Shakti Peethas: Everyone is familiar with Shiva Shakti, but do you know the vital manifestation of shakti? What are Shakti Peethas? Sati, Durga, the goddess who defines shakti. Sati is the Adi Shakti of Lord Shiva. Further, there are three supreme incarnations of Sati Mata, which are Gauri, Mahakali, and Durga.
There are four Adi-Shakti Peethas, considered the main Peethas located in Puri (Jagannath), Behrampur, Guwahati, and Kolkata (Kalighat Kali Temple). Moreover, there are fifty-one Shakti Peethas, of which eighteen are main Shakti Peethas.
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Story Behind Shakti Peethas?
Sati, the daughter of King Daksha (one of the ten Manas Putra of Brahma), fell in love with Lord Shiva and wanted to marry him. However, King Daksha Prajapati was against this marriage. He considered Lord Shiva as an Aghori and denied accepting him as a god.
Even after King Daksha refused to marry her daughter with Lord Shiva, Sati Mata married him. In his anger, King Daksha disowned Sati Mata. Once King Daksha decided to conduct a maha Yagna in his kingdom and invited all the gods and goddesses except Lord Shiva. Further, when Sati Mata knows about the Yagna and the invitations, she was angry and thought it was disrespectful to her husband.
Sati Mata went to the venue where the Maha Yagna was going on. She was furious and wanted King Daksha to answer her questions. King Daksha disrespected her in front of everyone present there. Sati Mata, in her grief, requested Lord Agni to burn her alive. Lord Agni clarified by saying he was incapable of burning Sati Mata (Shakti). Moreover, Agni Dev added that Shakti resides in Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, and Lord Vishnu. Even if he would try, he was incapable of burning her.
Sati Mata of her grievance created her fire from within and burned herself. Lord Shiva was unable to bear the loss of her beloved wife and punished King Daksha. Later, he carried the dead body of Sati Mata on his shoulder for years.
Everyone became tensed because Lord Shiva is the creator of the universe, and his grief could disturb the balance of the universe. All the gods went to Lord Vishnu for a solution. They insisted him to talk to Lord Shiva. But, Lord Shiva was not ready to listen. Therefore, Lord Vishnu chopped pieces of Sati Mata\’s dead body, scattering them on the earth with his Sudarshan Chakra. These pieces of Sati Mata\’s body are now called Shakti Peethas.
The Shakti Peethas has its mention in the Kalika Purana and Ashtashakti. These temples are spread all over India and its neighboring countries. Also, the Peethas have their mention in the Brihat Samhita that explains the location of Adi-Shakti Peethas.
“रुशिकुल्या तटे देवी, ताराकाश्या महागिरि, तस्य श्रुंगे स्थिता तारा, वशिष्ठ रजितपारा”
Where are the 51 Shakti Peethas?
There are four Adi-Shakti Peethas mentioned in Kalika Purana:
- बिमल़ा पादखंडनच
- स्तनखंडनच तारिणी
- कामाख्या योनिखंडनच
- मुखखंडनच कालिका
Bimala Shakti Peetha: Though there are 51 Shakti Peethas, Bimala Shakti Peetha has its great significance as an Adi Shakti Peetha, located in Puri, Orissa in India.
Tara, Tarini Sthana Peetha: Tarini Shakti Peetha is one of the four Adi-Shakti Peetha and has its location in Orissa on the banks of Rushikulya river in Behrampur, India.
Kamakhya Shakti Peetha: Kamakhya temple is the main temple among the four Adi- Shakti Peethas. Situated in Guwahati, India, Kamkhya Devi Temple is one of the major temples to worship Goddesses.
Kalighat Kalika Shakti Peetha: Located in West Bengal, India is visited by thousands of devotees every year from throughout the world.
Shakti Peethas other than Adi-Shakti
- Mahamaya, Amarnath, Jammu, and Kashmir (India)
- Phullara, in Attahasa, West Bengal (India)
- Bahula, Bardhaman, West Bengal (India)
- Mahishmardini, Bakreshwar, Siuri town (India)
- Avanti, Bairavparvat Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh (India)
- Aparna, Bhavanipur (Bangladesh)
- Gandaki Chandi, Chandi River (Nepal)
- Bhambri, Janasthaan (India)
- Kottari, Hinglaj, Karachi (Pakistan)
- Jayanti, Bourbhag Village (Bangladesh)
- Yogeshwari, Khulna district (India)
- Jwala or Shakti Siddhida, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh (India)
- Kalika, Kalighat, West Bengal (India)
- Kali in Kalmadhav, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh (India)
- Khamakya, Guwahati, Assam (India)
- Devgarbha/Kankleshwari, Birbhum, West Bengal (India)
- Sravani, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu (India)
- Chamudeshwari/Jaya Durga, Chamundi Hills, Mysore (India)
- Vimla, Murshidabad, West Bengal (India)
- Kumara Shakti at Anandamayee Temple of West Bengal (India)
- Shakti Bhraamari, Ratnavali, West Bengal (India)
- Shakti Dakshayani, Manasarovar (China)
- Gayatri Manibandh, Pushkar, Rajasthan (India)
- Uma at Mithila (border of Nepal and India)
- Indraksh, Nainativu, Manipallavam (Sri Lanka)
- Maharashtra, Guhyeshwari near Pashupatinath Temple (Nepal)
- Bhawani at Chandranath Hills (Bangladesh)
- Varahi, Panch Sagar, Uttar Pradesh (India)
- Chandrabhaga, Junagarh, Gujarat (India)
- Lalita of Prayag (India)
- Savitri/Bhadra Kali, Kurukshetra, Haryana (India)
- Maihar/Shivani, Satna, Madhya Pradesh (India)
- Nandini or Nandikeshwari, Birbhum, West Bengal (India)
- Sarvashail/Rakini on Godavari river banks at Kotilingeswar Temple (India)
- Mahesh Mardini at Shivaharkaray near Karachi (Pakistan)
- The Narmada Shondesh, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh (India)
- Sundari at Sri Sailam ( in Bangladesh)
- Maha Lakshmi at Sri Shail ( in Bangladesh)
- Devi Narayani, Suchindram, Tamil Nadu (India)
- Suganda of Shikarpur ( in Bangladesh)
- Tripura Sundari, Udaipur in Tripura (India)
- Mangal Chandika at Ujjain (India)
- Vishalakshi, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (India)
- Kapalini of Vibash, Medinipur, West Bengal (India)
- Ambika, Bharatpur, Rajasthan (India)
- Uma at Vrindavan/Bhooteswar Temple of Uttar Pradesh (India)
- Tripurmalini, Jalandhar, Punjab (India)
- Amba at Ambaji, Gujarat (India)
- Jai Durga, Deogarh, Jharkhand (India)
- Danteshwari, Chattisgarh (India)
- Nabi Gaya, Biraj, Jaipur(India)
