Existence of Shakti Peethas

Shakti peethas are places of worship dedicated to Goddess Durga and are widely spread throughout India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. They are 51 in total with a great legend associated to their existence. All of these considered to be significant shrines in Shaktism, the goddess-focussed Hindu tradition and this explains their association with Goddess Durga. Shakti, the goddess of power, is the complete incarnation of Adi Shakti. It has three chief manifestations – as Durga, goddess of strength and valour, as Mahakali, goddess of destruction of evil and as Gouri, the goddess of benevolence. This story is an interesting one, worth a read!

The Story

The story dates back to the times when once, Lord Brahma performed a yagna 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. Daksha Prajapati, who was Lord Brahma’s wish-born son, was entrusted with the duty to populate the Universe. He along with his wife, Prastuti, had many daughters who were married off to different gods and sages, in order to populate the universe. According to his father’s wish, 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, Daksha Prajapati had an immense dislike against lord Shiva as lord Shiva was the reason for the loss of a head of his father, lord Brahma and also due to Lord Shiva’s curse to Brahma that he would not be worshiped by devotees. Hence, he did not want to marry his daughter, Sati, to Lord Shiva. Sati, who was the youngest daughter of this couple, was the favourite daughter of Daksha Prajapati. It is believed that Sati was the reincarnation of Ardhashakti, or the better half of Lord Shiva which he had sacrificed to maintain the balance in the Universe and was thus, destined to marry Lord Shiva. Eventually as she grew up, Sati appeases Lord Shiva and marries him against the wishes of her father, Daksha.

Daksha Prajapati then organizes a Yagna (fire-sacrifice) and invites all his sons-in-law except Lord Shiva, to participate in the ritual. However, Sati wanted to be a part of this Yagna and despite the disagreement with lord Shiva, she goes to her parents’ home to join the participate in the Yagna. There in front of all the guests who have arrived at their place, Daksha Prajapati insults her husband, Lord Shiva. Angry at the exclusion of her husband, Sati rushes into the sacrificial precinct and confronts her father, who mocks Shiva’s ascetic ways in front of all the assembled guests. This left Sati anguished and unable to bear this humiliation in front of the other Devas, Sati kills herself by jumping into the sacrificial fire thereby causing the Yagna to stop.

Upon learning about Sati’s act at the Yagna, Lord Shiva was furious about Sati’s death at the Yagna. Unable to control his anger, he brought forth superior beings Virabhadra (a fierce warrior) and Bhadrakali (the female fierce warrior) to behead Daksha. Although many gods tried to defend Daksha, Virabhadra and Bhadrakali destroyed his army and beheaded him. Lord Brahma then pleaded to Lord Shiva for his son’s life and asked for forgiveness for his behaviour. Lord Shiva calmed down, and revived Daksha by replacing his head with a goat’s head. He placed Goddess Sati’s body on his shoulder and started walking through the Universe, neglecting his duties. Lord Vishnu attempted to pacify Shiva, who was left in deep grief upon seeing the half-burned corpse of his beloved wife, Sati.

To bring Lord Shiva out of his grief, Lord Vishnu uses his sudarshan chakra (a celestial weapon) to cut Sati’s body to pieces, which fell on earth. Sati’s body was cut into a total of 51 pieces that fell on different places on the earth, each of which have evolved into Shakti Pithas (Shakti Temples). There is a Kali or Shakti temple in each of these 51 places.

Later in the story, Lord Shiva returned back to Mount Kailash to meditate and mourn his wife’s death, cleansing himself of all anger and pain rejecting all worldly things. Much later, Sati was reborn as the daughter of Himavath (the king of mountains) and was named as Parvati. Eventually she gets married to lord Shiva as she was destined to do so.

