Shakta pithas

TheShakti pithas,Shakti pithasorSati pithas(Sanskrit:शाक्त पीठ,Śakta Pīṭha,seats of Shakti) are significantshrinesand pilgrimage destinations inShaktism, themother goddessdenomination inHinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various forms ofAdi Shakti.VariousPuranassuch asSrimad Devi Bhagavatamstate the existence of a varying number of 51, 52, 64 and 108 Shakta pithasof which 18 are named as AstadashaMaha(major) in medieval Hindu texts.
Legends abound about how the Shakta pithas came into existence. The most popular is based on the story of the death ofSati, a deity according to Hinduism. Shiva carried Sati's body, reminiscing about their moments as a couple, and roamed around the universe with it. Vishnu cut her body into 51 body parts, using hisSudarshana Chakra, which fell on earth to become sacred sites where all the people can pay homage to the goddess. To complete this task, Shiva took the form ofBhairava.
Most of these historic places of goddess worship are inIndia, but there are seven inBangladesh, four inNepal, two inPakistan, and one each inTibet,Sri LankaandBhutan.There were many legends in ancient and modern sources that document this evidence. A consensus view on the number and location of the precise sites where goddess Sati's corpse fell is lacking, although certain sites are more well-regarded than others.
Maximum number of Shaktipeeths are present in the Bengal region. During partition the numbers wereWest Bengal(18, 1 disputed asShrinkhala Devi Temple) andBangladesh(7). After the secret transfer of Dhakeshwari Shaktipeeth to Kolkata the numbers stand as West Bengal (19,1 disputed Shrinkhala Devi Temple) and Bangladesh (6).
TheBrahmanda Purana, one of the major eighteenPuranasmentions 64 Shakta pithas of the goddessParvatiin theBharatorGreater Indiaincluding 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 theShakta Pitha Stotram, written byAdi Shankara, the 9th-century Hindu philosopher.
According to the manuscriptMahapithapurana(c. 1690–1720 CE), there are 52 such places. Among them, 23 are located in theBengalregion, 14 of these are located in what is nowWest Bengal, India, 1 in Baster (Chhattisgarh), while 7 are in what is nowBangladesh.
According to legend, lordBrahmaonce conducted a hugeyajna(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.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.
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 hisVirabhadraavatardestroyed 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 theTandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creation. Frightened, the other deities requestedVishnuto intervene to stop this destruction. As a recourse, Vishnu used theSudarshana Chakraon Sati's corpse. This caused various parts of Sati's body to fall at several spots across the world.
The history ofDaksha yajnaand Sati's self-immolation had immense significance in shaping the ancientSanskrit literatureand 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 Shakta 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 bothShaivismandShaktism, and marks the replacement ofSatiwithParvati, 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,KartikeyaandGanesha.
Each temple has shrines for Shakti andKalabhairava, and most Shakti and Kalabhairava in different Shakta pithas have different names.
The scriptures, which include theKalika Purana, recognize four Shakta pithas as sites where most of the energy is.Vimalawhere the feet fell (Pada Khanda),Tara Tarinihousing the breasts (Stana Khanda),Kamakhya, where the genitals fell (YoniKhanda) andDakshina Kalika, where the toes of right foot fell. These four temples originated from the lifeless body of Sati.
Apart from these 4 there are 48 other famous pithas recognized by religious texts. According to thePithanirnaya Tantrathe 51 pithas are in the present day countries of India,Sri Lanka,Bangladesh,Nepal, Tibet,Bhutanand Pakistan. TheShivacharitabesides listing 51 maha-pithas, speaks about 26 more upa-pithas. The Bengalialmanac,Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjikatoo describes the 51 pithas including the present modified addresses. A few of the several accepted listings are given below.In South India,Srisailamin Andhra Pradesh became the site for a 2nd-century temple.
There are believed to be 64 locations.Adi Shankara'sAshtadasha Shakta pitha Stotrammentions 18 locations known as theMaha Shakta pithas.Among these, the Shakta pithas atKamakhya,GayaandUjjainare 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).
Sharadha pithais currently in a ruined state.Only ruins are found in these places. Its ruins are near theLine of Control(LOC)between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled portions of the formerprincely stateofKashmir and Jammu. Instead,Sringeri Sharada pitham,Sringeriin Karnataka even though not a Shakta pithas, is this aspect of the goddess. It is believed that Goddess Sharada moved from her ruined temple in Kashmir to live in the new temple in Sringeri. 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 ministerL. K. Advanito the Pakistan authoritiesas a confidence-building measure, by increasing the people-to-people cross-border interaction.
