51 Shakti Peeths to visit

The Shakti-peeths are holy places where the remains of Sati, wife of Lord Shiva, are said to be. The feminine divinity in Hinduism, Shakti, is considered one of the significant creative forces in the universe. Indians and Hindus across the world celebrate the power of Shakti through several festivals. Navratri, Durga Puja, Kali Puja are all such festivals.

The story behind the shakti peeths

The Story of Shakti-Peeths begins with Prajapati Daksha -the son of Lord Brahma. He had a daughter Princess Sati – a human incarnation of Goddess Adi-shakti, who grew up admiring and adoring the tales and legends of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva carried her body with him roaming the universe. To bring help and overcome his grief, Lord Vishnu used his Sudarshan Chakra to cut the body into 51 pieces. These ornaments or pieces fell on various places on earth to become consecrated sites that came to be known as the Shakti-Peeths.

The 51 Shakti Peeths are:

• Amarnath: Shakti Mayamaya: Located in Jammu & Kashmir. The throat of Goddess Sati is said to have fallen here.

•  Attahasa: Shakti Phullara: Located in Attahasa Village, West Bengal. The Goddess appears as Shakti Phullara, and her lower lip is said to have fallen here.
• Bahula: Shakti Bahula: Located on the banks of the Ajay River, Ketugram, West Bengal. The Goddess resides here in the form of Devi Bahula. Her left hand fell on this land.
• Bakreshwar: Shakti Mahishmardini: Located on the banks of the Paaphara River. The center portion between the eyebrows of Goddess Sati had fallen here, and Devi resides in the form of Shakti Mahishmardini. It is renowned for its eight natural hot springs enriched with healing powers.
• Bhairavparvat: Shakti Avanti: Located near Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. Maa Sati resides here in the form of Goddess Avanti. Here, the Goddess’s upper lip had fallen.
• Bhavanipur: Shakti Aparna: Located in the Sherpur Village, Bangladesh. Here, Goddess Sati appears as Devi Aparna. Here, the left anklet (ornament) of Sati had fallen.
• Gandaki: Shakti: Gandaki Chandi: Located near the bank of Gandaki, Nepal. Maa Sati resides here in the Gandaki Chandi form. Here, her forehead had fallen.
• Janasthaan: Shakti Bhramari: In the Godavari river valley, Nasik fell both parts of the chin of Goddess Sati. Devi is known as Shakti Bhramari or Chibuka.
• Hinglaj: Shakti Kottari: Sati’s Bhrahmarandhra (top of the head) fell in Hinglaj. The Goddess here is in the form of Shakti Kothari.

• Jayanti: Shakti Jayanti: The left thigh of Sati fell here. Located in Kalajore, Bourbhag village in Bangladesh, Devi resides here in the form of Jayanti Shakti.
• Yogeshwari: Shakti Yogeshwari: Located in Iswaripur village, Bangladesh. The Goddess resides here in the form of Devi Jashoreshwari. Her palms of hands and soles of feet had fallen here.
• Jwala: Shakti Ambika/Siddhida: It is situated 30 km south of the Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh. Here, the Goddess Sati resides in the form of Devi Ambika or Siddhida. The tongue of Sati is said to have fallen here.
• Kalighat: Shakti Kalika: This Hindu temple is in Kolkata, West Bengal. Maa Sati’s toes of the right foot had fallen here. The Goddess resides here as Shakti Kalika.
• Kalmadhav: Shakti Kali: Left buttock of Goddess Sati fell in Kalmadhav, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh. Devi appears in the form of Shakti Kali.
• Kamakhya: Shakti Kamakhya: Located in the hills of Neelgiri in Guwahati, Assam. The Yoni (genitals) of Sati had fallen here.
• Kankalitala: Shakti Devgarbha: Located on the bank of Kopai River, West Bengal. Devi resides here as Devgarbha or Kankaleshwari. Here, her pelvis has fallen.
• Kanyashram: Shakti Sravani: Located in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. Devi is in the form of Shakti Sravani. Here, her spine had fallen.
• Chamudeswari: Shakti JayaDurga: In the Chamundi Hills of Mysuru, the ears of Sati had fallen. The Devi resides here in the form of Goddess Jaya Durga.

