Shakti Pitha

The Brahmanda Purana, one of the major eighteen Puranas mentions 64 Shakti Pithas of the goddess Parvati in the Bharat or Greater India including present-day India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, some parts of Southern Tibet in China and parts of southern Pakistan. Another text which gives a listing of these shrines, is the Shakti Pitha 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.

Shiva carrying the corpse of Dakshayani

According to legend, Brahma once conducted a huge yajna (ritual sacrifice), where all the prajapatis, deities, and kings of the world were invited. Shiva and Sati were also called on to participate in the yajna. All of them came for the yajna, and sat in the ceremonial place. Daksha came last. When he arrived, everyone in the yajna, with the exception of Brahma and Shiva, stood up, showing their reverence for him.[8] Brahma, being Daksha's father, did not rise. Shiva, being Daksha's son-in-law, and also due to the fact that he considered himself superior in stature to Daksha, remained seated. Daksha misunderstood Shiva's gesture, and considered this act an insult. Daksha vowed to take revenge on the insult in the same manner.[9]

Daksha performed a yajna with a desire to take revenge on Shiva. Daksha invited all the deities to the yajna, except Shiva and Sati. The fact that she was not invited did not deter Sati's desire to attend the yajna. She expressed her desire to Shiva, who tried his best to dissuade her from going. He relented at her continued insistence, Sati went to her father's yajna. However, Sati was not given her due respect at the yajna, and had to bear witness to Daksha's insults aimed at Shiva. Anguished, Sati cursed her father and self-immolated.

Enraged at the insult and death of his spouse, Shiva in his Virabhadra avatar destroyed Daksha's yajna and cut off his head. His anger not abated and immersed in grief, Shiva then picked up the remains of Sati's body and performed the Tandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creation. Frightened, the other deities requested Vishnu to intervene to stop this destruction. As a recourse, Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra on Sati's corpse. This caused various parts of Sati's body to fall at several spots across the world.[10]

The history of Daksha yajna and Sati's self-immolation had immense significance in shaping the ancient Sanskrit literature and influenced the culture of India. Each of the places on Earth where Sati's body parts were known to have fell were then considered as Shakti Pithas and were deemed places of great spiritual importance. Several stories in the Puranas and other Hindu religious books refer to the Daksha yajna. It is an important incident in both Shaivism and Shaktism, and marks the replacement of Sati with Parvati, and of the beginning of Shiva's house-holder (grihastāshramī) life from an ascetic. This event is ahead of the emergence of both of the couple's children, Kartikeya and Ganesha.[11]

Some of the great religious texts like the Kalika Purana, the AshtaShakti, and Varahi Tantra recognize four major shakti pithas (centers) . They are Kamakhya in Kamrup, Purneshwari in Purnagiri, Vimala in Puri and Tripurmalini in Jalandhar[although actual and old location of jalandhar pitha is not jalandhar in punjab but Kangra in himachal is the old Jalandhar Pitha.].[12]

The Ashtashakti and Kalika Purana says (in Sanskrit): देवीकुटे पादयुग्मं प्रथमं न्यपतत् क्षितो । उड्डीयाने चोरुयुग्मं हिताय जगतां ततः ॥ ४२ कामरूपे कामगिरोँ न्यपतत् योनिमण्डलम् । तत्रैव अपतत्त्वमौ पूर्वतो' नाभिमण्डलम् ॥ ४३ जालन्धरे स्तनयुगं स्वर्णहार विभूषितम् । अंशग्रीवं पूर्णगिरे कामरूपात्ततः शिवः। ४४Kalikapuran

Apart from these 4 there are 48 other famous pithas recognized by religious texts. According to the Pithanirnaya Tantra the 51 peethas are in the present day countries of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Pakistan. The Shivacharita besides listing 51 maha-peethas, speaks about 26 more upa-peethas. The Bengali almanac, Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika too describes the 51 peethas including the present modified addresses. A few of the several accepted listings are given below.[13] In South India, Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh became the site for a 2nd-century temple.[14]

There are believed to be 64 locations. Adi Shankara's Asta Dasha Shakti Pitha Stotram mentions 18 locations known as the Maha Shakti Pithas.[15][16] Among these, the Shakti Pithas at Kamakhya, Gaya and Ujjain are regarded as the most sacred as they symbolize the three most important aspects of the Mother Goddess viz. Creation (Kamarupa Devi), Nourishment (Sarvamangala Devi/Mangalagauri), and Annihilation (Mahakali Devi).