Currently, a new Sharada pitha temple has been inaugurated and consecrated by the Indian Government and theSringeri Sharada Peethamin 2023, in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir, on the other side of the LOC and much farther from the original temple. The Indian Government is planning an international corridor between the old Sharada pitha and mainland India.
As per Sankara Samhita ofSkanda Purana,
In the listingsbelow:
More details on this are available in the text 'Tantrachūḍamanī'where Parvati tells these details to her sonSkanda.
Important: 1) The main idol of the Dhakeshwari Shaktipeeth inBangladeshis currently relocated to the Kumartuli Dhakeshwari Temple inKolkata,West Bengal. The temple priest fled to India with the main idol during thepartitionvia a specially chartered train. While in the original shrine, a replica is placed. The original holy gem of Goddess Sati was lost long before (the factual date is unknown). So for the actual idol, visit theKumartolishrine.
2) The Shrinkhala Shaktipeeth (one of 18 Maha Shakti Peethas) inHooghly,West Bengal, is a disputed site. The original shrine was destroyed during thepartition of Indiain 1947 and an IslamicMinarwas built there by the Muslims. Years later, a door claimed by the locals as the door to the sanctum of the temple is closed by theASI. The Hindus claim that the temple was destroyed and the minar was built there. It is claimed that the idol of Goddess Shrinkhala was taken toSringeriin Karnataka but no such evidence exists there to date because a different Sharada Devi Temple was built there byAdi Shankaracharya. At present in the Hooghly district, only the Ratnabali Shaktipeeth is present.
Other Shakipeeths:-
The following shrines are not recognised as the Shakti Peethas, but are still claimed by the devotees and priests, for various reasons.
1. Jwala Devi Temple inJobner,Rajasthan, India
2. Jayanti Kali Temple (location disputed)
3. Asamai Devi Temple inKabul,Afghanistan
4.Juranpur Kali Templein West Bengal, India
5. Sarbamangala Temple inBurdwan, West Bengal (the temple priests claim that Goddess Sati's body part fell here)
There are disputes about the location of the Jayanti Shakti Pitha. Based on most presented manuscripts and facts it is situated in the namesakeJaintiapur Upazilatown,Bangladesh, which was previously the capital of the Jaintia Hills tribe kingdom, in 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 Temple, though there is a shortage of evidence. Some other peopleargue the actual shrine is atAmtain West Bengal, where the goddess is worshiped asMaa Melai ChandiinMelai Chandi Mandir. But this fact can not be corroborated with any evidence. Moreover, refuting most texts, in Melai Chandi Mandir, the Bhairava isDurgeshwarrather thanKramadishwar. Some also identify the Jayanti shrine with theMahakalcave temple situated in the villageJayantiofAlipurduarin India,where many statues were created byStalagmitesandStalactites(natural rock formations), but there is no evidence.
TheVindhyavasiniShakta pitha is considered a Shakta pitha even though any body parts of Sati did not fall there. Vindhyavasini is the ultimate and the highest form of the goddess, she is calledAdi Parashakti. Goddess Vindhyavasini is considered the embodiment of all of theMahavidyas,Navadurgas,Matrikas,Yoginisand all the other goddesses present in this universe, she isTripura Sundariherself. Many legends are associated with Vindhyavasini, she is also calledMahadurga. She is the combined form of all 108 Shakta pithas as mentioned in theDevi Bhagavata Puranatext. This is because it is the place where the goddess chose to reside after her birth inDvapara Yuga.At the time of the birth ofKrishnatoDevakiandVasudeva,Vindhyavasinitook birth inGokulatoNandaandYashodaas per the instruction of LordVishnu. Vasudeva replaced his son Krishna with this girl child of Yashoda so that Krishna could escape his demon uncleKamsa, whom he would kill later according to a prophecy. When Kamsa tried to kill the girl, she slipped from his hands, assumed her true form and warned Kamsa that his killer (Krishna) still lived on. She leftMathuraand the goddess chose theVindhyaMountains as her abode to live on the earth. It is also believed that Vindhyavasini is the sister of Krishna.