“S hakti peethas are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-focused Adi Shakti in Hindu tradition. According to some puranas, especially Srimad Devi Bhagavatam, there are 51, 64 and 108 Shakti peethas by various accounts of which 18 are named as Astadasha Maha major in medieval Hindu texts.Shiva in his Virabhadra avatar destroyed Daksha's yajna According to legend, Lord Brahma had performed a yagna (Vedic ritual of fire sacrifice) to please Shakti and Shiva to aid in the creation of the universe. As a result, Goddess Shakti separated from Shiva and emerged to help Brahma. Once her purpose was fulfilled, Shakti had to be returned to Shiva. In time, Brahma's son Daksha performed several yajnas to obtain Shakti as his daughter in the form of Sati, with the motive of marrying her to Lord Vishnu.Daksha performed a yajna with a desire to take revenge on Lord Shiva.

Daksha invited all the deities to the yajna, except Shiva and Sati. The fact that she was not invited did not deter Sati's desire to attend the yajna. She expressed her desire to Shiva, who tried his best to dissuade her from going. He relented at her continued insistence, Sati went to her father's yajna. However, Sati was not given her due respect at the yajna, and had to bear witness to Daksha's insults aimed at Shiva. Anguished, Sati cursed her father and self-immolated. Enraged at the insult and death of his spouse, Shiva in his Virabhadra avatar destroyed Daksha's yajna and cut off his head. His anger not abated and immersed in grief, Shiva then picked up the remains of Sati's body and performed the Tandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creation.

Frightened, the other Gods requested Vishnu to intervene to stop this destruction. As a recourse, Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra on Sati's corpse. This caused various parts of Sati's body to fall at several spots across the world. The history of Daksha yajna and Sati's self-immolation had immense significance in shaping the ancient Sanskrit literature and influenced the culture of India. Each of the places on Earth where Sati's body parts were known to have fell were then considered as Sakti Peethas and were deemed places of great spiritual import. Several stories in the Puranas and other Hindu religious books refer to the Daksha yajna.

It is an important incident in both Shaivism and Shaktism, and marks the replacement of Sati with Parvati, and of the beginning of Shiva's house-holder (grihastashrami) life from an ascetic. This event is ahead of the emergence of both of the couple's children, Kartikeya and Ganesha.To complete this massively long task, Lord Shiva took the form of Bhairava. Another text which gives a listing of these shrines, is the Shakti Peetha Stotram, written by Adi Shankara, the 9th-century Hindu philosopher. Rishi Markandeya composed the 'Devi Saptashati' or the seven hundred hymns extolling the virtues of the Divine Goddess at the shaktipeetha in Nashik. The idol is also leaning a little to the left to listen to the sage's composition. The Saptashati or the "Durga Stuti" forms an integral part in the Vedic form of Shakti worship.

List of 4 Adi Shakti Peethas

Some of the great religious texts like the Shiva Purana, the Devi Bhagavata, the Kalika Purana, the AshtaShakti, and Pithanirnaya Tantra recognize four major shakti Peethas (centers) / Adi Sakti Piṭhas Bimala Temple (Pada Khanda) inside the Jagannath Temple of Puri, Odisha which represents the parts (Khandas) foot (Pada) of the body of Maata Sati Tara Tarini (Stana Khanda), near Berhampur, Odisha which represents the parts breasts (Stana)of the body of Maata Sati Kamakhya Temple (Yoni Khanda), in Guwahati, Assam , which represents genitals (Yoni) of the body of Maata Sati Kalighat Kali Temple (Mukha Khanda) in Kolkata, West Bengal which represents face (Mukha). of the body of Maata Sati

List of 18 Astadasha Maha Shakti Peethas

There are believed to be 64 locations. Adi Shankara's Asta Dasha Shakti Peetha Stotram mentions 18 locations known as the Maha Shakti Pithas.Among these, the Shakti Peethas at Kamakhya, Gaya and Ujjain are regarded as the most sacred as they symbolize the three most important aspects of the Mother Goddess Creation (Kamarupa Devi), Nourishment (Sarvamangala Devi/Mangalagauri), and Annihilation (Mahakali Devi).

