“What is a Shakti Peeth?” asked my daughter with a lot of interest as she looked up from the newspaper. I told her that Shakti Peeth is a destination that has a religious connotation and which has a lot of energy. These places have been existing for a long and have become the hub of pilgrimage for all devotees. I also added that the Shakti Peethas are places where people go to propitiate the Goddess Shakti or Goddess Parvati or Goddess Durga which can be seen during the 9 Devi Darshan Yatra. The entire country has many such Shakti Peetha, I told my daughter. “Who are these goddesses?” asked my son. I told them that this Goddess Parvati is the incarnation of the Adi Parashakti. She has three forms, the Goddess of Power Durga, who is also the Goddess of strength, Goddess Kali who is the Goddess of the destruction of evil, then the Goddess Gowri who is the goddess of goodness. “Why did these Shakti Peethas originate?” asked my children together. I told them that in the Satya Yuga, Daksha had performed puja with a need to defeat Lord Shiva. He was angry because his daughter Sati had married Lord Shiva and he was unhappy about it. He invited many deities except Shiva for a feast in his house. Shiva went in spite of not having the invitation and got insulted. Sati couldn’t bear this and burnt herself. Shiva got angry and beheaded Daksha and then replaced it with a goat’s head after he felt sorry. He took Sati’s body and many pieces fell on the earth’s surface. The place where each of her parts fell today is believed to be Shakti Peeth.
My children were quite excited after this story. So I continued. Children if told the stories and legends of the past really like to hear more and more about it. At all Shakti Peethas, the Goddess Shakti is accompanied by Lord Bhairava (a manifestation of Lord Shiva). So India has Shakti Peeth? Asked my daughter. I said yes and I told her that the whole world has such destinations. So let us just see what the land of India with its Shakti Peeth gives us. There are many Shakti Peeth in India. Let us know about some of them. Kolhapur is one Shakti Peeth with the Amba Bai, Karaveera Vasini, Mahalakshmi, and Mahisha Mardini. The Shri Karveer Nivasini Mahalakshmi Temple is located in the centre of Kolhapur. It is around 5 km from the railway station and the bus stand. Then we have the Sunanda or the Sugandha Shakti Peeth. Located in Bangladesh in the district of Barisal, in the village of Shikarpur, this is a great destination for the Goddess Ugratara. It is located around 20 km from the town of Barisal. It lies on the banks of the River Sonda, or Sunanda or Soundha of Shandha. There is the Bhairava of Sunanda Devi which is present near the Jhalakati Railway Station. The festival of Shivratri is very popular and celebrated with a lot of pomp and gaiety here. The Amarnath Yatra is the most favored Shakti Peeth in India. “Do you remember how my parents went there and felt so elated?” I asked my daughter. She nodded and remembered how her grandparents had cried in pleasure and happiness as they spoke to us on the phone after that trip. This Amarnath yatra is a religious journey that is undertaken in the months of July or August and is famous at this time because the Amar Shivling is visible to all. The yatra can be taken from Srinagar or Delhi. If you are old, or you can’t bear the yatra you have helicopter facilities too. Then the Mahamaya Temple in the state of Jammu is behind the fort of Bahu near the River Tawi that is a Shakti Peeth. Then you have the Jwala which is a famous pilgrim spot. This lies around 30km in the southern part of the valley of Kangra, in the state of Himachal Pradesh in the district of Kangra at Jwalamukhi. This Shakti Peeth is also known as Jwalaji or Siddhida. This lies in the foothills of the Shivalik range and is around 60km from Dharamshala. There are buses that take you to Dharamshala from Dehradun, Delhi, and Manali. Jalandhar is the other Shakti Peeth in India that is visited greatly. Here you have the Tripura Malini. This Shakti Peeth is in the state of Punjab. Here you have the Devi Talab Mandir which is around 1 km from the railway station. It is situated in the centre of the city. The Goddess here is the Shera Wali Goddess. There is a Ma Kali Temple here but it is not the Shakti Peeth. “Well, there are many more. Visit these and feel good.” I said to myself.
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December 2023
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