Sr. No.	Temple	Place	State in India/Country	Appellation	Part of the body fallen	Shakti	Image
1	Shankari Devi Temple	Trincomalee (Thirukonamalai)	Sri Lanka	Shankari Pitham	Groin	Maa Shankari
2	Kamakshi Amman Temple	Kanchipuram	Tamil Nadu	Kama koti Pitham	Navel	Kamakshi Amman
3	Shrinkala	Pradmunyee (Pandua)	Bengal	Bhavatārini Pitham	Part of stomach	Maa Shrinkala
4	Chamundeshwari Temple	Mysuru	Karnataka	Krouncha Pitham	Hair	Chamundeshwari
5	Jogulamba Devi	Alampuram, Gadwal district	Telangana	Yogini Pitham	Teeth	Jogulamba Thalli (Yogamba)
6	Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple	Srisailam	Andhra Pradesh	Srisaila Pitham	Neck	Bhramarambika
7	Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur	Kolhapur	Maharashtra	Shri Pitham	Eye	Aai Ambabai
8	Renuka Temple	Mahur, Maharashtra	Maharashtra	Moola Pitham	Left hand	renuka devi
9	Mahakaleswar Temple	Ujjain	Madhya Pradesh	Ujjaini Pitham	Upper lip	Mahakali
10	Kukkuteswara Swamy Temple	Pithapuram	Andhra Pradesh	Pushkarini Pitham	Back	Puruhutika devi
11	Biraja Temple	Jajpur	Odisha	Oddyana Pitham	Navel	Maa Biraja
12	Bhimeswara Temple	Draksharamam	Andhra Pradesh	Daksharama Pitham	Left cheek	Manikyamba
13	Kamakhya Temple	Kamakhya,Guwahati	Assam	Kamarupa Pitham	Womb	Devi Kamakhya
14	Alopi Devi Mandir	Prayagraj	Uttar Pradesh	Prayaga Pitham	Fingers	Maa Madhaveswari
15.	Jwalamukhi Temple	Kangra	Himachal Pradesh	Jwalamukhi Pitham	Head	Maa Jwalamukhi
16.	Mangla Gauri Temple	Gaya	Bihar	Gaya Pitham	Breast	Maa Sarvamangala
17.	Vishalakshi Temple	Varanasi	Uttar Pradesh	Varanasi Pitham	Noses	Maa Vishalakshi
18.	Sharada Peeth	Sharda, Kashmir	Pakistan Administered Kashmir	Sharada Pitham	Right hand	Maa Sharada Devi

Sharadha Peet is currently in ruined state.[17] Only ruins are found in these places. Its ruins are near the Line of Control (LOC)[18] between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled portions of the former princely state of Kashmir and Jammu. Instead, Sringeri Sharada Pitham, Sringeri in Karnataka even though not a Shakti Pitha, is this aspect of the goddess. Requests have been made by the Hindu community in Pakistan to the Pakistani government to renovate the temple, the issue being raised by former Indian Home minister L. K. Advani to the Pakistan authorities[19] as a confidence-building measure, by increasing the people-to-people cross-border interaction.[18]

As per Sankara Samhita of Sri Skanda Purana,[20]

