Abodes of Devi (Introduction)

 

When the vibrations of the frenzied "Rudhra-thandav" of Mahadeva with the body of Dakshayani in 'yoga-agni' on his shoulders, threatened to destroy the universe Sri Narayana dismembered the devi's body into pieces with his 'sudharsanam' to seperate 'Sakthi' from 'Sivam'. The force of this widely scattered the parts of her body in 108 different places. Each one of these became a holy 'Devi-sthal'. Only 51 are known now.

 

Devi's abodes are countless. 'Devi Baghavatham' written by Vyasa maha muni and read widely at present mentions 108 of them. Of these 51 are considered important.

The list of the 'sthals' varies from author to author depending on the source relied upon. It is difficult to compile the list as the puranas mention the classical names of the dieties and the places which is different from the modern nomenclature and thus difficult to identify. The abodes mentioned here are taken from various sources and verified with 'Devi baghavatham' for authenticity.

Even though many of the devi idols are 'swambu' (self-incarnated) the temples for these deities have been built and consecrated by the kings or the aristocracy of that period. It has happened in history that with the decline of the dynasty of the 'patrons' the temple itself has lost its importance. Where the building was not constructed with durable construction material like granite the temples have not survived the ravages of time. Many of the 'Devi sthalas' have met with this fate and have gone into oblivion.

The origin of 'Sakthi sthals':
According to the legends in ' Devi Baghavatham,' Sakthi Parvathi devi was born as a daughter to King Daksha and was named Dakshayani. She grew up to be an young maiden and was an ardent devotee of Lord Siva.
Sage Dhurvasa gave Dhaksha a gift of a priceless garland obtained from Devi Parvathi. Dhaksha took it reverentially and hung it in his bed-room. The fine smell from the garland made Dhaksha loose his senses and he over-indulged himself. Being an ascetic person he felt he had committed a sin and he blamed it on the garland from Devi. He began to hate Devi and her consort 'Rudhra' and ordered all icons of Siva to be removed.
Dakshayani his daughter became enraged with her father for his hatred of Rudhra to whom she was highly devoted. Not wishing to keep the body begotten by the Siva-Sakthi hatters Daksha and his consort, Dakshayani went into 'yoga-agni' Her body became fire by 'yoga'. The flame and the heat-wave went up to kailash - the abode of Rudhra. He got very angry with Daksha and killed him. With his anger the whole universe began to crumble.
Brahma and other Gods implored Siva to calm down and pardon Daksha. Accordingly Lord Siva became 'santha-swaroopi' (benigne) and made Daksha arise from death but with the head of a goat.Having the goat's head he did ask for the Lords parden and Siva said 'you could continued be my devotee'. Dhaksha with the goat's head composed ' CHAMAGAM' the veda mantra on the lord which starts with 'sanchame',prayachame meh,meh,meh.....'. This is in compliment of the Lord. siva blessed him and said without his 'Chamagam' no prayer will be complete and it must be recited along with 'Rudram'.
However Siva was distraught at the state of Dakshayani. He collected her body on his shoulders and went around the world aimlessly. At that time Maha-Vishnu and other devas prayed to Siva to scatter the parts of Gathyayani's body all over and to establish "abodes of Devi" in those places where the devi's bodily parts fell. They further urged that in those places Siva also should incarnate as the consort of the Devi.
Siva asks Sri Narayana to undertake this task. Accordingly Narayana dismembered the body of Gathyayani with his 'Sudharsan-Chakra' and in the force the parts of her the body got scattered widely. Each one of these places became a 'Holy devi-sthalam'.

e holy abodes of Devi, Rudhra said "Who ever worships the vi consecrated in those places in the likeness of me will attain all the bliss in this world and the next. One who recites the 'maya-beeja manthra' of Devi in those 'sthals' will get all the fruits of the 'Beeja-manthra'".
To show by example Siva himself sits before his Sakthi in 'dhyan' (prayers).
Another and more popular legend says:
Once the Sage

Naradha visited King Daksha and told him that Dakshayani his daughter was the incarnation of Goddess Parvathy -the Sakthi devi. He said Sakthi and Sivam ( matter and energy) were both essential for the existence of the world. Without Sakthi, Siva was powerless. On hearing this Daksha became very proud and ordered all 'Siva-lingas' to be removed and cast away.
He organized the performance of 'Brahma-yagna' in a grand scale. He invited all the devas, gods and goddesses but in slight did not invite Lord Shiva - who according to Vedic rites should be given the first offering made into the sacrificial fire.
However Dakshayani his daughter, though uninvited and defying her consort's advise goes to attend the 'yagna' of his father. When she saw that the first offering in the fire was not given to Siva, her consort she immolates herself in the same fire in protest.
When Siva came to know about this he was highly enraged and sent Veerabadra who emerged from Siva's body, to kill Daksha. Siva collected the burnt body of Dhakshayini on his shoulders and went into "Rudhra Thandavam". So fierce were the movements that the whole universe trembled.
Sensing disaster Vishnu to seperate Sakthi from Siva dismembers Dhakshayini's burnt body into pieces with his 'Sudarsan-chakra'. The force of this widely scattered the parts of the devi's body in different places and each one of these sites became a 'Devi sthal'.
Accounts about each of these 'sthals' is given in the following  pages.

Om Shakthi Buvaneswarye, vedantha roopinye sarvatma swaroopinye

Srimat Dhakshayinye Namo Namaha ||

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