THE LEGEND OF SHAKTI

Legend Of The Shakti

Shiva carrying the corpse of Dakshayani

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 helpedBrahma 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 LordShiva.

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 yagnaexcept 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 requested Vishnu 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 Peethastoday.^[3]

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

[edit]Four Adi Shakti Pithas

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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 (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).

[edit]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
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

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]

[edit]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	State inIndia/Country	Body Part or Ornament	Shakti	Bhairava
1	Amarnath, from Srinagar through Pahalgam 94 km by Bus,Chandanwari 16 km by walk	Kashmir	Throat	Mahamaya	Trisandhyeshwar
2	Ambaji, at Anart	Gujarat	Heart	Ambaji	Batuk Bhairav
3	Arbuda Devi, at Mount Abu	Rajasthan	Adhar	Arbuda Devi or Adhar Devi	Bhairav
4	Attahas village of Dakshindihi in the district of Bardhaman, near the Katwa railway station	West Bengal	Lips	Phullara	Vishvesh
5	Bahuchara Mata, at Becharaji	Gujarat	Left hand	Bahuchara Mata
6	Bahula, on the banks of Ajay river at Ketugram, 8 km fromKatwa, Burdwan	West Bengal	Left arm	Goddess Bahula	Bhiruk
7	Bakreshwar, on the banks of Paaphara river, 24 km distance from Siuri Town, district Birbhum, 7 km from Dubrajpur Rly. Station	West Bengal	Portion between the eyebrows	Mahishmardini	Vakranath
8	Bardhaman	West Bengal	Navel	Mata Sarbamangala Devi	Bhagwan Shiv/Mahadev
9	Bhairavparvat, at Bhairav hills on the banks of Shipra river a little distance from Ujjaini town	Madhya Pradesh	Upper lips	Avanti	Lambkarna
10	Bhabanipur union, at Karatoyatat, 28 km distance from interior Sherpur upazila, Bogra District	Bangladesh	Left anklet (ornament)	Arpana	Vaman
11	Chandika Sthan or chandisthan, at Munger temple on the banks of Ganges near Ganga Darshan	Bihar	Left eye	Chandika or Chandi devi	Bholeshankar
12	Danestwari (Kuldevi Of Bastar state ), Dantewada 80 km from Jagdalpur Tehsil	Chhattisgarh	Daant (teeth)	Danteshwari	Kapalbhairv
13	Gandaki, Pokhara about 125 km on the banks of Gandakiriver where Muktinath temple is situated	Nepal	Temple	Gandaki Chandi	Chakrapani
14	Goddess Saptashrungi (Goddess with 18 arms), at Vani inNasik	Maharashtra	Chin (2 parts)	Bhramari	Vikritaksh
15	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
16	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
17	Jessoreswari, situated at Ishwaripur, Shyamnagar, districtSatkhira. The temple complex was built by Maharaja Pratapaditya, whose capital was Ishwaripur.	Bangladesh	Palms of hands and soles of the feet	Jashoreshwari	Chanda
18	Jwalaji, Kangra from Pathankot alight at Jwalamukhi Road Station from there 20 km	Himachal Pradesh	Tongue	Siddhida (Ambika)	Unmatta Bhairav
19	Kalipeeth, (Kalighat, Kolkata)	West Bengal	Right Toes	Kalika	Nakuleshwar
20	Kalmadhav on the banks of Shon river in a cave over hills near to Amarkantak	Madhya Pradesh	Left buttock	Kali	Asitang
21	Kamgiri, Kamakhya, in the Neelachal hills near Guwahati	Assam	Genitals	Kamakhya	Umanand
22	Kanchipuram, Kamakshi temple, Kamakoti Peetam mentioned in Lalita Sahasram, Trishati, Astothram etc.	Tamilnadu	Ottiyana (Ornament covering stomach)	Kamakshi	Kaal Bhairav
23	Kankalitala, on the banks of Kopai River 10 km north-east of Bolpur station in Birbhum district, Devi locally known as Kankaleshwari	West Bengal	Bone	Devgarbha	Ruru