1. Sri Sankari Pitham (Lanka)
2. Sri Simhika Pitham (Simhala)
3. Sri Manika Pitham (Dakshavati)
4. Sri Shadkala Pitham (Peethapuram, Andhra Pradesh)
5. Sri Bhramaramba Pitham (Srisailam)
6. Sri Vijaya Pitham (Vijayapura)
7. Sri Mahalakshmi Pitham (Kolhapuri)
8. Sri padmakshi renuka (Kawadepuri)
9. Sri Kamakshi Pitham (Kanchipuram)
10. Sri Kuchananda Pitham (Salagrama)
11. Sri Biraja Pitham (Jajpur, Odisha)
12. Sri Sarala Pitham (Jhankad, Odisha)
13. Sri Bhadreshwari Pitham (Harmyagiri)
14. Sri Mahakali Pitham (Ujjayini)
15. Sri Vindhyavasini Pitham (Vindhya mountains)
16. Sri Mahayogi Pitham (Ahicchatra)
17. Sri Kanyaka Pitham (Kanya Kubja)
18. Sri Vishalakshi Pitham (Kashi)
19. Sri Saraswati Pitham (Kashmira)
20. Sri Abhirami Pitham (Padmagiri, Dindigul)

In the listings[21][22][23][24] below:

• "Shakti" refers to the Goddess worshipped at each location, all being manifestations of Dakshayani, Sati; later known as 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.

More details on this are available in the text 'Tantrachūḍamanī' where Parvati tells these details to her son Skanda.

