The Tale of Shakti Peetha

Riya Chakranarayan

The Tale of Shakti Peetha

According to Hindu mythology, Shakti is a divine power and one of the great creative forces occurring in nature. Shakti Peethas are the temples dedicated to worshiping Adi Shakti, the better half of Lord Shiva.

Shakthi Peetha; Image Source: Vedic Gyaan india

In the village of Attahasa of Birbhum district in West Bengal, the Shakti Peetha is formed from the lower lip of the goddess.

Bahula: Shakti Bahula, Body part—Left Arm

In Hindu mythology, legend claims that Shakti Peetha refers to the shrine of Devi Sati, wife of Lord Shiva. Sati was the beloved daughter of the son of Bhramha Dev — Prajapati Daksh. She grew up hearing fascinating stories of Lord Shiva. As years passed by, she found herself drawn to him and started meditating in order to meet the almighty god Shiva.

However, Prajapati Daksha was always against the idea of homage and reverence of Shiva. He tried hard to restrain Sati, but his every effort seemed futile in the face of the love and devotion Devi Sati displayed towards Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva, impressed by her immense and unconditional love, married her.

Both of them were happy in their marital life. But Prajapati Daksh always believed that the god who spends his life as bairagi was unworthy of his precious daughter. Hence, to insult his son-in-law Lord Shiva, Daksh organized a splendid yajna. He invited all rishi munis, sages, gods, and goddesses but deliberately excluded his son-in-law.

Devi Sati couldn't digest her husband’s insult, and despite dissuasion from Lord Shiva, landed straight at the venue of the yajna and started questioning her father. However, Daksha insulted her husband Lord Shiva even more. Unable to endure the disrespect of her husband, Sati gave up her own life in the yajna.

When the news of her demise reached Shiva, he got angry and opened his third eye. He also created Veerbhadra, who went on a rampage and killed Prajapati Daksha.

Devasted, Lord Shiva took Devi Sati’s body and roamed around the earth while performing tandava — his dance of destruction. His dance contained so much anger, grief, and pain that it could destroy everything on the planet. To stop this destruction and save the universe from Shiva’s wrath, lord Vishnu cut Devi Sati’s lifeless body with his Sudarshan Chakra for each dance posture of Shiva.

The pieces of Devi Sati’s body fell on multiple locations across the South Asian continent and each of them became a sacred place to pay homage to Devi Sati, revered as Shakti Peethas.

Where are the Shakti Peethas Situated?

Different legends and puranas claim the total number of Shakti Peethas to be 51, 52, 64, and 108. The majority of these Shakti Peethas are located in India. However, some of them are located outside India too. There are three Shakti Peethas in Nepal and Pakistan, whereas both Sri Lanka and Tibet have one each. On the other hand, a total number of seven Shakti Peethas are situated in Bangladesh.

The different body parts which fell at different places to create Shakti Peetha represent various forms of Devi Sati, a few of which are listed below.

Amarnath: Shakti Mayamaya, Body part—Throat

At the Bhairav hills, Devi’s upper lip had dropped to create Peetha on the banks of the Shipra River of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, India. Each Shakti Peetha represents divine power and purity.

This Shakti Peetha is too built in West Bengal. Near the Ajay River in the Bardhaman district, this Peetha has the left arm of Devi.

Bakreshwar: Shakti Mahishmardini, Body part—Centre portion between eyebrows

Situated in Jammu & Kashmir, India, the Amarnath Shakti Peeth is one of the most popular Shakti Peetha. However, it is open during the month of July and august for darshan. Legend says this Shakti Peetha belongs to the throat of Devi Sati.