The Realm of the Goddess

In the last column, I promised the names of 108 Shakti Peethas from Devi Bhagavata Purana.  (1) Varanasi – Vishalakshi; (2) Naimisharanya – Lingadharini; (3) Prayaga – Lalitaa; (4) Gandhamadana – Kamuki; (5) South of Lake Manasa – Kumudaa; (6) North of Lake Manasa – Vishvakamaa; (7) Gomanta – Gomati; (8) Mount Mandara – Kamacharini; (9) Chaitraratha – Madotkata; (10) Hastinapura – Jayanti; (11) Kanyakubja – Gouri; (12) Mount Malaya – Rambhaa; (13) Ekamrapeetha – Kirtimati; (14) Vishva – Vishveshvari; (15) Pushkara – Puruhutaa; (16) Kedarapeetha – Sanmarga-dayini. (17) Slopes of Himalaya – Mandaa; (18) Gokarna – Bhadrakarnika; (19) Sthaneshvara – Bhavani; (20) Bilvaka – Bilvapatrikaa; (21) Shrishaila – Madhavi; (22) Bhadreshvara – Bhadraa; (23) Mount Varaha – Jayaa; (24) Kamalalaya – Kamalaa; (25) Rudrakoti – Rudrani; (26) Kalanjaara – Kali; (27) Shalagrama – Mahadevi; (28) Shivalinga – Jalapriyaa; (29) Mahalinga – Kapilaa; (30) Makota – Mukuteshvari; (31) Mayapuri – Kumari; (32) Santana – Lalitambikaa; (33) Gaya – Mangalaa; (34) Purushottama – Vimalaa; (35) Sahasraksha – Utpalakshi; (36) Hiranyaksha – Mahtopalaa; (37) Vipasha – Amogakshi; (38) Pundravardhana – Padalaa; (39) Suparsha – Narayani; (40) Trikuta – Rudrasundari; (41) Vipula – Vipulaa; (42) Mount Malaya – Kalyani; (43) Sahyadri – Ekaviraa; (44) Harishchandra – Chandrikaa; (45) Ramatirtha – Ramanaa; (46) Yamuna – Mrigavati; (47) Kotatirtha – Kotavi; (48) Madhava-vana – Sugandhaa; (49) Godavari – Trisandhyaa; (50) Gangadvara – Ratipriyaa; (51) Shivakunda – Shubhanandaa; (52) Devikatata – Nandini; (53) Dvaravati – Rukmini; (54) Vrindavana – Radhaa; (55) Mathura – Devaki; (56) Patala – Parameshvari; (57) Chitrakuta – Sita; (58) Vindhya – Vindhyadhivasini; (59) Karavira – Mahalakshmi; (60) Vinayaka – Uma Devi; (61) Vaidyanatha – Arogyaa; (62) Mahakala – Maheshvari; (63) Ushnatirtha – Abhayaa; (64) Mount Vindhya – Nitambaa; (65) Mandavya – Mandavi; (66) Maheshvari-pura – Svahaa; (67) Chhaglanda – Prachandaa; (68) Amarakantaka – Chandikaa; (69) Someshvara – Vararohaa; (70) Prabhasa – Pushkaravati; (71) Sarasvati – Devamataa; (72) Along the shore – Paravaraa; (73) Mahalaya – Mahabhagaa; (74) Payoshni – Pingaleshvari; (75) Simhika – Kritashauchaa; (76) Kartika – Atishankari; (77) Utpalavartaka – Lolaa; (78) Confluence of Shona – Subhadraa; (79) Siddhavana – Lakshmi Mataa; (80) Bharatashrama – Anangaa; (81) Jalandhara – Vishvamukhi; (82) Mount Kishkindha – Taraa; (83) Devadaru-vana – Pushti; (84) The circle of
Kashmira – Medhaa; (85) Himadri – Bhimaa Devi; (86) Vishveshvara – Tushti; (87) Kapalamochana – Shuddhi; (88) Kayavarohana – Mataa; (89) Shankhaddhara – Dharaa; (90) Pindaraka – Dhriti; (91) Chandrabhaga – Kalaa; (92) Acchoda – Shivadharini; (93) Vena – Amritaa; (94) Badari – Urvashi; (95) Uttarakuru – Aushadhi; (96) Kushadvipa – Kushodakaa; (97) Hemakuta – Manmathaa; (98) Kumuda – Satyavadini; (99) Ashvattha – Vandaniyaa; (100) Vaishravanalaya – Nidhi; (101) Vedavadana – Gayatri;
(102) Shiva’s presence – Parvati; (103) World of devas – Indrani; (104) Brahma’s mouth –Sarasvati; (105) Solar disc – Prabhaa; (106) Among Matrikas – Vaishnavi; (107) Among Satis – Arundhati; and  (108) Among Ramas (beautiful women) – Tilottamaa.