Importance of Shakti Peethas
Among the 51 Peethas, the Shakti Peethas at Kamakhya, Gaya and Ujjain are considered to be the most sacred as they symbolise three most important aspects of the goddess – 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.
Mahashakti Peethas
In this story, when Sati’s body was cut by the Sudarshan Chakra of lord Vishnu, the pieces of her body fell on different places on the earth and these emerged as Shakti Peethas, where either a part or an ornament of Sati fell. Out of these 51 Peethas, 18 of them are considered to be of special significance and they are together known as Mahashakti Peethas.
Adi Shankaracharya, the great Hindu preacher had composed a famous poem listing these 18 holy shrines of Goddess Durga or Shakti –

“ 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, Peethikayam Puruhutika
Odhyane Girija devi, Manikya Daksha vatike

Hari kshetre Kama rupi, Prayage Madhaveshwari
Jwalayam Vishnavi devi, Gaya Mangalya gourika

Varanasyam Vishalakshi, Kashmire tu Saraswati
Ashtadasha Shakti peethani, Yoginamapi durlabham

Sayamkale pathennityam, Sarva shatri vinashanam
Sarva roga haram divyam, Sarva sampatkaram shubham ”

Trincomalee (Sri Lanka) Shankari devi
Kanchi (Tamil Nadu) Kamakshi Devi
Pradyumna* (West Bengal) Srunkhala devi
Mysore (Karnataka) Chamundeshwari devi
Alampur (Andhra Pradesh) Jogulamba devi
Srisailam(Andhra Pradesh) Bhramaramba devi
Kolhapur(Maharastra) Mahalakshmi devi[9] Nanded(Maharastra) Ekaveerika devi
Ujjain(Madhya Pradesh) Mahakali devi
Pithapuram(Andhra Pradesh) Puruhutika devi
Purnagiri Temple,Tanakpur
(Uttrakhand, India) Purnagiri temple Tanakpur
Uttrakhand India
Draksharamam(Andhra Pradesh) Manikyamba devi
Guwahati(Assam) Kamarupa devi
Prayaga(Uttar Pradesh) Madhaveswari devi
Kangra(Himachal Pradesh) Vaishnavi devi
Gaya(Bihar) Sarvamangala devi
Varanasi(Uttar Pradesh) Vishalakshi devi
Kashmir Saraswathi devi