• Kireet: Shakti Vimla: Crown of Sati had fallen in Kireet, West Bengal. Maa is worshipped here as Goddess Vimla.
• Ratnavali: Shakti Kumari: Located on the bank of Ratnakar River in Khanakul, West Bengal. Here, the right shoulder of Goddess Sati had fallen. She resides in the form of Shakti Kumari.
• Trisrota: Shakti Bhraaamari: This Shakti Peeth is on the bank of the Teesta River in Jalpaiguri of West Bengal. Sati’s left leg had fallen here, and she resides in the form of Shakti Bhraamari.
• Manasa: Shakti Dakshayani: Located near the foot of Kailash Mountain in Mansarovar, Tibet, China. The Devi is in the form of Shakti Dakshayani. Here, Sati’s right hand had fallen.
• Manibandh: Shakti Gayatri: Located near Pushkar, Rajasthan, and here two manivediakas or wrists of Sati had fallen. The Goddess is worshipped here as Gayatri.
• Mithila: Shakti Uma: Near the Janakpur Railway Station on the border of India and Nepal lies Mithila, where the left shoulder of Sati had fallen. Here, Sati is in the form of Shakti Uma.
• Nainativu: Shakti Indrakshi: Located in Nainativu, Manipallavam, Sri Lanka. The anklet of Maa Sati is said to have fallen here.
• Guhyeshwari: Shakti- Mahashira: Located near the Pashupati Nath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. Here, both the knees of Maa Sati had fallen. She resides here as the Devi Maharashtra.
• Chandranath: Shakti Bhawani: Located on the top of Chandranath hills in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Goddess resides as Devi Bhawani, and her right arm had fallen here.
• PanchSagar: Shakti Varahi: Located near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Sati’s lower teeth fell here.
• Prabhas: Shakti Chandrabhaga: The stomach of Goddess Sati fell in Prabhas-Kshetra, near Somnath Temple in Gujarat. Here, the Devi is in the form of Chandrabhaga.
• Prayag: Shakti Lalita: Fingers of both the hands of Goddess Sati fell here. Devi resides here in the form of Lalita. There are three temples, namely, Akshaywat, Mirzapur, and Alopi.

• Kurukshetra: Shakti Savitri: Maa Sati appeared as Savitri, also known as Bhadra Kali in Thanesar, Kurukshetra, Haryana. The ankle bone of Sati had fallen here.
• Maihar: Shakti Shivani: Located at the Trikoota hill. Sati’s right breast fell in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. 
• Nandikeshwari: Shakti Nandini: Located in Sainithia town, West Bengal. Here, the necklace of Maa Sati had fallen. Devi is worshipped here as Nandini.
• Vishweshwari: Shakti Rakini: Located at Kotilingeswar temple on the banks of the Godavari River. Here, the cheeks of Goddess Sati fell. Maa Sati is worshipped here as Rakini.
• Shivaharkaray: Shakti Mahisha-Mardini: Located in Karachi in Pakistan. Goddess Sati’s eyes fell here, and she resides as Mahisha-Mardini.
• Shondesh: Shakti Narmada: At Shondesh in Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, the right buttock of Goddess Sati fell. Here, the Devi is in the form of Narmada.
• Sri Sailam: Shakti Sundari: Located in Tripurantakam, Sri-Sailam, Andhra Pradesh. Here, the right anklet of Maa Sati fell. The Goddess is worshipped here in the form of Sundari and Srisundari.
• Sri Shail: Shakti Maha-Lakshmi: Located at Sri Shail at Jaunpur Village, Bangladesh. Devi Sati’s neck had fallen here, and she appears in the form of Maha-Lakshmi.

• Shuchi: Shakti Narayani: Located at Suchindram, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. Sati resides here as Devi Narayani. Her upper teeth had fallen here.
• Shikarpur: Shakti Sugandha: Located on the banks of river Sonda, Shikarpur, Bangladesh. Here, the Devi is known as Maa Sunanda or Devi Tara, and her nose had fallen here.
• Tripura: Shakti Tripur Sundari: Located in Radha Kishorepur Village, Udaipur. Here, the right foot of Sati had fallen, and she is in the form of Devi Tripur Sundari.
• Ujjani: Shakti Mangal Chandika: Located at Ujjani village, West Bengal. Here, the right wrist of Devi Sati had fallen, and she resides as Devi Mangal Chandika.
• Varanasi: Shakti Vishalakshi: Located in Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It is where the earrings of Goddess Sati had fallen. Devi is worshipped here as Vishalakshi and Manikarni.

• Vibash: Shakti Kapalini: Located in Tamluk, West Bengal. The left ankle of Sati had fallen here. Goddess resides as Kapalini.
• Bharatpur: Shakti Ambika: The fingers of the left feet of Goddess Sati fell in the Biraat Nagar, Rajasthan. Sati is worshipped here as Ambika Shakti.
• Vrindavan: Shakti Uma: Sati’s ringlets of hair are said to have fallen here. She resides as Devi Uma.
• Jalandhar: Shakti Tripurmalini: Located in Jalandhar, Punjab. Devi Sati’s left breast fell here. She resides here as Tripurmalini.
• Ambaji: Shakti Amba: Located in Gujarat. One part of the heart of Sati Devi fell here. Sati appears here as Goddess Amba.
• Jharkhand: Shakti Jai Durga: Located in Deogarh, Jharkhand. Sati’s second part of the heart had fallen here, and she resides as Jai Durga.
• Danteshwari: Shakti Danteshwari: Located in Chhattisgarh. Goddess Sati’s tooth fell here.

• Biraj: Shakti Vimla: Located in Jajpur, near Bhubaneswar. The Nabhi (Navel) of Goddess Sati fell here. Sati is worshipped here as Devi Vimla.