Shakti pitha
Shrines in Shaktism, goddess-focused Hinduism / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Shakti Pithas or the Shakti Peethas (Sanskrit: शक्ति पीठ, Śakti Pīṭha, seat of Shakti[1]) are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the mother goddess denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various forms of Adi Shakti. [lower-alpha 1] Various Puranas such as Srimad Devi Bhagavatam state the existence of a varying number of 51, 52, 64 and 108 Shakti Pithas[2][3] of which 18 are named as Astadasha Maha (major) in medieval Hindu texts.[2]
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Various legends explain how the Shakti Pithas came into existence. The most popular is based on the story of the death of the goddess Sati. Out of grief and sorrow, Shiva carried Sati's body, reminiscing about their moments as a couple, and roamed around the universe with it. Vishnu had cut her body into 51 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 massively long task, Shiva took the form of Bhairava.
Most of these historic places of goddess worship are in India, but there are seven in Bangladesh, four in Nepal, three in Pakistan, and one each in Tibet, Sri Lanka[3] and Bhutan.[6] There were many legends in ancient and modern sources that document this evidence. A consensus view on the number and location of the precise sites where goddess Sati's corpse fell is lacking, although certain sites are more well-regarded than others.