Shaktipeethas are places of worship dedicated to Maa Durga and are spread throughout India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. If you are wondering about how these Shaktipeethas came into existence, there is a popular legend that describes the origins of the various Shaktipeethas.
The Legend:
According to a legend, King Daksha, who was one of the sons of Brahma, performed Vrihaspati Yagna withthe intention of taking revenge against Lord Shiva who had married his daughter Sati against his wishes. TheYagna took place in Satya Yuga with all dieties invited except Shiva and Sati.
Sati wasn’t invited to the Yagna yet she had a strong desire to attend it. Lord Shiva tried his best to stop her from going but eventually had to give in to his wife’s desire and he allowed her to go along with his ‘ganas’ ( followers).
When she reached her parent’s house, Sati wasn’t given the treatment a daughter would expect. She was instead rebuked and insulted for having been married to a ‘yogi’. The way her father insulted Shiva, her husband, was too much for Sati and she set herself ablaze by jumping into the pyre.
Lord Shiva was furious when he learnt about Sati’s death and destroyed the place where the Yagna was held. King Daksha’s head was severed off his body by the Ganas. After Daksha apologized for his foolish act, Lord Shiva replaced his head with that of a goat.
But the lord was struck by grief with his wife’s death and he took Sati’s body with him and started performing the dance of destruction, also known as Rudra Tandav.
Looking at Lord Shiva, other Gods requested Lord Vishnu to do something to stop this dance. Lord Vishnu, known as ‘the preserver’ cut Sati’s body into 51 pieces with his Sudarshan Chakra to bring Lord Shiva back to his sanity.
The 51 parts of Sati’s body fell at different places which are today known as Shaktipeethas.
At all Shaktipeethas, Goddess Shakti is accompanied by Lord Bhairava (a manifestation of Lord Shiva).
The 51 Shaktipeethas are as follows:
Sr. No. Place Organ or Ornament Shakti Bhairava
1. Hingula (Or Hinglaj), about 125 Km towards North-East from Karachi, Pakistan Bramharandhra (Part of the head) Kottari Bhimlochan
2. Sharkrare, a little distance from Sukkar Station from Karachi, Pakistan Eyes Mahishmardini Krodhish
3. Sugandha, about 20 Km from Barisal, Bangladesh at Shikarpur on banks of Sondh river Nose Sunanda Trayambak
4. Amarnath in Kashmir, India from Srinagar through Pahalgaon 94 km by Bus, Chandanbari 16 Km by walk Throat Mahamaya Trisandhyeshwar
5. Jwalamukhi, Kangra, India from Pathankot alight at Jwalamukhi Road Station from there 20 Km Tongue Siddhida (Ambika) Unmatta Bhairav
6. Jalandhar, India from Jalandhar Cantonment Station to Devi Talab Left Breast Tripurmalini Bhishan
7.
Baidyanathdham, at Deoghar, Jharkhand, India
Heart Jaya Durga Baidyanath
8. Nepal, near Pashupatinath Temple at Gujyeshwari Temple Both Knees Mahashira Kapali
9. Manas, under Tibet at the feet of Mount Kailash in Lake Mansarovar, a piece of Stone Right Hand Dakshayani Amar
10. Biraja in Utkal present Orissa, India Navel Vimla Jagannath
11. Gandaki from Pokhara, Nepal about 125 Km on the banks of Gandaki river where Muktinath temple is situated Temple Gandaki Chandi Chakrapani
12. Bahula, on the banks of Ajay river, at Ketugram 8 Km from Katua, Burdwan, West Bengal, India Left Arm Goddess Bahula Bhiruk
13. Ujaani, 16 Km from Guskura Station under Burdwan district of West Bengal, India Right Wrist Mangal Chandika Kapilambar
14. Udaipur, Tripura, at the top of the hills known as Matabari near Radhakishorepur village, a little distance away from Udaipur town of Tripura, India Right Leg Tripur Sundari Tripuresh
15. Chatral or Chô??ogram at the top of Chandranath hills near Sitakunda station of Chittagong district, Bangladesh Right Arm Bhawani Chandrashekhar
16. Trisrota, at Salbari village under Boda division of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India Left Leg Bhraamari Ambar
17. Kamgiri, Kamakhya, at the Neelachal hills near Guwahati, capital of Assam, India Genital Organ Kamakhya Umanand
18. Jugaadya at Khirgram under Burdwan district, West Bengal, India Great Toe (Right) Jugaadya Ksheer Khandak
19. Kalipeeth, (Kalighat, Kolkata), India Right Toe Kalika Nakuleesh
20. Prayag near Sangam of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India Finger (Hand) Lalita Bhava
21. Jayanti at Kalajore Bourbhog village of Khasi hills under Jayantia Parganas of Sylhet district, Bangladesh Left Thigh Jayanti Kramadishwar
22. Kireet at Kireetkona village, 3 Km from Lalbag Court Road station under district Murshidabad, West Bengal, India Crown Vimla Sanwart
23. Varanasi at Manikarnika Ghat on banks of Ganga at Kashi, Uttar Pradesh, India Earring Vishalakshi & Manikarni Kalbhairav
24. Kanyashram, Kanyakumari the Bhadrakali temple within the precincts of Kumari temple, Tamil Nadu, India Back Sarvani Nimish
25. Kurukshetra, at Haryana, India Ankle Bone Savitri Sthanu
26.
