The Shakti Peethas (holy places of cosmic power) are places of worship consecrated to the goddess ‘Sati’, the female principal of Hinduism and the main deity of the Shakta sect. They are sprinkled throughout the Indian subcontinent. This goddess is often associated both with Gowri / Parvati, the benevolent goddess of harmony, marital felicity and longevity, with Durga, goddess of strength and valour, and with Mahakali, goddess of destruction of the evil.
The story behind the Sakti Peethas
According to legend, at some time in the Satya Yuga, Himalayas king Daksha performed a yagna (named Vrihaspati) with a desire of taking revenge on Lord Shiva. Daksha was angry because his daughter Sati had married the ‘yogi’ God Shiva against his wish. Daksha invited all the deities to the yagna except for Shiva and Sati. The fact that she was not invited did not deter Sati from attending the yagna. She had expressed her desire to attend to Shiva who had tried his best to dissuade her from going. Shiva eventually allowed her to go escorted by his ganas (followers).
But Sati, being an uninvited guest. She was not given any respect. Furthermore, Daksha insulted Shiva. Sati was unable to bear her father’s insults toward her husband, so sati invoked her yogic powers and immolated herself.
Enraged at the insult and the injury, Shiva destroyed Daksha’s sacrifice, cut off Daksha’s head, and replaced it with that of a goat as he restored him to life. Still crazed with grief, he picked up the remains of Sati’s body, and danced the dance of destruction through the Universe. The other gods intervened to stop this dance, and the Vishnu’s disk, or Sudarshana Chakra, cut through the corpse of Sati. The various parts of the body fell at several spots all through the Indian subcontinent and formed sites which are known as Shakti Peethas today.
At all Shakti Peethas, the Goddess Shakti is accompanied by Lord Bhairava (a manifestation of Lord Shiva).
Sakti peethas near Bolpur Santiniketan :
Kankalitala (9 kms) |
Fullora (50 kms)
Nalhati (104 kms)
Bakreshwar (58 kms)
Massanjore (78 kms)
Kendubilwa (42 kms)
Nanoor (23 kms)
Tarapith (80 kms)