In each case, there is a location and there is Devi’s name, or form, in that location. The first entry is the location, the second is Devi’s name. Except for Varanasi, where we are told that Devi’s face fell, in the other locations, there is no mention of the specific limb. This is a list from Devi Bhagavata Purana. As I have said, there are different lists in different texts. For some of the names in this list, the geographical identification is easy, such as Varanasi or Mathura. But something like Devadaru-vana could mean any forest that has devadaru trees. In passing, the number 108 is of course sacred and it is natural that such a listing should have 108 Shakti Peethas. I hasten to add that there are other lists too.

For instance, there is a stotram about 18 Shakti Peethas, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya. This mentions (1) Shankari Devi in Lanka; (2) Kamakshi in the city of Kanchika (Kanchi); (3) Shrinkhala Devi in Pradyumna; (4) Chamundi in Krounchapattana; (5) Jogalambaa in Alampura;
(6) Bhramarambikaa in Shrishaila; (7) Mahalakshmi in Kolhapura; (8) Ekavirikaa in Mahurya; (9) Mahakali in Ujjayini; (10) Puruhutikaa in Pithika; (11) Girija Devi in Audhya; (12) Manikya in Dakshavataka; (13) Kamarupaa in Harikshetra; (14) Madhaveshvari in Prayaga; (15) Vaishnavi Devi in Jvalamukhi; (16) Mangalya-Gourika in Gaya; (17) Vishalakshmi in Varanasi; and (18) Sarasvati in Kashmira. The last line says that even yogis find it very difficult to access these Peethas. Geographically, some of these places are easy to identify—Lanka, Kanchi, Shrishaila, Kolhapura, Ujjayini, Kamarupa, Prayaga, Jvalamukhi, Gaya, Varanasi and Kashmira. It is plausible that Pradyumna indicates some place in Gujarat, just as Krounchapattana, since it means a habitation near Mount Krouncha, must be in Karnataka. Alampura is presumably in Andhra and Audhya must mean Odisha. But what do Mahurya, Pithika and Dakshavataka mean?

Many people quote Brahmanda Purana and say that it mentions 64 Shakti Peethas. My edition of Brahmanda Purana does not say anything about the 64 Peethas.  But right towards the end of Brahmanda Purana, there is a section known as Lalitaa mahatmya, the greatness of Lalitaa.  Lalitaa is one of Devi’s manifestations. In this section, right towards the end of Brahmanda Purana, there is a section on nyasa.  Nyasa means the mental appropriation of different divinities to different parts of the body. When it is only done on parts of the hand, it is called kara-nyasa. When it is done on limbs of the entire body, it is called anga-nyasa. This part of the text states that this nyasa should be done with 51 Peethas. We therefore have a list of 51 Peethas. (1) Varanasi; (2) Kamarupa; (3) Nepala; (4) Poundravardhana; (This clearly means what was Bengal then and includes today’s Bangladesh. Anything beyond that, such as the identification with Pandua in West Bengal, is speculative. But evidently, there used to be a Shrinkhala Devi temple in Pandua once, now destroyed.) (5) Varasthira; (6) Kanyakubja; (7) Purnashaila: (8) Arbuda (Mount Abu); (9) Amratakeshvara; (10) Ekamra (Bhuvaneshvara); (11) Trisrota (somewhere along Ganga); (12) Kamkoshtakam; (13) Kailasa; (14) Bhrigunagara; (15) Kedara; (16) Chandrapushkara (Pushkara); (17) Shripeetha; (18) Ekavira; (19) Jalandhra (Jalandhara); (20) Malava; (21) Kulanna; (22) Devikota; (23) Gokarna; (24) Maruteshvara; (25) Attahasa; (26) Viraja; (27) Rajaveshma; (28) Mahapatha; (29) Kolapura; (30) Kailapura; (31) Kaleshvara; (32) Jayantika; (33) Ujjayini; (34) Chitra; (35) Kshiraka (Kshiragrama, in West Bengal); (36) Hastinapura; (37) Udira; (38) Prayaga; (39) Shashti-mayapura; (40) Gourisha; (41) Salaya; (42) Shrishaila; (43) Maru; (44) Girivara; (45) Mahendra; (46) Vamana Giri; (47) Hiranyapura; (48) Mahalakshmipura; (49) Purodyana; and (50) Chhayakshetra. Though the text states that there are 51 Peethas, if you count, only 50 Peethas are mentioned. It then says that the nyasa must be performed according to the due order of letters in the alphabet. Hence, there is a connection between 51 letters and 51 as the number of Shakti Peethas. As was the case earlier, some in this list of 51 can easily be identified today. For the others, it is not that easy.

The notion of Shakti Peethas evolved over time and numbers changed, from four to 18 and 51. There are tantra texts of much later vintage, say 500 years ago. Tantrachudamani is an example of this.  This has a section on determination of Peethas, where Devi herself speaks about 51 Shakti Peethas, the parts of her body that fell down after being severed by Vishnu’s chakra, and the Bhairava (Shiva) who has established himself in these places. The table below compiles this information. Lists vary according to texts. Any place mentioned was, and probably still is, associated with Devi’s worship. That is all that matters.