Sr. No.	Place	State in India/Country	Body part or ornament	Shakti	Bhairava	Image
1	A. Amarnath Temple, from Srinagar through Pahalgam 94 km by Bus, Chandanwari 16 km by walk B. Shri Parvat in Ladakh	Jammu and Kashmir	A. Throat B. Anklet	Mahamaya	Trisandhyeshwar
2	Attahas Temple – At a village also named as Attahas or Ashtahas around 2 km east of Labhpur village road in the district of Birbhum	West Bengal	Lips	Phullara	Vishvesh
3	Bahula at Ketugram, 8 km from Katwa, Purba Bardhaman	West Bengal	Left arm	Goddess Bahula	Bhiruk https://www.google.com/search?q=bahula+shakti+peeth&hl=en&sxsrf=APwXEdfMg6PwL72haCuvVZp0sxCU9ljbFA:1683869982860&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjPj7TBiO_-AhVKamwGHcAXCnAQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1280&bih=601&dpr=1.5#imgrc=VGscCpxNHCTJCM
4	Bakreshwar, on the banks of Paaphara river, 24 km distance from Siuri Town [a district headquarter], district Birbhum, 7 km from Dubrajpur Rly. Station	West Bengal	Portion between the eyebrows	Mahishmardini	Vakranath
5	Bhairavparvat, also known as Harsiddhi, at Bhairav hills on the banks of Shipra river in the city of Ujjaini.	Madhya Pradesh	Elbow	Avanti	Lambkarna
6	Bhabanipur, located in the Upazila of Sherpur, Bogra, Rajshahi Division. Also located at Karatoyatat, it is about 28 km distance from the town of Sherpur.	Bangladesh	Left anklet (ornament)	Aparna	Vaman
7	Biraja Temple at Jajpur, in Jajpur District	Odisha	Navel	Biraja	Varaha (Baraha)
8	Padmakshi Renuka jagdamba mandir, kavade, Alibag	Maharashtra	nails of Sati Devi and head of Devi Renuka	Shree renuka Adimaya	Bhairva (Kankeshwar), Jamadagni
9	Muktinath Temple[25]	Nepal	Right cheek	Gandaki Chandi	Chakrapani
10	Goddess Bhadrakali on banks of Godavari in Nashik city (Saptashrungi)	Maharashtra	Chin (2 parts)	Bhadrakali	Vikritaksh
11	Hinglaj Mata Temple	Pakistan	Bramharandhra (Part of the head)	Kottari	Bhimlochan
12	Jayanti at Nartiang village in the Jaintia Hills district. This Shakti Pitha is locally known as the Nartiang Durga Temple.	Meghalaya	Left thigh	Jayanti	Kramadishwar
13	Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple	Bangladesh	Palms of hands and soles of the feet	Jashoreshwari	Chanda
14	Jwalaji, Kangra from Pathankot alight at Jwalamukhi Road Station from there 20 km	Himachal Pradesh	Tongue	Siddhida (Ambika)	Unmatta Bhairav
15	Kalipeeth, (Kalighat, Kolkata)	West Bengal	Right toes	Kalika	Nakuleshwar
16	Kamgiri, Kamakhya, in the Neelachal hills in Guwahati	Assam	Womb	Kamakhya	Umananda or Bhayaanand
17	Kankalitala, on the banks of Kopai River 10 km north-east of Bolpur station in Birbhum district, Devi locally known as Kankaleshwari	West Bengal	Pelvis	Devgarbha	Ruru
18	A Kanyashram of Balaambika – The Bhagavathy temple in Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of mainland India, Tamil Nadu B. (also thought to be situated in Yunnan province, China) C Gourikunda Temple	A. Tamil Nadu B. Yunnan, China C. Sitakunda, Chattogram, Bangladesh	Back	Sarvani	Nimish
19	Bajreshwari Temple, Nagarkot, district Kangra	Himachal Pradesh	left Breast	Jayadurga	Abhiru
20	Kiriteswari Temple at Kiritkona village, 3 km from Lalbag Court Road railway station in Murshidabad district	West Bengal	Crown	Vimla	Sanwart
21	Ratnavali, on the banks of Ratnakar river at Khanakul I Krishnanagar, district Hooghly (locally known as Anandamayee Tala)	West Bengal	Right Shoulder	Kumari	Ghanteshwar
22	'A.Locally known as Bhramari Devi in Jalpaiguri near a small village Boda on the bank of river Teesta or Tri-shrota (combination of three flows) mentioned in Puranas B.Ma Malai Chandi Temple at Amta, Howrah	West Bengal	A. Left leg B. Part of Left Knee	Bhraamari	Ambar
23	Manas, under Tibet at the foot of Mount Kailash in Lake Manasarovar, a piece of Stone	China	Right hand	Dakshayani	Amar
24	Manibandh, at Gayatri hills near Pushkar 11 km north-west of Ajmer. People know this temple as Chamunda Mata Temple or Shri Raj Rajeshwari Puruhuta Manivedic Shakti Pitha.	Rajasthan	Wrists	Gayatri	Sarvanand
25	Mithila, near Janakpur railway station on the border of India and Nepal	Nepal	Left shoulder	Uma	Mahodar
26	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 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.	Sri Lanka	Silambu (Anklets)	Indrakshi (Nagapooshani / Bhuvaneswari)	Rakshaseshwar (Nayanair)
27	Guhyeshwari Temple	Nepal	Both knees	Mahashira	Kapali
28	Chandranath Temple	Bangladesh	Right arm	Bhavani	Chandrashekhar
29	Panchsagar Near Lohaghat (in Champawat District of Uttarakhand) just 12 km from nearest railway station Tanakpur. पूर्णागिरी Champawat Varahi Devi	Uttarakhand	Lower teeth/ Navel	Varahi	Maharudra
30	Prabhas, 4 km from Veraval station near Somnath temple in Junagadh district. Local People call this temple as Kali Mandir, It is nearby Triveni Sangam.[26]	Gujarat	Stomach	Chandrabhaga	Vakratund
31	Alopi Devi Mandir near Sangam at Prayagraj	Uttar Pradesh	Finger	Lalita	Bhava
32	Present day Kurukshetra town or Thanesar ancient Sthaneshwar	Haryana	Ankle bone	Savitri/BhadraKali	Sthanu
33	Sharda Peeth on top Trikoot Hill, at Maihar	Madhya Pradesh	necklace[27]	Shivani	Chanda
34	Nandikeshwari Temple is located in Sainthia city	West Bengal	Necklace	Nandini	Nandikeshwar
35	Kotilingeswar Ghat temple on the banks of Godavari river near Rajamundry	Andhra Pradesh	Cheeks	Bhuvaneswari or Vishweshwari	Vatsnabh or Dandpani
36	Naina Devi Temple	Himachal Pradesh	Right eye	Mahishmardini	Krodhish
37	Shondesh, at the source point of Narmada River in Amarkantak	Madhya Pradesh	Right buttock	Narmada	Bhadrasen
38	Sri Sailam, at Nallamala hills, Andhra Pradesh	Andhra Pradesh, India	Neck	Bramarambika	Mallikarjuna
39	Shuchi, in a Shiva temple at Suchindrum 11 km on Kanyakumari Trivandrum road	Tamil Nadu	Upper teeth	Narayani	Sanhar
40	Sugandha, situated in Shikarpur, Gournadi, about 20 km from Barisal town, on the banks of Sonda river.8	Bangladesh	Nose	Sugandha	Trayambak
41	Udaipur, Tripura, at the top of the hills known as Tripura Sundari temple near Radhakishorepur village, a little distance away from Udaipur town	Tripura	Right leg	Tripura Sundari	Tripuresh
42	Ujaani, at Mangalkot 16 km from Guskara station in Purba Bardhaman district	West Bengal	Right wrist	Mangal Chandika	Kapilambar
43	Varanasi at Manikarnika Ghat on banks of the Ganges at Kashi	Uttar Pradesh	Face or Earring	Vishalakshi & Manikarni	Kaal bhairav
44	Bargabhima temple, at Tamluk under district Purba Medinipur	West Bengal	Left ankle	Kapalini (Bhimarupa) also known as Bargabhima	Sarvanand
45	Virat Nagar district, Alwar, near Bharatpur, India	Rajasthan	Fingers of Left Leg	Ambika	Amritaksha
46	Katyayani Shakti Pitha, Vrindavan, district Mathura	Uttar Pradesh	Ringlets of hair	Uma	Bhutesh
47	Devi Talab Mandir, District Jalandhar	Punjab	Left Breast	Tripurmalini	Bhishan
48	Baidyanath Dham	Jharkhand	Heart	Jaya Durga	Baidyanath
49	Adhi Kamakshi Amman Temple behind Kamakshi Amman Temple, situated at Kanchipuram Town, Kanchipuram District	Tamil Nadu	Odyanam (Navel)	Kamakshi	Egaambraswara
50	Jogadya (যোগাদ্যা), at Kshirgram (ক্ষীরগ্রাম) near Kaichar under Burdwan district	West Bengal	Great toe	Jogadya (যোগাদ্যা)	Ksheer Kantak (ক্ষীর কন্টক)
51	Pithapuram under Kakinada Port Town	Andhra Pradesh	Hip part	Purohotika	Durvasa
52	Ambaji at Anart	Gujarat	Heart	Amba	Batuk Bhairav
53	Jwaladevi Temple, Shaktinagar, Sonbhadra	Uttar Pradesh	Tongue	Jwala Devi	Rudra
54	Chandika Sthan, near Munger town	Bihar	Left eye	Chandika Devi	Chandala
55	Danteshwari Temple, Dantewada	Chhattisgarh	Tooth or daant	Danteshwari devi	Kapalbhairav
56	Bakreshwar, NadiaDubrajpur CD Block	West Bengal	Forehead(কপাল)	Maharshmardini	Bhairav
57	Tara Tarini, Purushottampur, Ganjam	Odisha	Breast/Sthan	Maa Tara Tarini	Tumbeswar
58	Nalhateswari, Nalhati	West Bengal	Stomach/Nauli	Kalika	Jogesh
59	Vaishno Devi Temple, Katra / Rudrasundari	Jammu & Kashmir	Front Head	Vaishno Devi	Hanumatbhairav
60	Mankachar, 266 km from Guwahati	Assam	Little finger	Devi	Deva
61	Vimala Temple, Inside Jagannath Temple, Puri	Odisha	Foot	Vimala	Jagannath
62	Anjanakshi, inside Marundeeswarar Temple, Thirukachur on Mount Rudragiri in Aadhi Kanchi, Thirukachoor, Chengalpattu District or Marundeeswarar Temple	Tamil Nadu	Skin	Anjanakshi	Marundeeswarar (Oushadheeshwar)
63	Jayanti Maha Shakti Pitha	Jayanti, Alipurduar, West Bengal	Left Shank	Jayanti	Kramadishwar
64	Shri Hatta Kali Temple, Shri Shail (also known as Mahalakshmi Griva Peeth)	Gotatikar, Kalagul tea state, Dakshin Surma Upazila, Sylhet, Bangladesh	Neck	Mahalakshmi	Sambaranand
65	Dhakeshwari Temple (now relocated at Dhakeswari Mata Temple)	Dhaka, Bangladesh	Gem of Sati's Crown	Dhakeshwari (a form of Katyani Mahishasurmardini Durga)	Shiva
66	Tarapith Rampurhat	West Bengal	Third eye	Maa Tara (second mahavidya) (main form of Parvati)	Chandrachur bhairav
67	Lalta Maata Mandir Neemsaar, Sitapur	Uttar Pradesh	heart	Maa lalta devi mandir (goddess heart) (main heart form of Parvati)	Lalita/laltaa mata
68	Chhinnamastika Shakti Pitha at Chintpurni, in Ramgarh District of Jharkhand	Jharkhand	Foot	Chhinnamastika	Rudra Mahadev
69	Dirgheswari Mandir at North Guwahati, in the Sitachal hills in Guwahati	Assam	Femur	Dirgheswari	Manikarneswara
70	Bhairabkunda Shiva Mandir	Bhutan
71	Devi Patan Mandir at Balrampur distt, Uttar Pradesh, near indo Nepal border Balrampur	Uttar Pradesh	Patt	Pateshwari	Kal bhairava
72	Kaali Mandir at Pavagarh hill in Panchmahal district with in Champaner Pavagadh Archaeological Park.	Gujarat	Right leg toe	Mahakalika	Batuk Bhairav
73	Bageshwori Temple at the center of Nepalgunj, Lumbini Province.	Lumbini Province	Tounge	Durga	Junge Mahadev

