Ashtadasha Shakti Peethas

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  WHAT IT IS: The eighteen Maha Shakti Peethas, major seats of the Divine Mother named in the Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stotram, a hymn attributed to Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya.
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  WHY VISIT OR CHANT: Pilgrims seek the grace of Jagadamba for the removal of afflictions, the awakening of spiritual awareness, and both worldly fulfilment and liberation. The stotra itself says that reciting it in the evening protects and blesses the devotee.
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  WHEN TO VISIT: Sharadiya Navaratri in September and October, Chaitra Navaratri in March and April, Maha Shivaratri, and the annual festival of each shrine.
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  WHERE: From Lanka and Kanchipuram in the south to Kashmir in the north, and from Kamakhya in Assam to Kolhapur and Mahur in Maharashtra in the west.
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  HOW: Fast before darshan, take the holy bath at the nearest tirtha, wear simple traditional dress, and offer red flowers, kumkum, and coconut. Circumambulate the sanctum while quietly reciting the stotra or the Devi's name.

The story of the Shakti Peethas is told in the Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, Chapter 30, which also names 108 seats of the Goddess. The Kalika Purana, the Shiva Purana, and the Mahabhagavata Upapurana narrate the same lore. When Daksha Prajapati held a great sacrifice and did not honor Bhagwan Shiva, Maa Sati gave up her physical form in the fire of yoga.

Overcome with sorrow, Shiva carried her sacred body across the cosmos. To restore balance, Bhagwan Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra to divide her body. Wherever a limb or ornament touched the earth, that ground became a Shakti Peetha, watched over by Shiva in the form of a Bhairava.

Different texts count 51, 64, or 108 peethas. From these, a short hymn attributed to Adi Shankaracharya names eighteen as the Ashtadasha Shakti Peethas. The hymn is also called the Ashtadasha Shakta Pitha Stotram, and its closing verse calls the eighteen seats rare even for yogis. Three of them are honored above the rest: Kamakhya at Guwahati for creation, Sarvamangala (also known as Mangala Gauri) at Gaya for nourishment, and Mahakali at Ujjain for dissolution.

Tradition credits Adi Shankaracharya with consecrating the present Sri Chakra Yantra before Devi Kamakshi at Kanchipuram. That placement is often cited as an example of the Mother's fierce power being turned toward gentle grace. The ruined Sharada Peeth in the Neelum Valley is remembered as an ancient center of Sanskrit learning, and its name is linked with the scholarly tradition of Kashmir.

Kamakhya has long been a place of Tantric sadhana, and many yogis have practiced there. Mahur is also associated with the Datta tradition, while Kolhapur's Kiranotsav draws crowds each year when the rays of the sun reach the image over several days.

The Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stotram names the eighteen seats in four verses followed by a closing verse. Devotees recite it to bring all eighteen shrines to mind, even when they cannot travel.

The first two verses mean: In Lanka resides Devi Shankari, in Kanchipuram Devi Kamakshi. In Pradyumna abides Devi Shrinkhala, and at Kraunchapattana Chamundi. In Alampur dwells Jogulamba, in Srisailam Bhramarambika, in Kolhapur Mahalakshmi, and at Mahur Ekaveerika.