTHI-PEETHAS From srisailam.co.in

11.   ^ Mahalaxmi of Kolhapur

Heart Ambaji gujarat

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, September 21–23, 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