List of 51 Shakti Peethas

Sno. Location in India Sati’s organ or Ornament Shakti Bhairava
1. Hingula (Or Hinglaj), about 125 Km towards North-East from Karachi, Pakistan Bramharandhra (Part of the head) Kottari Bhimlochan
2. Sharkrare, a little distance from Sukkar Station from Karachi, Pakistan Eyes Mahishmardini Krodhish
3. Sugandha, about 20 Km from Barisal, Bangladesh at Shikarpur on banks of Sondh river Nose Sunanda Trayambak
4. Amarnath in Kashmir, India from Srinagar through Pahalgaon 94 km by Bus, Chandanbari 16 Km by walk Throat Mahamaya Trisandhyeshwar
5. Jwalamukhi, Kangra, India from Pathankot alight at Jwalamukhi Road Station from there 20 Km Tongue Siddhida (Ambika) Unmatta Bhairav
6. Jalandhar, India from Jalandhar Cantonment Station to Devi Talab Left Breast Tripurmalini Bhishan
7. Baidyanathdham, at Deoghar, Jharkhand, India
Heart Jaya Durga Baidyanath
8. Nepal, near Pashupatinath Temple at Gujyeshwari Temple Both Knees Mahashira Kapali
9. Manas, under Tibet at the feet of Mount Kailash in Lake Mansarovar, a piece of Stone Right Hand Dakshayani Amar
10. Biraja in Utkal present Orissa, India Navel Vimla Jagannath
11. Gandaki from 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 Katua, Burdwan, West Bengal, India Left Arm Goddess Bahula Bhiruk
13. Ujaani, 16 Km from Guskura Station under Burdwan district of West Bengal, India Right Wrist Mangal Chandika Kapilambar
14. Udaipur, Tripura, at the top of the hills known as Matabari near Radhakishorepur village, a little distance away from Udaipur town of Tripura, India Right Leg Tripur Sundari Tripuresh
15. Chatral or Chôţţogram at the top of Chandranath hills near Sitakunda station of Chittagong district, Bangladesh Right Arm Bhawani Chandrashekhar
16. Trisrota, at Salbari village under Boda division of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India Left Leg Bhraamari Ambar
17. Kamgiri, Kamakhya, at the Neelachal hills near Guwahati, capital of Assam, India Genital Organ Kamakhya Umanand
18. Jugaadya at Khirgram under Burdwan district, West Bengal, India Great Toe (Right) Jugaadya Ksheer Khandak
19. Kalipeeth, (Kalighat, Kolkata), India Right Toe Kalika Nakuleesh
20. Prayag near Sangam of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India Finger (Hand) Lalita Bhava
21. Jayanti at Kalajore Bourbhog village of Khasi hills under Jayantia Parganas of Sylhet district, Bangladesh 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 Ganga at Kashi, Uttar Pradesh, India Earring Vishalakshi & Manikarni Kalbhairav
24. Kanyashram, Kanyakumari the Bhadrakali temple within the precincts of Kumari temple, Tamil Nadu, India Back Sarvani Nimish
25. Kurukshetra, at Haryana, India Ankle Bone Savitri Sthanu
26. Manibandh, at Gayatri hills near Pushkar 11 Km towards north-west from Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
Two Bracelets Gayatri Sarvanand
27. Shri Shail, at Jainpur village towards north-east 3 Km from Sylhet town, Bangladesh Neck Mahalaxmi Sambaranand
28. Kanchi, on the banks of Kopai river 4 Km towards north-east from Bolpur station of district Birbhum, West Bengal, India Bone Devgarbha Ruru
29. Kalmadhav on the banks of Shon river in a cave over hills near to Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India Buttock (Left) Kali Asitang
30. Shondesh, at the source point of Narmada river in Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India Buttock (Right) 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 Shuchitirtham 11 Km on Kanyakumari Trivandrum road, Tamil Nadu, India Teeth (Upper Jaw) Narayani Sanhar
34. Panchsagar place not known Teeth (Lower Jaw) Varahi Maharudra
35. Kartoyatat, at Bhawanipur village 28 Km distance from interior Serpur. Alight at Bagura station under district Bagura, Bangladesh
Left Anklet (Ornament) Arpana Vaman
36. Shri Parvat, near Ladak, Kashmir, India. Another belief: at Srisailam in Shriparvat hills under Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India Right Anklet (Ornament) Shrisundari Sundaranand
37. Vibhash, at Tamluk under district East Medinipur, West Bengal, India Left Ankle Kapalini (Bhimarupa) Sarvanand
38. Prabhas, 4 Km distance 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. Jansthan, at Godavari river valley near Nasik, Maharasthra, India Chin (Two 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. Birat, near Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India Left Feet Fingers Ambika Amriteshwar
43. 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 boarder of India-Nepal Left Shoulder Uma Mahodar
45. Nalhati, on a hillock near Nalhati station of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Tubular Bones of the Feet Kalika Devi Yogesh
46. Karnat place not known Both Ears Jayadurga Abhiru
47. Vakreshwar, on the banks of Paaphara river, 7 Km distance from Dubrajpur station, district Birbhum, West Bengal, India Portion between the eyebrows Mahishmardini Vakranath
48. Yashor, at Ishwaripur, district Khulna, Bangladesh Hands & Feet Yashoreshwari Chanda
49. Attahas, 2 Km distance from Labhpur station district Birbhum, West Bengal, India Lips Phullara Vishvesh
50. Nandipur under a Banyan tree within a boundary wall near Sainthia Railway station, district Birbhum, West Bengal, India Necklace Nandini Nandikeshwar
51. Lanka place not known (One opinion is this temple is in Trincomalee, but destroyed during portuguese shelling. Only a pillar remains. This temple is near to the more famous Trikoneshwara temple) Anklets Indrakshi Raksheswar