Which are the Main Shaktipeethas of West Bengal?

The Shaktipeethas span the breadth and width of Bharatvarsha. The sacred sites shine like jewels upon an earthly body with West Bengal as its brightest part. The state has the highest number of Shaktipeethas in the world, with nearly half of them in its Birbhum district alone. This devbhoomi of West Bengal, the birthplace of some of the greatest Shakta saints who have walked among mankind, like Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramprasad Sen, Kamalantaka, Krishnananda Agamavagisha, and Bamakhyapa, has kept the fire of the Shakta traditions alive for generations to come.

In this blog, we will journey through the sacred landscape of West Bengal. From the banks of the Bhagirathi in the North, through the kimsuka-hued soils (Kimsuka is a Bengali name for Palash flower, which is red in colour) of Birbhum, across the ghats of the mighty Hooghly, and into the heartland of the metropolis of Kolkata.

Highlights of the blog:

1. Kalighat, Kolkata (West Bengal)
2. Jogadya Shaktipeeth, Kshirgram (West Bengal)
3. Bahula Shaktipeeth, Ketugram, Katwa (West Bengal)
4. Kankalitala Shaktipeeth, Bolpur (West Bengal)
5. Phullara Devi Shaktipeeth, Attahas (West Bengal)
6. Ratnavali Shaktipeeth, Hooghly (West Bengal)
7. Mahishamardini Shaktipeeth, Birbhum (West Bengal)
8. Nandikeshwari Shaktipeeth, Birbhum (West Bengal)
9. Kiriteshwari Devi Shaktipeeth, Murshidabad (West Bengal)
10. Bargabhima Devi/Vibhisha Shaktipeeth, East Midnapore (West Bengal)

1. Kalighat Shaktipeeth, Kolkata (West Bengal)

(The Kalighat Temple at night)

In the southern part of Kolkata, situated between the Adi Ganga on one side and the city’s largest cremation grounds on the other, stands the famous Kalighat Temple. Named after Ma Kali, the first among the Das Mahavidyas, this temple is believed to be built at the site where Ma Sati’s right toes fell. For this reason, it is considered an Adi Peeth among the Shaktipeethas.

Though the presiding deity at this temple is formally known as Jaya Durga, or the ‘Durga who is victorious’, she is widely worshipped in the tantric form of Dakshina Kali. She has a dark complexion, a naked body (digambari), and an affinity for living in cremation grounds. This has also led to her being worshipped as Smashana Kali, or Kali of the cremation grounds. In Kalighat, the vigraha is the revered, self-manifested pindi, or stone form, of Goddess Kali. She has three fiery eyes (trinetra), a tongue lolling out, and she wields a sickle in one hand and a severed human head in the other. 

An interesting custom here is that, during the annual ritual bath, called the Snan Yatra, when the Utsav Vigraha of Ma is taken out, the priests blindfold themselves. This is done so that, as they bathe her, they do not end up getting blinded by her sheer brilliance.

2. Jogadya Shaktipeeth, Kshirgram (West Bengal)

In Kshirgram village, located near Katwa in Bardhaman district of West Bengal, a temple dedicated to Ma Yugadya stands. As the form of the Divine Mother, who births a new Yug (hence, the title Yuga-adya), she marks the beginning of each of the four yugas, namely Satya, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali. The Jogaydya Shaktipeeth is mentioned in multiple texts, namely the Kubjika Tantra, Chandeemangala, and the Tantrachudamani. These texts, however, differ regarding the part of the Divine Mother that graced this land. While the Chandeemangala claims it to be her back, the Peethanirnaya of the Tantrachudamani posits it to be the “dakshina-pad-angushtha”, or the right big toe. The latter also identifies “Kshirkhanda” as the Bhairav of the kshetra.

(Devi Jogadya)

The idol of the Divine Mother in the form of Ma Durga with ten arms, carved beautifully out of a black stone, is kept submerged in the Kshirdighi pond near the temple. Her idol is only brought out of its watery abode twice a year for darshan.

3. Bahula Shaktipeeth, Ketugram, Katwa (West Bengal)

(Devi Bahula)

In the village of Ketugram in Purba Bardhaman (District in West Bengal), the gentle chimes of the temple bells and mantras extolling the Mother Divine can be heard from a shrine beside the river Ajay. Within this temple, sits Ma Bahula in her most maternal form, along with her two sons, Kartikeya and Ganesh. Peethanirṇaya and the Shivacarita identify this as a shaktipeeth where Ma Sati’s bahu (hand) fell during the Rudra-tandav. The Peethanirnaya describes this peetha as:

 bahulaayaam vaama-baahur-bahula-[a]akhyaa ca devataa |
bhiiruko bhairavas-tatra sarva-siddhi-pradaayakah ||       

The left arm of the Goddess fell at Bahula. She presides there as the deity, Bahula, accompanied by her Bhairav Bhiruka; the granter of perfection.

