Tirth Yatra GuideThe Shakti Peeths
Shrines of the goddess, and the story of how they came to be.
The Puranas tell how Sati, the wife of Shiva, gave up her life when her father Daksha insulted her husband. In his grief Shiva carried her body across the world, and to end this, Vishnu cut it with his discus; the places where the parts fell are the Shakti Peeths, the seats of the goddess. Popular lists name 51 of them, some name 52 or 108, and the Puranas do not agree on the list. They stretch from Hinglaj in Balochistan (Pakistan) to Kamakhya in Assam.
| Shrine | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Kamakhya | Guwahati, Assam | On the Nilachal hill; the temple is the centre of Shakta worship in the east and is known for the Ambubachi Mela in June. |
| Kalighat | Kolkata, West Bengal | The temple of Kali from which the city, in the traditional account, takes its name. |
| Jwalamukhi | Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh | The goddess is worshipped in the form of natural flames burning in the rock, and there is no image. |
| Ambaji | Banaskantha district, Gujarat | The temple on the Arasur hill, a great place of pilgrimage for Gujarat and Rajasthan, which has a sacred yantra and no image. |
| Hinglaj | Balochistan, Pakistan | A cave shrine of the goddess in the Hingol valley, visited every year by Hindu pilgrims from Pakistan and India. |
See also the pages on Parvati and Durga.
Temple rules, opening seasons, booking arrangements and routes change. Before you travel, check the official website of the temple or the state tourism board, and be careful of anyone who asks for money to book darshan or a stay by phone or message. We do not sell tours or packages. Information on this page was last checked in November 2026.