51 Shakti Peethas of Goddess Durga. Shakti Peethas are very important in Hinduism. There are many Text which describes about Shakti Peethas. Shakti Peethas are the place where part of Sati’s body fell. There are different views about no of Sakti Peethas either are 108 or 51. There are 108 Sakti Peethas according to Devi Bhagwata Purana, and 51 Shakti Peethas according to Shiv Charitra. These Shakti Peethas are not only in India but also out of India too. Presently these Sakti Peethas are in India, Bangladesh, Shri lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and China.
Story of 51 Shakti Peethas of Goddess Durga
There is description that Lord Brahma performed a yajna to please Goddess Adi Shakti and Lord Shiva. Goddess Adi Shakti helped Brahma to create the universe. Brahma was very happy and decides to give Goddess Adi Shakti to Shiva. Therefore his son Daksha performed many Yajna to get Mata Sati as his daughter. He succeeds to get goddess as daughter. Daksha hated lord Shiva because of curse given to his father lord Bramha by Lord Shiva. He did not want to let her daughter marry with Lord Shiva. But Goddess wanted to marry with Lord Shiva so she did hard penance. At last They both got married.
King Daksha was not happy with this marriage. He wanted to take revenge. So he performed a Yajna. He invited all the deities but he didn’t invite Lord Shiva and Goddess Sati. Goddess Sati was not happy with this so she wanted to go to Yajna. Lord Shiva refused her to go there but she had gone. When she reached there she saw that her father Daksha ignored her and Lord Shiva. She felt insult of lord Shiva so she couldn’t tolerate it and she self immolated. Lord Shiva got angry to see Sati’s insult and immolation. He took form of Virabhadra to destroy the Yajna and cut off Daksha’s head. After Deities he replaces Daksha’s head with male Goat head. Lord Shiva kept on angry and Tandava, carrying Sati’s dead body on his hand. Deities requested to lord Vishnu intervening to stop this destruction.
Then Lord Vishnu cut off Sati’s body in 51 part from Sudarshana Chakra. Where the part of Sati’s body fell those became Sakti Peetha. Then lord Shiva got calm.
Four Adi Shakti Peethas
There are four Adi Shakti Peethas according to Shiv Purana, Devi Bhagwata, Kalika Purana. These are Kalighath temple (Kolkata), Kamakhya Devi Temple (Guwahati), Vimala temple (Puri), and Taratarini (beehampur).