4. Kankalitala Shaktipeeth, Bolpur (West Bengal)

(Kankalitala Shaktipeeth)

Located some distance away in Bolpur of Birbhum district, this peeth stands on the banks of the River Kopai. Legends say that it was the Devi’s waist bone that fell on this ground. And it, apparently, did so with such a force that from its impact gushed forth a lake or kund, within which the relic still rests today. It is then no surprise that the very name of this sacred site, as kankal-tala or the ground of the skeleton, carries this essence of its spiritual significance. Bharat Chandra Ray, 18th-century court poet to the Raja of Nadia, describes the temple as so in his Annada Mangal:

"kanchideshe paṛil kankali abhiram / bedagarbha devata bhairava ruru nam"

(In Kanchidesh, where the beautiful kankali fell, Devgarbha is the presiding deity and Ruru, the Bhairav.)

Ma is worshipped here as Devi Devgarbha ( also known as Kankaleshwari). In distinction to the other peethas, however, there is an absence of a dedicated idol to her form. Instead, a painted portrait of her in the swaroop of Goddess Kali adorns the garbha-griha. Despite this, local worship traditions identify her in her motherly form as Ma Parvati.

Accompanying his shakti is the Bhairav Ruru, who is embodied in a consecrated lingam in a temple close to the main complex. The lingam stands here without its top, having been severely damaged during Mughals invasions.

5. Phullara Devi Shaktipeeth, Attahas (West Bengal)

This shaktipeeth stands quietly amid the woodlands of rural West Bengal. Revered as the place where Devi Sati’s oshtha (lip), as per the Peethanirnaya, graced the earth, this temple is dedicated to Devi Phullara. Like the flowers that adorn her name, the Divine Mother is envisioned here as an ever-blooming, youthful energy, as bountiful in her blessings as in her vitality.

(Phullara Shaktipeeth)

The Bhairav of this kshetra, Vishvesa, defends the site, where his shakti is represented as a 15-18 feet wide stone of veneration resembling the ostha of the puranic accounts. The lore connected with this temple traces it back to the Treta Yug. As per the Krittibas Ramayana, Lord Ram was unsuccessful in his invocation of Ma Chandika, before his battle against Ravan. Upon the advice of Vibhishan, Lord Ram sought to worship the Divine Mother with an offering of 108 blue lotuses. Found only in the Devidaha Kund near the Phullara temple, Lord Hanuman journeyed here to gather them. Yet, upon delivering the flowers to Lord Ram, one lotus was missing. Seeing this, Lord Ram resolved to offer his own lotus eye in its place. The Divine Mother, delighted by his devotion, stops Lord Ram and blesses him. To this day, Attahas remains a site where her grace is felt by all who seek her sincerely.

6. Ratnavali Shaktipeeth, Hooghly (West Bengal)

On the banks of the river Ratnakar in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, the Ratnavali Shaktipeeth is another site of spiritual significance. Locally known as the Anandamayi Shaktipeehta, or the seat of the bliss-filled goddess, this site is revered as the ground where Ma Sati’s dakshina skanda, or right shoulder, fell upon the Earth.

(Ratnavali Shaktipeeth)

Here, Mother is worshipped as kumari  or the eternally pure, youthful form of Maa Adi Shakti. Defending her kshetra is her Bhairav Shiva. Although in everyday speech, the lingam in which he is embodied is also known by the name Ghanteshvara, or the Lord of Bells. At this site, the Bhairav is ascribed as much importance as the goddess herself, with his shrine just a few steps away from the goddess’ sanctum sanctorum. Devotees gather in front of the lord, offering bel patra (bilva leaves) and sriphala (coconut) seeking relief from illnesses.

7. Mahishamardini Shaktipeeth, Birbhum (West Bengal)

In a land where hot springs jut out of the earth like the heat emanating from a  Tapasvi (ascetic), the Bakreshwar temple complex stands beside sin-absolving Paaphara river.

It is dedicated to Lord Shiv’s form of Vakra-ishavara (the crooked lord). The Mahishamardini Shaktipeetha  is located within this temple complex. This site is worshipped as the place where Devi Sati’s bhrumadhya (the portion between the eyes; corresponding to the ajna chakra) fell.

