Kanyashram Shakti Peeth (Kanyakumari)

The story

According to the Shakti Peeth tradition, after King Daksha's yagya Shiv ji wandered in grief carrying the body of Devi Sati. Vishnu ji's Sudarshan chakra then divided the body, and wherever a part or an ornament fell, a Shakti Peeth arose. Her back is believed to have fallen here. Kanyakumari also has its own well-loved story. The asur Banasur had a boon that only a young maiden could defeat him, and he drove the devtas out of heaven. To set things right, the Mother appeared at the southern tip of the land as Kumari and began deep tapasya to marry Shiv ji. Shiv ji agreed, and the wedding was fixed for the early hour of Brahma muhurat. He set out from Suchindram, but Narad muni, knowing that Banasur could fall only to a maiden, made a rooster crow before dawn. Thinking the hour had passed, Shiv ji stopped, and the wedding never took place. It is said that in her sorrow the Devi scattered the wedding food, which became the many-coloured sands of the shore. She went on with her tapasya, and when Banasur later came to her, she defeated him. Devotees believe she still stands here in tapasya as the young Kumari. A rock in the sea, the Shri Pada Parai, is said to carry her footprint; it is now part of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial.