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Ramgiri Shakti Peeth (Chitrakoot)

Ramgiri, Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh

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Ramgiri Shakti Peeth (Chitrakoot)
Photo: vaticanus, CC BY 2.0

Traditions differ: Sources do not agree on the shrine. Bharatkosh says some regard the Maa Sharda temple at Maihar (Madhya Pradesh) as this peeth and others a Sharda temple at Chitrakoot. Art of Living names the Janaki Sarovar on the Mandakini and also records a view that Ramgiri is Rajgir in Bihar. Bengali Wikipedia gives the left breast instead of the right.

About

Ramgiri, the 'hill of Shri Ram', is at Chitrakoot on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, where Shri Ram, Sita ji and Lakshman ji are believed to have spent much of their exile. The Tantra Chudamani names Ramgiri as the Shakti Peeth where the right breast of Devi Sati fell; the Devi here is Shivani and the Bhairav is Chand. The exact shrine is debated: some name a Sharda temple at Chitrakoot, Art of Living names the Janaki Sarovar on the Mandakini, and others the Maa Sharda temple at Maihar. Chitrakoot itself is one of the holiest places of Ram bhakti.

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. The right breast is believed to have fallen at Ramgiri. Chitrakoot's own stories come from the Ramayan. During the exile Shri Ram lived here in a hut of leaves, and here Bharat ji came to beg him to return to Ayodhya; their meeting is remembered at the Bharat Milap temple on Kamadgiri. Devotees walk the parikrama of about 5 km around Kamadgiri hill, worshipped as Kamtanath. On the Mandakini lie Janaki Kund, where Sita ji is believed to have bathed, and Sphatik Shila, a rock where Shri Ram and Sita ji are said to have sat and enjoyed the beauty of Chitrakoot. Up on the hill is Hanuman Dhara, a spring said to have been made by Shri Ram to cool Hanuman ji after his return from Lanka. The ashram of sage Atri and Sati Anasuya is also here.

Visiting

October to March is pleasant; Amavasya days and Deepavali bring very large crowds. The nearest railway station is Chitrakoot Dham (Karwi). Nearby are Ramghat, Kamadgiri, Janaki Kund, Sphatik Shila, the Gupt Godavari caves, Hanuman Dhara, Bharat Koop and the Sati Anasuya ashram.

Festivals

  • Chaitra and Ashwin Navratri
  • Kamadgiri parikrama on Amavasya days
  • Deepavali mela

51 Shakti Peeths

Sources