The Shakta pithas, also called Shakti pithas or Sati pithas (, , seats of Devi Sati), are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the mother goddess denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various forms of Adi Shakti. Various Puranas such as Srimad Devi Bhagavatam state the existence of a varying number of 51, 52, 64 and 108 Shakta pithas of which 18 are named as Astadasha Maha (major) and 4 are named as Chatasrah Aadi (, first four) in medieval Hindu texts.
Legends abound about how the Shakta pithas came into existence. The most popular is based on the story of the death of Sati, a deity according to Hinduism. Shiva carried Sati's body, reminiscing about their moments as a couple, and roamed around the universe with it. Vishnu cut her body into 108 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 task, Shiva took the form of Bhairava.
Most of these historic places of goddess worship are in India, but there are some in Nepal, seven in Bangladesh, two in Pakistan, and one each in Tibet, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
Hinduism Hindu literature The Brahmanda Purana, one of the major eighteen Puranas mentions 64 Shakta pithas of the goddess Parvati. The Kalika Purana gives a list of seven pithas. A later Tantric text, the Kularṇava Tantra, lists the 18 pithas, and the Kubjika Tantra lists 42 pithas. The Pithanirnaya, also called the Mahapithanirupana describes 51 pithas, each associated with a form of the Goddess and a corresponding Bhairava. Sicar notes that a tradition of 52 pithas existed in parts of Bengal due to confusion in the transmission of pitha lists. The growth of the list has been linked to the expansion of Sakta sacred geography in early medieval period.
Daksha yajna
Prajapati Daksha organized a yajna but did not invite his daughter, Sati, or her husband, Shiva. Dakṣa said that Shiva is a , the king of goblins, and an inauspicious entity unworthy of receiving sacrificial shares. Despite Shiva's warnings that attending uninvited would lead to severe insult, Satī proceeded to her father's sacrificial enclosure. Upon arrival, Sati was subjected to further insults from Daksha regarding her husband. Unable to tolerate the disrespect, she resolved to abandon her physical body. Scriptural accounts vary on her method of death: some texts state she threw herself into the sacrificial fire, while others describe her using yogic concentration to release her life force. The Mahabhagavata Purana provides a specific variation, stating that Sati created a shadow-form to enter the flames and disrupt the ritual.
Upon learning of Sati's death, an enraged Shiva created Virabhadra, who was accompanied by Bhadrakali and Pramathas. Under Shiva's orders, Virabhadra destroyed the sacrificial grounds and decapitated Daksha. Later, after being pacified by Brahma and the other deities, Shiva revived Daksha by replacing his severed head with that of a goat.
Overwhelmed by grief, Lord Shiva placed the burnt corpse of Satī upon his shoulder and wandered through the cosmos. As he traversed the earth, the limbs and ornaments of the Goddess's body fell in various locations, transforming those sites into sacred Siddhapīṭhas or Śakti Pīṭhas. While the Mahabhagavata Purana enumerates 51 such sites, highlighting Kamakhya in Kamarupa as the prominent location where her yoni fell other scriptures, such as the Devi Bhagavata Purana, list 108 sacred Pithas.
Shakti pithas
Each temple has shrines for Shakti and Kalabhairava, and most Shakti and Kalabhairava in different Shakta pithas have different names.
Map of India's Shakti pithas
List of 4 Adi Shakta Pithas
The scriptures, which include the Devi Bhagvatam Purana, Kalika Purana, recognize four Shakta pithas as sites where most of the energy is. The first pitha is Kamakhya (Assam, - genitals), Vimala (Puri, - feet/lower limbs), Kalighat (West Bengal, - toes of right foot) and Tara Tarini (Berhampur, - breasts). Apart from these 4 there are 48 other famous pithas recognized by religious texts. According to the Pithanirnaya Tantra the 51 pithas are in the present day countries of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Pakistan. The Shivacharita besides listing 51 maha-pithas, speaks about 26 more upa-pithas. The Bengali almanac, Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika too describes the 51 pithas including the present modified addresses. A few of the several accepted listings are given below. In South India, Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh became the site for a 2nd-century temple.