These are not recognised as the Shakti Pithas, but still claimed by the followers, for various reasons.

1. Jwala devi Jobner

2. Jayanti Kali Temple

There are disputes about the position of this peetha. Based on most presented manuscripts and facts it is situated in jaintiapur upazila, Bangladesh, which was previously the capital of jaintia hills tribe kingdom, which became the jaintia hills district of Meghalaya, India, excluding jaintiapur. However, some people say that it is the nartiang Durga temple which is the real jayanti shaktipeeth, though there is shortage of corroborating evidences. Some other people[28] argue the actual peetha is at Amta in West Bengal, where the Devi is worshiped as Maa Melai Chandi in Melai Chandi Mandir. But this fact can not be corroborated with any evidences. Moreover, refuting most text, in Melai Chandi Mandir the Bhairava is Durgeshwar rather than Kramadishwar. Some also relates Jayanti Devi with the Mahakal cave temple situated in the village Jayanti of Alipurduar,[29][30] where many status were created by Stalagmite and Stalactite (combination of limes with water), but strong historical support is also absent here.

3. Vindhyavasini Shakti Pitha

The Vindhyavasini Shakti Pitha is considered a Shakti Pitha despite the fact that any body parts of Sati did not fall there. Vindhyavasini Devi is ultimate form of goddess , she is called as aadi shakti. Maa Vindhyavasini consists of all of the dus mahavidya & all other devi present in this universe, she is tripura sundari herself. Many legends are associated with Maa vindhyavasini, she is Mahishaasurmardani . She is combined form all the 108 shaktipeeth as Devi Bhagwath mentions. This is because it is the place where Devi chose to reside after her birth in Dvapara Yuga.[31] At the time of birth of Lord Krishna to Devaki and Vasudeva, the Yogamaya(Devi) took birth in Gokul to Nanda Baba and Yashoda as per instruction of Lord Vishnu.The Vasudeva replaced his son Krishna with this girl child of Yashoda. When Kansa tried to kill the girl she slipped from his hands and assumed the form of Mahadevi Adishakti. Thereafter Devi chose Vindhya Mountains as her abode to live on the earth.[31]