24	Kanyashram, Kanyakumari the Bhadrakali temple within the precincts of Kumari temple (also thought to be situated in Chittagong, Bangladesh)	Tamil Nadu	Back	Sarvani	Nimish
25	Karnat, Kangra	Himachal Pradesh	Both ears	Jayadurga	Abhiru
26	Kireet at Kireetkona village, 3 km from Lalbag Court Roadstation under district Murshidabad	West Bengal	Crown	Vimla	Sanwart
27	Locally known as Anandamayee Temple. Ratnavali, on the banks of Ratnakar river at Khanakul-Krishnanagar, districtHooghly	West Bengal	Right Shoulder	Kumari	Shiva
28	Locally known as Bhramari Devi. In Jalpaiguri near a small villege Boda on the bank of river Teesta or Tri-shrota (combination of three flows) mentioned in Puranas	West Bengal	Left leg	Bhraamari	Ambar
29	Manas[disambiguation needed], under Tibet at the foot ofMount Kailash in Lake Mansarovar, a piece of Stone	Tibet(China)	Right hand	Dakshayani	Amar
30	Manibandh, at Gayatri hills near Pushkar 11 km north-west of Ajmer	Rajasthan,India	Two Bracelets	Gayatri	Sarvanand
31	Mithila, near Janakpur railway station on the border of Indiaand Nepal	Nepal	Left shoulder	Uma	Mahodar
32	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 theSanskrit epic Ramayana have offered obeisances to the Goddess. Nāga and Garuda of the Sanskrit epicMahabharata; resolved their longstanding feuds after worshipping this Goddess.	Sri Lanka	Silambu(Anklets)	Indrakshi (Nagapooshani /Bhuvaneswari)	Rakshaseshwar (Nayanair)
33	Nalhati, known as Nalateshwari Temple near Nalhati station of Birbhum district	West Bengal	Vocal chord with part of the tracheae	Kalika Devi	Yogesh
34	Nepal, near Pashupatinath Temple at Guhyeshwari Temple	Nepal	Both knees	Mahashira	Kapali
35	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.	Bangladesh	Right arm	Bhawani	Chandrashekhar
36	Padmavati Devi (Padmavatipuri Dham), Panns 80 km fromSatna	Madhya Pradesh	Padm	Padmavati Devi	Kapalbhairav
37	Panchsagar exact location not known (thought to be near Haridwar)	Uttarakhand	Lower teeth	Varahi	Maharudra
38	Patan Devi, at PATNA	Bihar	left shoulder with cloths	Badi Patan Devi/chhoti Patan Devi	Bhairav
39	Prabhas, 4 km from Veraval station near Somnath temple in Junagadh district	Gujarat	Stomach	Chandrabhaga	Vakratund
40	Prayag near Sangam at Allahabad	Uttar Pradesh	Finger	Alopi Devi Mandiror Madhaveswari	Bhava
41	Present day Kurukshetra town or Thanesar ancient Sthaneshwar	Haryana	Ankle bone	Savitri/BhadraKali	Sthanu
42	Ramgiri, at Chitrakuta on the Jhansi Manikpur railway line	Uttar Pradesh	Right breast	Shivani	Chanda
43	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
44	Sarvashail or Godavaritir, at Kotilingeswar temple on the banks of Godavari river near Rajamundry	Andhra Pradesh	Cheeks	Rakini or Vishweshwari	Vatsnabh or Dandpani
45	Shivaharkaray, a little distance from Sukkur Station fromKarachi	Pakistan	Eyes	Mahishmardini	Krodhish
46	Shondesh, at the source point of Narmada River inAmarkantak	Madhya Pradesh	Right buttock	Narmada	Bhadrasen
47	Shri Parvat, near Ladak, Kashmir, India. Another belief: atSrisailam in Shriparvat hills under Kurnool district	Andhra Pradesh	Right anklet (ornament)	Shrisundari	Sundaranand
48	Shri Shail, at Joinpur village, Dakshin Surma, near Gotatikar, 3 km north-east of Sylhet town	Bangladesh	Neck	Mahalaxmi	Sambaranand
49	Shuchi, in a Shiva temple at Suchindrum 11 km onKanyakumari Trivandrum road	Tamil Nadu	Upper teeth	Narayani	Sanhar
50	Sugandha, situated in Shikarpur, Gournadi, about 20 km from Barisal town, Bangladesh, on the banks of Sonda river.	Bangladesh	Nose	Sugandha	Trayambak
51	Tarapith, on the banks of Dwarka river, about 6 km fromRampurhat sub-division, Birbhum district

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