Shakti Peethas PDF
Shakti Peethas PDF
Shakti Peethas PDF
Shakti Peethas
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The Shakti Peethas (Sanskrit: शक्ति पीठ, Bengali: শক্তিপীঠ, Śakti Pīṭha, seat of Shakti) are places of worship
consecrated to 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.[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
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 yajnas 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.
Daksha performed a yajna with a desire to take revenge on Lord Shiva. 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 yajna. She
expressed her desire to attend the yajna to Shiva, who tried his best to dissuade her from going. Shiva eventually
Shakti Peethas 2
relented and Sati went to the yajna. Sati, being an uninvited guest, was not given any respect at the yajna.
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 yajna, cut off Daksha's head, and
later replaced it with that of a male goat as he restored him to life. 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.[3]
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
mythology.
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.[4] One of the few in South India, Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh became the site for
a 2nd-century temple.[5]
1 Amarnath, from Srinagar through Pahalgam 94 km by Bus, Jammu and Throat Mahamaya Trisandhyeshwar
Chandanwari 16 km by walk Kashmir
2 Attahas village of Dakshindihi in the district of Bardhaman, West Bengal Lips Phullara Vishvesh
near the Katwa railway station
3 Bahula, on the banks of Ajay river at Ketugram, 8 km from West Bengal Left arm Goddess Bahula Bhiruk
Katwa, Burdwan
4 Bakreshwar, on the banks of Paaphara river, 24 km distance West Bengal Portion between Mahishmardini Vakranath
from Siuri Town, district Birbhum, 7 km from Dubrajpur Rly. the eyebrows
Station
5 Bhairavparvat, at Bhairav hills on the banks of Shipra river in Madhya Upper lips Avanti Lambkarna
the city of Ujjaini Pradesh
6 Bhabanipur union, at Karatoyatat, 28 km distance from Bangladesh Left anklet Arpana Vaman
interior Sherpur upazila, Ratnapore District (ornament)
7 Chhinnamastika Shaktipeeth at Chintpurni, in Una District of Himachal Feet Chhinnamastika Rudra Mahadev
Himachal Pradesh Pradesh
8 Gandaki, Pokhara about 125 km on the banks of Gandaki Nepal Temple Gandaki Chandi Chakrapani
river where Muktinath temple is situated
Shakti Peethas 4
9 Goddess Saptashrungi (Goddess with 18 arms), at Vani in Maharashtra Chin (2 parts) Bhramari Vikritaksh
Nasik
10 Hinglaj (Or Hingula), southern Baluchistan a few hours Pakistan Bramharandhra Kottari Bhimlochan
North-east of Gawadar and about 125 km towards North-west (Part of the head)
from Karachi
11 Jayanti at Nartiang village in the Jaintia Hills district. This Meghalaya Left thigh Jayanti Kramadishwar
Shakti Peetha is locally known as the Nartiang Durga
Temple.
12 Jessoreswari, situated at Ishwaripur, Shyamnagar, district Bangladesh Palms of hands Jashoreshwari Chanda
Satkhira. The temple complex was built by Maharaja and soles of the
Pratapaditya, whose capital was Ishwaripur. feet
13 Jwalaji, Kangra from Pathankot alight at Jwalamukhi Road Himachal Tongue Siddhida (Ambika) Unmatta Bhairav
Station from there 20 km Pradesh
15 Kalmadhav on the banks of Shon river in a cave over hills Madhya Left buttock Kali Asitang
near to Amarkantak Pradesh
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 West Bengal Bone Devgarbha Ruru
Bolpur station in Birbhum district, Devi locally known as
Kankaleshwari
18 Kanyashram of Balaambika - The Bhagavathy temple in Tamil Nadu Back Sarvani Nimish
Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of mainland India, Tamil
Nadu (also thought to be situated in Yunnan province, China)
20 Kireet at Kireetkona village, 3 km from Lalbag Court Road West Bengal Crown Vimla Sanwart
station under district Murshidabad
21 Locally known as Anandamayee Temple. Ratnavali, on the West Bengal Right Shoulder Kumari Shiva
banks of Ratnakar river at Khanakul-Krishnanagar, district
Hooghly
22 Locally known as Bhramari Devi. In Jalpaiguri near a small West Bengal Left leg Bhraamari Ambar
village Boda on the bank of river Teesta or Tri-shrota
(combination of three flows) mentioned in Puranas
23 Manas, under Tibet at the foot of Mount Kailash in Lake Tibet Right hand Dakshayani Amar
Mansarovar, a piece of Stone
24 Manibandh, at Gayatri hills near Pushkar 11 km north-west of Rajasthan Two Bracelets Gayatri Sarvanand
Ajmer
25 Mithila, near Janakpur railway station on the border of India Nepal Left shoulder Uma Mahodar
and Nepal
26 Nainativu (Manipallavam), Northern Province, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Silambu Indrakshi Rakshaseshwar
Located 36 km from the ancient capital of the Jaffna (Anklets) (Nagapooshani / (Nayanair)
kingdom, Nallur. The murti of the Goddess is believed to Bhuvaneswari)
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.
27 Nepal, near Pashupatinath Temple at Guhyeshwari Temple Nepal Both Knees Mahashira Kapali
Shakti Peethas 5
28 On Chandranath hill near Sitakunda station of Chittagong Bangladesh Right arm Bhawani Chandrashekhar
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.