Sr. No.TemplePlaceState in India/CountryPart of the body fallenShakti1Vimala Temple(Inside Jagannath Temple)PuriOdishaFeetGoddess Vimala Devi2Kamakhya GuwahatiAssamGenitalsGoddess Kamakhya3Kalighat TempleKolkataWest BengalToesGoddess kali4Tara Tarini TempleBrhamapurOdishaBreastGoddess Tara Tarini
List of 18 Maha Shakta pithas
There are believed to be 64 locations. Adi Shankara's Ashtadasha Shakta pitha stotram mentions 18 locations known as the Maha Shakta pithas. Among these, the Shakta pithas at Guwahati, Gaya and Ujjain are regarded as the most sacred as they symbolize the three most important duties of the Mother Goddess viz. Creation (Kamakhya Devi), Nourishment (Sarvamangala Devi), and Annihilation (Mahakali Devi).
Sr. No.TemplePlaceState in India/CountryAppellationPart of the body fallenShaktiImage1Historically unknownRecent claims :Koneswaram Temple (no Devi shrine)LankaHistorically undeterminedRecent claims :Trincomalee (Thirukonamalai)Sri LankaShankari PithamGroin Goddess Shankari2Kamakshi Amman TempleKanchipuramTamil NaduKamakoti PithamPart of AbdomenGoddess Kamakshi3Shrinkala TemplePradmunyee(Pandua)West BengalBhavatārini PithamPart of stomachGoddess Shrinkhala 4Chamundeshwari TempleMysuruKarnatakaKrouncha PithamHairGoddess Chamundeshwari5Jogulamba DeviAlampuramTelanganaYogini PithamTeethGoddess Jogulamba (Yogamba Thalli)6Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna TempleSrisailamAndhra PradeshSrisaila PithamNeckGoddess Bhramarambika7Mahalakshmi TempleKolhapurMaharashtraShri PithameyeGoddess Mahalakshmi (Aai Ambabai Devi)8RenukaMahurMaharashtraMoola PithamLeft handGoddess Renuka 9Mahakaleswar TempleUjjainMadhya PradeshUjjaini PithamUpper lipGoddess Mahakali10Kukkuteswara Swamy TemplePithapuramAndhra PradeshPushkarini PithamBackGoddess Puruhutika11Biraja TempleJajpurOdishaOddyana PithamNavelGoddess Biraja12Bhimeswara TempleDraksharamamAndhra PradeshDaksharama PithamLeft cheekGoddess Manikyamba13Kamakhya TempleGuwahatiAssamKamarupa PithamGenitalsGoddess Kamakhya14Alopi Devi MandirPrayagrajUttar PradeshPrayaga PithamFingersGoddess Madhaveshwari15Jwalamukhi TempleJwalamukhiHimachal PradeshJwalamukhi PithamTongueGoddess Jwala16Mangla Gauri TempleGayaBiharGaya PithamBreastGoddess Sarvamangala17Vishalakshi TempleVaranasiUttar PradeshVaranasi PithamEarringsGoddess Vishalakshi18Sharada PeethShardaPakistanSharada PithamRight handGoddess Sharada Sharada Peeth is currently in a ruined state. Only ruins are found in these places. Its ruins are near the Line of Control (LOC) between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled portions of the former princely state of Kashmir and Jammu. Instead, Sringeri Sharada pitham, Sringeri in Karnataka even though not a Shakta pithas, is this aspect of the goddess. It is believed that Goddess Sharada moved from her ruined temple in Kashmir to live in the new temple in Sringeri. Requests have been made by the Hindu community in Pakistan to the Pakistani government to renovate the temple, the issue being raised by former Indian Home minister L. K. Advani to the Pakistan authorities as a confidence-building measure, by increasing the people-to-people cross-border interaction.