18 Maha Shaktipeethas:

1. Sri Kanchi Kamakshi Amman Temple, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

2. Sri Srunkhala Devi Temple, Pandua, West Bengal

3. Sri Chamundeshwari Devi Temple, Chamundi Hill, Mysore, Karnataka

4. Shri Jogulamba Temple, Alampur, Telangana

5. Sri Bhramaramba Devi Temple, Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh

6. Shree Mahalaxmi Temple, Kolhapur, Maharastra

7. Mahurye Ekaveerika Temple/Renuka Devi Temple, Mahur, Maharastra

8. Shri Gadhkalika Mata Temple / Mahakali Devi, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

9. Puruhutika Devi Temple, Pithapuram, Andhra Pradesh

10. Biraja Devi/Birija Kshetra, Jajpur, Odisha

11. Draksharamam Manikyamba Devi Temple, Draksharamam, Andhra Pradesh

12. Kamrup / Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati, Assam

13. Madhaveswari Devi Temple, Prayag, Uttar Pradesh

14. Jwalamukhi, Vaishnavi Devi / Vaishno Devi, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh

15. Mangla Gauri Temple, Gaya, Bihar

16. Vishalakshi Temple / Vishalakshi Gauri Temple, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

17. Sharada Peeth, Saraswathi Devi, Kashmir

18. Shri Shankari Devi Temple, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Other 51 Shakti Peetas:

1. Mahamaya Shakti Peeth, Amarnath, Jammu and Kashmir

2. Fullara Devi Shaktipeeth, in Attahasa, West Bengal.

3. Bahula Shakti Peetha, Bardhaman, West Bengal.

4. Mahishmardini Shaktipeeth, Bakreshwar, Siuri town.

5. Avanti, Bhairav Parvat Shakti Peeth, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.

6. Shri Aparna, Bhabanipur Shaktipith, Bangladesh.

7. Gandaki Chandi Shakti Peeth, Chandi River.

8. Maa Bhramari, Janasthan Panchavati Nasik Shakti Peeth.

9. Kottari, Hinglaj Mata mandir, Karachi.

10. Jayanti Shaktipeeth Temple, Bourbhag Village, Bangladesh.

11. Yogeshwari, Khulna district.

12. Jwala or Shakti Siddhida, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.

13. Kalika, Kalighat, West Bengal.

14. Kali in Kalmadhav, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh.

15. Khamakya, Guwahati, Assam.

16. Devgarbha/Kankleshwari, Birbhum, West Bengal.

17. Sravani, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.

18. Chamudeshwari/Jaya Durga, Chamundi Hills, Mysore.

19. Vimla, Murshidabad, West Bengal.

20. Kumara Shakti at Anandamayee Temple of West Bengal.

21. Shakti Bhraamari, Ratnavali, West Bengal

22. Shakti Dakshayani, Manasarovar.

23. Gayatri Manibandh, Pushkar, Rajasthan.

24. Uma at Mithila, border of Nepal and India.

25. Indraksh, Nainativu, Manipallavam.

26. Mahashira, Guhyeshwari near Pashupatinath Temple.

27. Bhawani at Chandranath Hills, Bangladesh.

28. Varahi, Panch Sagar, Uttar Pradesh.

29. Chandrabhaga, Junagarh, Gujarat.

30. Lalita of Prayag.

31. Savitri/Bhadra Kali, Kurukshetra, Haryana.

32. Maihar/Shivani, Satna, Madhya Pradesh.

33. Nandini or Nandikeshwari, Birbhum, West Bengal.

34. Sarvashail/Rakini on Godavari river banks at Kotilingeswar Temple.

35. Mahish Mardini at Shivaharkaray near Karachi of Pakistan.

36. The Narmada Shondesh, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh.

37. Sundari at Sri Sailam (currently in Bangladesh).

38. Maha Lakshmi at Sri Shail (currently in Bangladesh).

39. Devi Narayani, Suchindram, Tamil Nadu.

40. Suganda of Shikarpur (currently in Bangladesh)

41. Tripura Sundari, Udaipur in Tripura.

42. Mangal Chandika at Ujjain.

43. Vishalakshi, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

44. Kapalini of Vibash, Medinipur, West Bengal.

45. Ambika, Bharatpur, Rajasthan.

46. Uma at Vrindavan/Bhooteswar Temple of Uttar Pradesh.

47. Tripurmalini, Jalandhar, Punjab.

48. Amba at Ambaji, Gujarat.

49. Jai Durga, Deogarh, Jharkhand.

50. Danteshwari, Chattisgarh.

51. Nabi Gaya, Biraj, Jaipur.