(Mahishamardini Shaktipeeth)

The Mother Goddess in her swaroop as Mashishamardini, or the killer of Mahishasura, is beautifully articulated in an astha-dhatu (eight-metal alloy; comprising gold, silver, copper, zinc, tin, iron, and lead) vigraha. The garbhagriha holds this divine 10-armed idol of the Mother, flanked on either side by idols of Lord Shiv and Vishnu. Because of its unique rituals, only one of the Mother Goddess’s ten arms holds the spear that pierces Mahishasura. The nine vacant arms provide devotees the benefit of offering miniature weapons as part of their darshan.

8. Nandikeshwari Shaktipeeth, Birbhum (West Bengal)

In the quiet village of Nandipur, on a gentle stretch of the banks of the river Mayurakashi, the Nandikeshwari Shaktipeeth sits as one among many temples in Bengal. At this site, where Ma sati’s necklace graced the earth, the Mother Goddess is revered here as Nandini, or the giver of joy. She is also known as Nandikeshwari here, or the one worshipped by Nandi, the vahana of Lord Shiv. Accompanying her is her Bhairav Lord Nandikeshwar, in a separate temple within the same complex. The names of the Lord and Devi here bear a striking resemblance in being described as the ones worshipped by Nandi. This similarity shows Shiva and Shakti are fundamentally one.

(Ma Nandikeshwari)

Inside the garbhagriha of the do-chala styled temple, the Mother Goddess sits as a self-manifested, or swayambhu, figure in the form of a black rock adorned with the three golden eyes as the trinetrini, a silver crown, and a body turned bright red with the scores of devotional offerings of vermillion made. Outside, her temple walls are adorned with the artful carvings of the dash mahavidyas, namely Ma Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairvai, Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bhaglamukhi, Matangi, and Kamalatmika. A devotee who performs a circumambulation of the main shrine also performs one of the ten divine forms of the Divine Mother.

9. Kiriteshwari Devi Shaktipeeth, Murshidabad (West Bengal)

(Kiriteshwari Devi Shaktipeeth)

In the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, in a corner that forms the village of Kiritkona, the oldest shrine of the region stands still, while the Bhagirathi river flows silently beside it. This is the site where the Peethanirnaya records the goddess as Devi Vimala and Lord Samvarta is the Bhairav. This ancient temple, among some others enumerated in the list of shaktipeethas, is distinctive in that it is considered an upa-peetha, or subsidiary peetha. This is so on account of the absence of any anatomical part of the Divine Mother’s body that fell upon this stretch of the Earth. It is believed that it is her crown, or kiritam that had fallen here; earning the presiding deity the epithet of Kiriteshwari and Mukuteshwari. As noted in the Peethanirnaya, the name of the  presiding goddess is her Devi Vimala, same as the manifestation in Puri. However, the local  name of Kiriteshwari has found popular acceptance.

Similar to Shaktipeethas of Kankalitala and Phullara, Ma is not worshipped with a vigraha resembling her form. Rather, she is worshipped in the form of a shila or auspicious black stone that is covered by a veil. The temple itself is over a thousand years old with references to it in the Bhavishya/Vabisya Purana. With the Devi being the kuldevi of the ruling house of Murshidabad, King Darpanarayan is said to have constructed the temple.

10. Bargabhima Devi Shaktipeeth, East Midnapore (West Bengal)

Along the fertile banks of the Rupnarayan, a tributary of the Hooghly, lies the sacred Bargabhima Temple at the revered Vibhash Shaktipeeth of Tamluk, locally known as Tamralipta, in the East Midnapore (Purba Medinipur) district of West Bengal. 

It is the ankles of Devi Sati that fell upon this blessed earth, consecrating Tamluk as a living seat of the Divine Mother's energy.

The Goddess is worshipped here as Bargabhima, Bhimarupa, and Bhimakali, all aspects intimately connected to Devi Kali or Kapalini. The main idol is that of Kali in her legendary warrior form, wielding a trident and khadag (sword), holding a severed head, embodying the fierce and unconquerable spirit of the Divine Mother on the battlefield against the forces of darkness.

(Devi Bargabhima)

The presiding bhairav is Sarvananda, meaning the one who bestows eternal bliss. He is represented as a Shivling placed alongside the Goddess within the temple.

The temple was built by the Mayur-Dhwaj dynasty, for whom Devi Bargabhima was the Kuldevi. Uniquely, at this shaktipeeth, Kali is also regarded as a patron of thieves, a reflection of Her nature as a Goddess who transcends all social boundaries. Such is her untameable energy that Lord Shiv himself must intervene to maintain cosmic balance.

The worship here reflects the rich Tantric and Shakta traditions of eastern India where Kali is understood in a form that is fierce and with boundless compassion.

References:

• Pande, A. (2020). Shakti: 51 Sacred Peethas of the Goddess. Rupa Publications India.
• Sircar, D. C. (1973). The Śākta Pīṭhas (2nd ed.). Motilal Banarsidass.