Currently, a new Sharada pitha temple has been inaugurated and consecrated by the Indian Government and the Sringeri Sharada Peetham in 2023, in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir, on the other side of the LOC and much farther from the original temple. The Indian Government is planning an international corridor between the old Sharada pitha and India.
In Skanda Purana
As per the Sankara Samhita of Skanda Purana,
Sri Sankari Pitham (Sri Lanka) Sri Simhika Pitham (Simhala) Sri Manika Pitham (Draksharamam, Dakshavati) Sri Shadkala Pitham (Peethapuram) Sri Bhramaramba Pitham (Srisailam) Sri Vijaya Pitham (Vijayapura) Sri Mahalakshmi Pitham (Kolhapur) Sri padmakshi renuka Pitham (Mahurgad) Sri Kamakoti Pitham (Kanchipuram) Sri Kuchananda Pitham (Salagrama) Sri Biraja Pitham (Jajpur) Sri Bhadreshwari Pitham (Harmyagiri) Sri Mahakali Pitham (Ujjain) Sri Vindhyavasini Pitham (Vindhya mountains) Sri Mahayogi Pitham (Ahicchatra) Sri Kanyaka Pitham (Kanyakumari) Sri Vishalakshi Pitham (Varanasi) Sri Saraswati Pitham (Kashmir) Sri Ugratara Shakta pitha (Saharsa) Sri Abhirami Pitham (Padmagiri, Dindigul)
List of all Shakti Pith In the listings below: "Shakti" refers to the Goddess worshipped at each location, all being manifestations of Goddess Sati; later known as Parvati or Durga; "Bhairava" refers to the corresponding consort, each a manifestation of Shiva; "Body Part or Ornament" refers to the body part or piece of jewellery that fell to earth, at the location on which the respective temple is built.
Different texts and temple traditions sometimes identify the same pitha differently, or associate a site with different body parts, goddess names, or Bhairava forms. Some traditions list 51 pithas, while others, such as Matsya Purana list 108. Many local goddess shrines are understood as manifestations or parts of Shakti. One such list is available in the text 'Tantrachūḍamanī' where Parvati tells these details to her son Skanda.
Notes: The Guhyeshwari temple should not be confused with the Shakta pitha mentioned in the Peethanirnaya from Tantra Chudamani, where Sati's both knees are said to have fallen in Nepal and the presiding deity is Mahamaya. According to the Nepal Mahatmya 11.107 and 1.38, Sati's both knees fell near the confluence of the Vishnumati and Bagmati rivers, where the presiding deity is Mahamaya, while the Anus fell near the Bagmati river close to the Mrigasthali of the Pashupati temple, and the deity is Guhyeshwari or Guhyakali.
The main idol of the Dhakeshwari Shakta pitha in Bangladesh is currently located to the Kumartuli Dhakeshwari Temple in Kolkata, West Bengal. The temple priest fled to India with the main idol during the partition via a specially chartered train. While in the original shrine, a replica is placed. The original holy gem of Goddess Sati was lost long before (the factual date is unknown). So for the actual idol, visit the Kumartoli shrine. Vindhyavasini Devi Temple at Vindhyachal is considered a Shakta pitha, though no body parts of Sati is linked with the site. Vindhyavasini is considered the combined form of all 108 Shakta pithas as mentioned in the Devi Bhagavata Purana text. In the Krishna birth legend, Vindhyavasini took birth in Gokula to Nanda and Yashoda as per the instruction of Lord Vishnu. Vasudeva replaced his son Krishna with this girl child of Yashoda. When Kamsa tried to kill the girl, she slipped from his hands, assumed her true form and warned Kamsa that his killer (Krishna) still lived on. She left Mathura and the goddess chose the Vindhya Mountains as her abode to live on the earth. The following list includes pithas identified in different textual and local traditions.