Shakti Peetham

Kamakhya temple

Kamakhya Temple

In Hindu mythology, Sati Devi is married to Lord Shiva. Sati’s dad Daksha and Shivan don’t meet eye to eye. There is a big occasion at Daksha’s residence and all are invited; all except Shiva. Sati is quite upset about it. She troops down to her dad and demands her husband get an invite. Daksha refuses. Sati considers it an insult and performs Yogic self-immolation. News of her death slowly trickles down to Shivan. Shivan is not an ordinary husband; he is one among the holy trinity. Furious, he starts the Thandavam dance; the cosmic dance of destruction. Now, this is serious stuff. Shiva has to be stopped or the universe will end. The Gods convene an emergency meeting. They realise that Shiva will keep dancing as long as he sees Sati’s dead body. Lord Vishnu uses his Sudarshana Chakram to chop up her body. The body parts of Sati Devi are thrown down from heaven and, obviously, they land on earth! The places where Sati Devi’s body parts landed became Shakti Peethams. Sati is later reborn as Parvathi. She, once again, gets married to Shivan. As usual, there are many variations to this story, but this the general drift. In some books, (e.g Bhagavatam) Sati’s body is completely consumed by tantric fire and there are no body parts to dispose off on earth!

Lalita Kantha temple at Kamakhya

Shakti Peethams symbolise feminine energy. It is said that even Shiva cannot stir without Shakti. There are anywhere from 51 to 108 Shakti Peethams depending on the book you read. To muddle matters ever further, there are temples outside the ‘official’ 108 temples list, that claim to be Shakti Peetams (e.g. Danta Kali temple). Vast majority of the Shakti Peethams are in India. Some are in adjoining countries. I reckoned it will be nice to have all the Shakti Peethams that I’ve visited in one place. 

Panchmudi temple, KAmakhya

1. Kamakhya

Location: Guwahati, Assam, India. Body part: Yoni/ Vagina

It’s located on a small hillock on the outskirts of Guwahati, Assam, India. As the story goes, the yoni (vagina) of goddess fell here. Since yoni represents femininity and creation/life, Kamakhya is arguably the most sacred of all Shakti Peetams. When the Yoni fell here, the mountain supposedly became blue. So this hillock is also called as Neelanchal or Blue Mountain. The main temple does not have an idol. Instead, the temple encloses a natural spring. 

Hanuman temple at Kamakhya hardly gets any visitors

Kamakhya temple is also the unofficial capital for Tantra and tantic culture. The Ambubaji festival that’s held here is an annual congregation for tantrics. During Ambubaji, it is believed that the Goddess menstruates and the water in the natural spring becomes red. The temple remains closed during Ambubaji festival. It is said that the temple priests do not sweep their houses or cook food at home to avoid causing discomfort to the Goddess. Kamakhya is one among 10 major temples on this hillock; hence it’s called Desha Maha Vidya. 

Tara Tarini temple

Click here for the Major temples at Kamakhya. 

Click here for Minor temple at Kamakhya.

2. Tara Tarini

Location: Rambha, Odisha, India. Body part: Breasts

I travelled to Rambha, a small village on the banks of the Chilka Lake. It’s from there that I went to Tara Tarini. 

Danta Kali temple, Dharan

I was not aware of this temple until the hotel receptionist told me about it. This temple is located on the top of a small hillock. There is a tarmac road that goes up the mountain shrine. A cable car has also opened up for devotees. The temple appears to be relatively new. Outside the temple, are a lot of red cloth are tied up. I’m not sure that they are for. 

3.   Danta Kali temple

Location: Bijapur (Dharan), Nepal. Body part: Teeth

Surkanda Devi temple

The plan was to get the overnight bus from Katmandu to West Bengal. While doing some browsing, I read about this temple and decided to go there. Dharan is a little town hardly receives any tourists. Danta Kali temple is quite small temple and I’m the only person here. The temple was closed when I got there. The priest arrived a bit later and opened the temple only for me. From the sanctum, he brought out a golden box containing the teeth of Sati Devi. The teeth looks like a set of jagged black stones. I was expecting a set of white tooth! I shouldn’t have been surprised because the name Danta Kali literally translates to black teeth. Wikipedia entry listing all the Shakti Peetams excludes this temple.

Click here for full Nepal trip

4. Surkanda Devi temple

Mukthinath Temple

Location: Kaddukhal, Chamba district, Uttaranchal, India. Body part: Head

The old name of this place is believed to be Sirkanda (Sir-meaning head). The modern name Surkanda is supposed to be corruption of this word. I was traveling to Dhanaulti when I passed by this temple. There is a new cable car to reach the temple. Few were using the stairs to go up. On top of the hillock is a modern concrete temple. It was reasonably crowded at the top.

Click here for full Uttaranchal trip

Bathing here at Mukthinath
removes all sins

5. Mukthinath temple

Location: Mukthinath, Lower Mustang, Nepal. Body part: Right Cheek

Mukthintah temple complex is sacred to Buddhists and Hindus, particularly Vaishnavites. I had the fortune of visiting this remote temple twice.! Taking a bath in the 108 water sprouts and the tank at the front of the temple is supposed to relieve all sins. I did take the ice cold de-sinning bath every time I got here.  (Holy waters- Click here) I didn’t know i Mukthintah was a Shakti Peetam until I saw it listed in Wikipedia while  making this blog.

Mukthintah temple complex has many shrines. The custodian of the main shrine is a Buddhist nun. There is a hindu priest sitting on the temple entrance. Other interesting temple here is Jwalamayi temple. In a small box in this temple one can see glowing embers beside a small stream of water. This is believed to be extremely sacred as this is one of the few places where all the 5 elements (air, water, wind, air and space/ether) are present together. 

My first trip here was an impromptu bus journey. It was quite an adventure. Click here for the first trip to Mukthinath. 

Inside Samba Goemba at Mukthinath

The second time, I arrived here after crossing Throng La pass. Click here for my second trip to Mukthinath.

6. Gada Kalika mata temple

Location: Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. Body part: Lips

I arrived at Ujjain to visit the famous Jyotir Lingam. It was my auto rickshaw driver who suggested that I go to Gada Kalika mata temple. The lips of Sati Devi is believed to have fallen at the spot where the temple now stands. This temple has another interesting story associated with it. The great poet Kalidasan is believed to have attained his linguistic skills by praying to Kalika Devi at this temple.

Click here for Madhya Pradesh trip

Mukthunath Temple

7. Mahakaleshwar temple

Location: Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. Body part: Upper Lips

Goddess Maha Kali is the ‘Shakti’ of Mahakaleshwar temple. As per some sources, the lip of Goddess Sati fell at Mahakaleshwar temple at Ujjain and not Gada Kalika Mata temple. Since both the temples are situated quite close, I guess it’s an easy mistake to make! I’m writing both the temples down as I’ve been to both of them. 

Mahakaleshwar temple is more famous as one of the 12 Jyotir Lingams that are associated with Lord Shiva. This temple is large and well managed. It can get quite crowded here but I managed to be here on a slack day. There was nobody in the queue and I walked right into the sanctum. 

Click here for Madhya Pradesh trip