During the Gupt Navratri of June 2023, I got this inspiration to travel to all the Shakti Peetha of Devi Maa. I decided to do so and start tracking all the Shakti Peetha I’ve traveled to on this website and also document them.
I’m also separately tracking all the Jyotirlinga I’ve visited so far. If Devi Maa and Mahakal be willing I’ll be able to visit all of them within this decade i.e. before 2023.
What is a Shakti Peetha?
Shakti Peetha is considered as a place where any part of body of Devi Sati fell after Lord Shiva carried her lifeless body in his hands and Lord Vishnu with his Sudarshana cut it into many small pieces. Each place where the body part fell became a Shakti Peetha.
Places where ornaments of Devi Maa fell came to be known as Up Shakti Peetha.
Shakti Peetha are the main centers of Devi worship in the world. Like how 4 Dham, 7 Puri and 12 Jyotirlinga connect whole of India and all the worshippers, the 108 Shakti Peetha do it even more intricately.
Tracking all the Shakti Peetha Traveled So Far By Me
There are 108 Shakti Peeth and I’m tracking from 2023 visits:
| # | Name of the Peeth | Where | Latest Visit | Type | Counter |
| 1. | Gadh Kalika | Ujjain, MP | March 2023 | From Tripura Rahasya Mahatamya | 1/2 |
| 2. | Chamundeshwari Devi | Mysore, Karnataka | May 2023 | Shakti Peeth | 1/53 |
| 3. | Harsiddhi Temple | Ujjain, MP | May 2023 | Shakti Peeth | 2/53 |
| 4. | Vimla Devi Temple | Puri, Odisha | February 2016 | Shakti Peeth | 3/53 |
| Maya Devi | Haridwar, Uttarakhand | Planned in July 2023 | Sam Shakti Peeth | 1/21 | |
| Brahmarambika Devi Temple | Shri Shailam, AP | Planned in August 2023 | Shakti Peeth | ||
| Dakshina Kali (Jaya Durga Devi), Kalighat Temple | Kolkata, West Bengal | Planned in 2023 | |||
| Total Visited | 4/108 |
(There are probably more Shakti Peetha I’ve visited, especially in childhood or without knowing / remembering about it. Like in Gujarat when I was 1-2 years old. I probably missed visiting some too like when I was in Nepal. Regardless, I’d like to visit them again and so I’m not mentioning them.)
Legend Used to Categorize the Shakti Peetha:
- 53 Shakti Peetha – Considered main across scriptures like Purana
- 21 Sam Shakti Peetha – Where there are differences on exact locations of the Shakti Peetha
- 23 Up Shakti Peth – Where Devi Maa’s ornaments fell. Originally 29, 6 no longer exist.
- 9 Shakti Peetha from Ashta Dash, written by Adi Shankaracharya. Out of 18 mentioned, 9 of these are not part of the main 53 Shakti Peetha.
- 2 Shakti Peetha from Tripura Rahasya Mahatamya, there are many mentioned here, out of which 2 are not part of the main 53 Shakti Peetha.
- Total 108 Shakti Peeth
Some Shakti Peetha are considered to be lost or no longer accessible by ordinary people.
Background
After I lost my Mother, I pretty much lost all the faith in Gods. I used to chant, recite a lot of stotras regularly right from childhood. However after this, I only limited myself to one by Adi Shankaracharya called Matra Panchakshar Stotra. He’d written it in praise of his Mother and all Mothers in general.
Later on, I came across and started reciting one more stotra written by a later Shankaracharya called Devi Aparadha Kshamapana Stotram. It’s another stotra written from the point of view of a son in praise of his Mother. However, here the Mother is Devi Maa. It’s also a beautiful stotra as an apology and plea to the Goddess to always bless him.
Then last year in 2022, I got this inspiration to pray daily again. It was inspired by someone in almost funny incidence. So I started to and not seriously. But later on I became serious again and reverted back to some of the stotra and chants I used to recite earlier. I also added some new ones this time.
Later in 2022, during the Navratri of Ashwin (September – October) of that year, I recited the Durga Chalisa for 9 days. This has been memorized in my head in my father’s voice as he sang /chanted it. So I recited it in my head in his voice and devoted it to Devi Maa from his side. I similarly recite the Shri Ram Raksha Stotra in my head as my Mother’s voice as she used to.
On the 10th day i.e. on Dussehra, I experienced something that changed my life forever and made me a devotee of Devi Maa forever. It restored all my faith in the Gods and made me a steadfast devotee. The morning of 5th of October 2022 has been forever etched into my memory and my soul.
I would not like to discuss that part with anyone, so please don’t ask. However that has been the impetus for me to get every chance I can to visit the temples and especially the ancient temples and especially the temples of Devi Maa. The Shakti Peetha being my main aims of pilgrimage.
Aim for Shakti Peetha Visit:
If Devi Maa wills it, I’d like to visit all Shakti Peetha at least in India and possibly in Nepal, Bangladesh and Shri Lanka within this decade i.e. before 2030. This would also give me a good goal to travel all of the Indian Subcontinent.
It might be instrumental for my future life goals.
Future:
I do not see a single comprehensive source with a detailed description of all of the Shakti Peetha. Some come close but they have the generic description of some of the Peetha. It seems the story of each Shakti Peetha is either lost or not easily available.
One of my aims will be to document and explore all Shakti Peetha as I visit them. I’ll also take good pictures of at least the temples, as the phones / cameras are often not allowed inside the temples.
References:
Books:
- 108 Divya Shakti Peeth Book by Banwari Lal Kanchal (Using primarily for the category)
- ShaktiPeeth Darshan by Radhey Shyam Khemka, Gitapress Gorakhpur
- Shakti, the 51 Sacred Peethas of the Goddess by Alka Pande
Online Sources