The Most Powerful 18 Sakthi Peethas

Hari Om

The Shakti Peethas are powerful places of worship dedicated to Goddess Shakti, the most important feminine divine presence in Hinduism. The Goddess is the complete incarnation of Adi Shakti.

Her forms are seen as three important types of manifestation:

Durga – Goddess of strength and valour

Mahakali- Goddess of destruction of evil

Gowri- Goddess of benevolence

Legend and History of the Shakti Peethas

Daksha, the son of Lord Brahma had 27 daughters including Sati (form of Goddess Shakti) who was married to Lord Shiva.

Daksha, entered his arena one day to attend a yagna performed by Agni and found that everyone except Lord Shiva stood up as a gesture of respect and was very angry. Later on when Daksha conducted a yagna himself, he didn’t invite his daughter Sati or son in law.

Despite the lack of invitation, Sati still chose to attend the yagna to be with her father and sister who completely ignored her and started misspeaking about Shiva in front of her which made her feel very hurt and disgraced.

She scarified herself at the place of yagna by creating agni from earth with her right thumb of her foot. Lord Shiva, when he came to know what had happened, removed one bunch of Jhatha from his head and hit it on the earth. From that portion, Lord Veerabhadra was born and rushed to the yagna spot and killed Daksha by cutting his head off.

Lord Shiva went to the yagna himself and started dancing with Sati’s body removing it from the fire. This Tandava Nritya, scared everyone and instilled fear. The people were terrorised and Lord Vishnu had to take matters into his hands to control the situation. Lord Vishnu used his Sudarshana Chakra to cut Sati’s body into pieces which fell in various places in India and Srilanka.

The places where the parts of the body fell, came to be known as the powerful Shakti Peethas. Out of the 51 Shakti Peetha temples, there are 18 which are considered to be especially most significant. These 18 shrines of Mata are known as the Maha Shakti Peethas.

The 18 Shakti Peethas in the order

Place

Part of the body fallen

Name of Shakti

Are given below:

1

Trincomalee (Sri lanka)

Groin

Shankari devi

2

Kanchi (Tamil nadu)

Back part

Kamakshi Devi

3

Praddyumnam (West Bengal)

Stomach part

Sri Srunkhala devi

4

Mysore (Karnataka)

Hair

Chamundeshwari devi

5

Alampur (Andhra Pradesh)

Upper teeth

Jogulamba devi

6

Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh)

Neck part

Bhramaramba devi

7

Kolhapur (Maharastra)

Eyes

Mahalakshmi devi

8

Nanded (Maharastra)

Right hand

Eka Veerika devi

9

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)

Upper lip

Mahakali devi

10

Pithapuram (Andhra Pradesh)

Left hand

Puruhutika devi

11

Jajpur (Odisha)

Navel

Biraja devi

12

Draksharamam (Andhra Pradesh)

Left cheek

Manikyamba devi

13

Guwahati (Assam)

Vulva

Kamarupa devi

14

Prayaga (Uttar Pradesh)

Fingers

Madhaveswari devi

15

Jwala (Himachal Pradesh)

Head part

Vaishnavi devi

16

Gaya (Bihar)

Breast part

Sarvamangala devi

17

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

Wrist

Vishalakshi devi

18

Kashmir

Right hand

Saraswathi devi

These 18 temples have immense power, as places where parts of Shakti were found here. Of these temples, the Temples at Kamkhya, Gaya and Ujjain are often considered the most sacred and significant as they represent the three most important features of Goddess Shakti: Creation, Nourishment and Annihilation.

Powerful Shakti Peetha mantra:

Aadi Shankaracharya’s Asthadasa Shakti Peethas sloka is a powerful prayer which describes all the different forms of Goddess Shakti in the places the parts of her body were found.

Lankayam Shankari devi, Kamakshi Kanchika pure

Pradyumne Shrinkhala devi, Chamunda Krouncha pattane

Alampure Jogulamba, Sri shaile Bhramarambika

Kolha pure Maha lakshmi, Mahurye Ekaveerika

Ujjainyam Maha kali, Peethikayam Puruhutika

Odhyane Girija devi, Manikya Daksha vatike

Hari kshetre Kama rupi, Prayage Madhaveshwari

Jwalayam Vishnavi devi, Gaya Mangalya gourika

Varanasyam Vishalakshi, Kashmire tu Saraswati

Ashtadasha Shakti peethani, Yoginamapi durlabham

Sayamkale pathennityam, Sarva shatri vinashanam

Sarva roga haram divyam, Sarva sampatkaram shubham

Meaning:

Goddess Shankari in Sri lanka, Kamakshi in Kanchipuram,

Goddess Shrinkhala in Pradyumna and Chamunda in Mysore

Goddess Jogulamba in Alampur, Goddess Brhamarabika in Sri Shailam,

Goddess Maha Lakshmi in Kolhapur and Goddess Eka veera in Mahur

Goddess Maha Kali in Ujjain Purhuthika in Peethika,

Goddess Girija in Odhyana and goddess Manikya in the house of Daksha,

Goddess Kama rupi in the temple of Vishnu, Goddess Madhevaswari in Allahabad,

The flame giving Goddess in Jwala muki and Mangala Gouri in Gaya.

Goddess Visalakshi in Varanasi, Goddess Saraswathi in Kashmir,

Are the 18 houses of Shakthi, which are rare even to devas.

One should try to visit these 18 Shathi Peethas in their lifetime for attaining salvation. May we all receive the choicest Blessings of Divine mother for security, peace and happiness.

(Cover photo – Kanchi Kamakshi Devi: coutesy: mahaperiavaa.blog)

You may watch the attached video (courtesy: Karma & Dharma) for having Dharshan of 18 Sakthi Peetha Deities:

GF’ Blessings.