29 Panchsagar exact location not known (thought to be near Uttarakhand Lower teeth Varahi Maharudra
Haridwar)
30 Prabhas, 4 km from Veraval station near Somnath temple in Gujarat Stomach Chandrabhaga Vakratund
Junagadh district
32 Present day Kurukshetra town or Thanesar ancient Haryana Ankle bone Savitri/BhadraKali Sthanu
Sthaneshwar
33 Ramgiri, at Chitrakuta on the Jhansi Manikpur railway line Uttar Pradesh Right breast Shivani Chanda
34 Sainthia, locally Known as Nandikeshwari temple. Only West Bengal Necklace Nandini Nandikeshwar
1.5 km from the railway station under a banyan tree within a
boundary wall, Birbhum district
35 Sarvashail or Godavaritir, at Kotilingeswar temple on the Andhra Pradesh Cheeks Rakini or Vatsnabh or
banks of Godavari river near Rajamundry Vishweshwari Dandpani
36 Shivaharkaray, a little distance from Sukkur Station from Pakistan Eyes Mahishmardini Krodhish
Karachi
37 Shondesh, at the source point of Narmada River in Madhya Right buttock Narmada Bhadrasen
Amarkantak Pradesh
38 Shri Parvat, near Ladak, Jammu and Kashmir. Another belief: Andhra Pradesh Right anklet Shrisundari Sundaranand
at Srisailam in Shriparvat hills under Kurnool district (ornament)
39 Shri Shail, at Joinpur village, Dakshin Surma, near Gotatikar, Bangladesh Neck Mahalaxmi Sambaranand
3 km north-east of Sylhet town
40 Shuchi, in a Shiva temple at Suchindrum 11 km on Tamil Nadu Upper teeth Narayani Sanhar
Kanyakumari Trivandrum road
41 Sugandha, situated in Shikarpur, Gournadi, about 20 km from Bangladesh Nose Sugandha Trayambak
Barisal town, Bangladesh, on the banks of Sonda river.
42 Udaipur, Tripura, at the top of the hills known as Tripura Tripura Right leg Tripura Sundari Tripuresh
Sundari temple near Radhakishorepur village, a little distance
away from Udaipur town
43 Ujaani, 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 Uttar Pradesh Earring Vishalakshi & Kalbhairav
Kashi Manikarni
45 Vibhash, at Tamluk under district Purba Medinipur West Bengal Left ankle Kapalini Sarvanand
(Bhimarupa)
47 Vrindavan, near new bus stand on Bhuteshwar road within Uttar Pradesh Ringlets of hair Uma Bhutesh
Bhuteshwar Mahadev Temple, Katyayanipeeth. Vrindavan
48 Jalandhar, from Jalandhar Cantonment Station to Devi Talab. Punjab Left Breast Tripurmalini Bhutesh
51 Burdong, Khirgram under Kalimatobonsha, Sikkim-Tibet Great Toe Jugaadya Ksheer Khandak
border,
Shakti Peethas 6
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.[7]
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.
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.
[*]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
Shakti Peethas 7
and Jammu. Instead, Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri in Karnataka even though not a Shakti Peetha is this aspect
of the goddess, Requests are 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.
Notes
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Hinduism& action=edit
[2] Article (http:/ / www. banglapedia. org/ httpdocs/ HT/ S_0033. HTM), from Banglapedia.
[3] http:/ / www. sacred-texts. com/ tantra/ maha/ maha00. htm
[4] 52 Pithas of Parvati (http:/ / www. hindunet. org/ saraswati/ resources/ pithas. htm) - From Hindunet
[5] Shakti Pitha sites in India (http:/ / www. sacredsites. com/ asia/ india/ srisailam_shakti_pitha. html)
[6] http:/ / zeenews. india. com/ navratra2012/ Shaktipeeth. html
[7] Shakthi Peetha Stotram (http:/ / www. celextel. org/ adisankara/ shaktipeethastotram. html) Vedanta Spiritual Library
[8] Ashta Dasa Shakthi Peetha Stotram (http:/ / www. hindupedia. com/ en/ Ashta_Dasa_Shakthi_Peetha_Stotram) From Hindupedia
[9] html ASTADASA MAHA SAKTHI-PEETHAS (http:/ / srisailam. co. in/ shaktipeethas. ) From srisailam.co.in
Heart Ambaji Gujarat Devi Patan Locate at Tulsipur Disctt. Balrampur Uttar Pradesh not in Patana Bhihar
Shakti Peethas 8
References
• Phyllis K. Herman, California State University, Northridge (USA), " Siting the Power of the Goddess: Sita Rasoi
Shrines in Modern India (http://www.ramayanainstitute.org/archives/NIU_2001_Conference___Fair/Papers/
papers.html)", 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 (http://www.zeenews.) Zee
News
• (http://educationguru4u.com/chandi_asthan.aspx)
External links
• Shaktipeeth - Website on Shakti peethas (http://www.shaktipeethas.org)
• 52 shakti peethas map (http://www.shaktipeethas.org/51-shakti-peethas-map-t11.html)
• 51 Shakti Peethas of Ma Durga (http://www.yatra2yatra.com/hinduism/shaktipeeth)
• 18 shakti peethas map (http://www.shaktipeethas.org/18-shakti-peethas-map-t12.html)
• Sri Swamiji visits Sri Lanka for Shankari Temple Darshan (http://www.dattapeetham.com/india/tours/2005/
srilanka/srilanka.html)
• Comprehensive guide on 51 Shakti Peethas (http://www.vedarahasya.net/shakti.htm)
• Daksha Yagna - The story of Daksha's sacrifice and the origin of the Shakti Pithas (http://www.indiantemples.
com/beliefs/daksha.htm)
• Gayatri Shaktipeeth, Vatika: An Introduction (http://www.vatikashaktipeeth.com/home.html)
Article Sources and Contributors 9
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