Manibandh, at Gayatri hills near Pushkar 11 Km towards north-west from Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
27. Shri Shail, at Jainpur village towards north-east 3 Km from Sylhet town, Bangladesh Neck Mahalaxmi Sambaranand
28. Kanchi, on the banks of Kopai river 4 Km towards north-east from Bolpur station of district Birbhum, West Bengal, India Bone Devgarbha Ruru
29. Kalmadhav on the banks of Shon river in a cave over hills near to Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India Buttock (Left) Kali Asitang
30. Shondesh, at the source point of Narmada river in Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India Buttock (Right) Narmada Bhadrasen
31. Ramgiri, at Chitrakuta on the Jhansi Manikpur Railway line in Uttar Pradesh, India Right Breast Shivani Chanda
32. Vrindavan, near new bus stand on Bhuteshwar road within Bhuteshwar Mahadev Temple, Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India Ringlets of Hair Uma Bhutesh
33. Shuchi, in a Shiva temple at Shuchitirtham 11 Km on Kanyakumari Trivandrum road, Tamil Nadu, India Teeth (Upper Jaw) Narayani Sanhar
34. Panchsagar place not known Teeth (Lower Jaw) Varahi Maharudra
35. Kartoyatat, at Bhawanipur village 28 Km distance from interior Serpur. Alight at Bagura station under district Bagura, Bangladesh
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36. Shri Parvat, near Ladak, Kashmir, India. Another belief: at Srisailam in Shriparvat hills under Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India Right Anklet (Ornament) Shrisundari Sundaranand
37. Vibhash, at Tamluk under district East Medinipur, West Bengal, India Left Ankle Kapalini (Bhimarupa) Sarvanand
38. Prabhas, 4 Km distance from Veraval station near Somnath temple in Junagadh district of Gujarat, India Stomach Chandrabhaga Vakratund
39. Bhairavparvat, at Bhairav hills on the banks of Shipra river a little distance from Ujjaini town, Madhya Pradesh, India Upper Lips Avanti Lambkarna
40. Jansthan, at Godavari river valley near Nasik, Maharasthra, India Chin (Two Parts) Bhramari Vikritaksh
41. Sarvashail or Godavaritir, at Kotilingeswar temple on the banks of Godavari river near Rajamundry, Andhra Pradesh, India Cheeks Rakini or Vishweshwari Vatsnabh or Dandpani
42. Birat, near Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India Left Feet Fingers Ambika Amriteshwar
43. Ratnavali, on the banks of Ratnakar river at Khanakul-Krishnanagar, district Hooghly, West Bengal, India Right Shoulder Kumari Shiva
44. Mithila, near Janakpur Railway station on the boarder of India-Nepal Left Shoulder Uma Mahodar
45. Nalhati, on a hillock near Nalhati station of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Tubular Bones of the Feet Kalika Devi Yogesh
46. Karnat place not known Both Ears Jayadurga Abhiru
47. Vakreshwar, on the banks of Paaphara river, 7 Km distance from Dubrajpur station, district Birbhum, West Bengal, India Portion between the eyebrows Mahishmardini Vakranath
48. Yashor, at Ishwaripur, district Khulna, Bangladesh Hands & Feet Yashoreshwari Chanda
49. Attahas, 2 Km distance from Labhpur station district Birbhum, West Bengal, India Lips Phullara Vishvesh
50. Nandipur under a Banyan tree within a boundary wall near Sainthia Railway station, district Birbhum, West Bengal, India Necklace Nandini Nandikeshwar
51. Lanka place not known (One opinion is this temple is in Trincomalee, but destroyed during portuguese shelling. Only a pillar remains. This temple is near to the more famous Trikoneshwara temple) Anklets Indrakshi Rakshaseshwar
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