page_title: Shakti Peetha
section_title: Kottiyoor Vysakha Mahotsavam
hierarchical_section_title: Shakti Peetha / Kottiyoor Vysakha Mahotsavam
caption_attribution_description: English: Lord Shiva Temple at Kottiyoor in Kannur district, Kerala
context_page_description: The Shakti Peetha are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-focused Hindu tradition. There are 51 or 108 Shakti peethas by various accounts, of which between 4 and 18 are named as Maha in medieval Hindu texts.
  Most of these historic places of goddess worship are in India, but there are seven in Bangladesh, three in Pakistan, three in Nepal, and one each in China and Sri Lanka.
  The legends behind the Shakti Peethas is based on the story of the death of the goddess Sati. Out of grief and sorrow, Shiva carried Sati's body, reminiscing about their moments as a couple, and roamed around the universe with it. Vishnu had cut her body into 51 body parts, using his Sudarshana Chakra, which fell on Earth to become sacred sites where all the people can pay homage to the Goddess. To complete this massively long task, Lord Shiva took the form of Bhairava.
  The only exceptional Shakti Peethas is the Vindhyavasini Shakti Peetha.As it is believed that the Shaktipeeths were created on earth, where the body parts of Sati fell. But this is the place where Devi chose to reside after her birth in Dvapara Yuga as the sister of Krishna.
context_section_description: The Kerala Hindus believes that the self immolation of the Sati happened in the Kottiyoor in Kannur district in Kerala.The annual Kottiyoor Vysakha Mahotsavam is conducted to commemorate the self immolation of Sati.The Kottiyoor Temple is located on the both banks of the Bavali river.
caption: Kottiyoor Yajna bhoomi
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