Part of body	Place	Geographical identification	Devi’s name	Bhairava’s name
1.       Brahmarandhra	Hingula	Now in Pakistan	Kottari	Bhimalochana
2.       Three eyes	Karavira	Kolhapura	Mahishamardini	Krodhisha
3.       Nose	Sugandha	Now in Bangladesh	Sunandaa	Tryambaka
4.       Throat	Kashmira	Amarnath	Mahamayaa	Trisandhyeshvara
5.       Tongue	Jvalamukhi	Kangra, Himachal	Siddhidaa	Unmatta
6.       Breasts	Jalandhara	Jalandhar	Tripuramalini	Bhishana
7.       Heart	Vaidyanatha	Deogarh	Jaya Durgaa	Vaidyanatha
8.       Knee	Nepala	Kathmandu, Nepal	Mahamayaa	Kapali
9.       Right hand	Manasa	Tibet	Dakshayani	Amara Bhairava
10.    Navel	Viraja in Utakala	Puri	Vimalaa	Jagannatha
11.    Cheek	Gandaki	Mustang, Nepal	Gandaki Chandi	Chakrapani
12.    Left arm	Bahula	Bardhaman	Bahulaa	Bhiruka
13.    Elbow	Ujjayini	Ujjain	Mangalachandikaa	Kapilambara
14.    Right arm	Chattala	Chittagong, Bangladesh	Bhavani	Chandrashekhara
15.    Right foot	Tripura	Tripura	Tripurasundari	Tripuresha
16.    Left foot	Trisrota	Jalpaiguri	Bhramari	Ishvara
17.    Vagina	Kamagiri	Kamakhya	Kamakhyaa	Umananda
18.    Big right toe	Kshiragrama	Bardhaman	Yugadyaa	Kshirakhandaka
19.    Other toes of right foot	Kalipitha	Kalighat	Kalikaa	Nakulisha
20.    Fingers of the hand	Prayaga	Prayagraj	Lalitaa	Bhava
21.    Left shank	Jayanti	Meghalaya/Bangladesh	Jayanti	Kramadishvara
22.    Diadem	Kirita	Murshidabad	Vimalaa	Samvarta
23.    Ear-ring	Manikarnika, Varanasi	Varanasi	Vishalakshi	Kalabhairava
24.    Back	Kanyashrama	Kanyakumari	Sarvani	Nimisha
25.    Ankle	Kurukshetra	Kurukshetra	Savitri	Sthanu
26.    Bracelet	Manivedaka	Ajmer	Gayatri	Sarvananda
27.    Neck	Shrishaila	Andhra Pradesh	Mahalakshmi	Sambarananda
28.    Skeleton	Kanchi	Kanchipuram	Devagarbha	Ruru
29.    Buttocks	Kalamadhava	Impossible to identify	Kali	Asitanga
30.    Buttocks	Narmada	Madhya Pradesh	Shonaa	Bhadrasena
31.    Breasts	Ramagiri	Chitrakoot	Shivani	Chanda
32.    Tresses of hair	Vrindavana	Vrindavan	Umaa	Bhutesha
33.    Upper row of teeth	Anala	Kanyakumari	Narayani	Samhara
34.    Lower row of teeth	Panchasagara	Impossible to identify	Varahi	Maharudra
35.    Left ear	Banks of Karotaya	Bogra, Bangladesh	Aparnaa	Vamana
36.    Right ankle	Shri Parvata	Leh	Shri Sundari	Sundarananda
37.    Left ankle	Vibhashaka	Medinipur	Kapalini	Mahadeva
38.    Stomach	Prabhasa	Prabhas	Chandrabhagaa	Vakratunda
39.    Upper lip	Mount Bhairava	Ujjain	Avanti	Lambakarna
40.    Chin	Janasthana	Nashik	Bhramari	Vikritaksha
41.    Cheek	Banks of Godavari	East Godavari	Vishveshi	Dandapani
42.    Right shoulder	Ratnavali	Impossible to identify	Kumari	Shiva
43.    Left shoulder	Mithila	Mustang, Nepal	Umaa	Mahodara
44.    Hollow bone	Nalahati	Birbhum	Kalikaa	Yogisha
45.    Head	Kalighata	Nadia	Jaya Durgaa	Krodhisha
46.    Mind	Vakreshvara	Birbhum	Mahishamardini	Vakranatha
47.    Hand	Yashora	Satkhira, Bangladesh	Yashoreshvari	Chanda
48.    Lips	Attahasa	Birbhum	Phullara	Vishvesha
49.    Necklace	Nandipura	Birbhum	Nandini	Nandikeshvara
50.    Anklet	Lanka	Impossible to identify, Sri Lanka	Indrakshi	Rakshaseshvara
51.    Toes of the foot	Virata	Jaipur	Ambikaa	Amrita

 

BhagvatIndian Gods and GoddessesPuranashaktiShakti Peethas