Shakta pithas

The Shakta pithas, also called Shakti pithas or Sati pithas, are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the mother goddess denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various forms of Adi Shakti. Various Puranas such as Srimad Devi Bhagavatam state the existence of a varying number of 51, 52, 64 and 108 Shakta pithas of which 18 are named as Astadasha Maha and 4 are named as Chatasrah Aadi in medieval Hindu texts.
Legends abound about how the Shakta pithas came into existence. The most popular is based on the story of the death of Sati, a deity according to Hinduism. Shiva carried Sati's body, reminiscing about their moments as a couple, and roamed around the universe with it. Vishnu cut her body into 51 body parts, using his Sudarshana Chakra, which fell on earth to become sacred sites where all the people can pay homage to the goddess. To complete this task, Shiva took the form of Bhairava.
Most of these historic places of goddess worship are in India, but there are some in Nepal, seven in Bangladesh, two in Pakistan, and one each in Tibet, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. There were many legends in ancient and modern sources that document this evidence. A consensus view on the number and location of the precise sites where goddess Sati's corpse fell is lacking, although certain sites are more well-regarded than others. The greatest number of Shakta pithas are present in the Bengal region. During partition the numbers were West Bengal and Bangladesh. After the secret transfer of Dhakeshwari Shakta pitha from Dhaka to Kolkata the numbers stand as West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Hinduism

Hindu literature

The Brahmanda Purana, one of the major eighteen Puranas mentions 64 Shakta pithas of the goddess Parvati in the Bharat or Greater India including present-day India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, some parts of Southern Tibet in China and parts of southern Pakistan. Another text which gives a listing of these shrines is the Shakta pitha stotram, written by Adi Shankara, the 9th-century Hindu philosopher.
According to the manuscript Mahapithapurana, there are 52 such places. Among them, 23 are located in the Bengal region, 14 of these are located in what is now West Bengal, India, 1 in Baster, while 7 are in what is now Bangladesh.

Daksha yajna

According to legend, lord Brahma once conducted a huge yajna, where all the prajapatis, deities, and kings of the world were invited. Shiva and Sati were also called on to participate in the yajna. All of them came for the yajna, and sat in the ceremonial place. Daksha came last. When he arrived, everyone in the yajna, with the exception of Brahma and Shiva, stood up, showing their reverence for him. Brahma, being Daksha's father, did not rise. Shiva, being Daksha's son-in-law, and also because he is superior in stature to Daksha, remained seated. Daksha misunderstood Shiva's gesture, and considered this act an insult. Daksha vowed to take revenge on the insult in the same manner.
Daksha performed a yajna with a desire to take revenge on Shiva. Daksha invited all the deities to the yajna, except Shiva and Sati. The fact that she was not invited did not deter Sati's desire to attend the yajna. She expressed her desire to Shiva, who tried his best to dissuade her from going. He relented at her continued insistence, Sati went to her father's yajna. However, Sati was not given her due respect at the yajna, and had to bear witness to Daksha's insults aimed at Shiva. Anguished, Sati cursed her father and self-immolated.
Enraged at the insult and death of his spouse, Shiva in his Virabhadra avatar destroyed Daksha's yajna and cut off his head. His anger not abated and immersed in grief, Shiva then picked up the remains of Sati's body and performed the Tandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creation. Frightened, the other deities requested Vishnu to intervene to stop this destruction. As a recourse, Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra on Sati's corpse. This caused various parts of Sati's body to fall at several spots across the world.
The history of Daksha yajna and Sati's self-immolation had immense significance in shaping the ancient Sanskrit literature and influenced the culture of India. Each of the places on Earth where Sati's body parts were known to have fallen were then considered as Shakta pithas and were deemed places of great spiritual importance. Several stories in the Puranas and other Hindu religious books refer to the Daksha yajna. It is an important incident in both Shaivism and Shaktism, and marks the replacement of Sati with Parvati, and of the beginning of Shiva's house-holder life from an ascetic. This event is ahead of the emergence of both of the couple's children, Kartikeya and Ganesha.

Shakta pithas

Each temple has shrines for Shakti and Kalabhairava, and most Shakti and Kalabhairava in different Shakta pithas have different names.

List of 4 Adi Shakta pithas

The scriptures, which include the Kalika Purana, recognize four Shakta pithas as sites where most of the energy is. The first pitha is Odra where the pair of feet fell along with pair of thighs, the second pitha is Jalasaila where the pair of breasts fell, the third pitha is Purnagiri where the arms along with the neck fell, and the fourth is Kamrupa where the yoni fell. These four places originated from the lifeless body of Devi Sati.
Apart from these 4 there are 48 other famous pithas recognized by religious texts. According to the Pithanirnaya Tantra the 51 pithas are in the present day countries of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Pakistan. The Shivacharita besides listing 51 maha-pithas, speaks about 26 more upa-pithas. The Bengali almanac, Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika too describes the 51 pithas including the present modified addresses. A few of the several accepted listings are given below. In South India, Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh became the site for a 2nd-century temple.

List of 18 Ashtadasha Maha Shakta pithas

There are believed to be 64 locations. Adi Shankara's Ashtadasha Shakta pitha stotram mentions 18 locations known as the Maha Shakta pithas. Among these, the Shakta pithas at Kamakhya, Gaya and Ujjain are regarded as the most sacred as they symbolize the three most important aspects of the Mother Goddess viz. Creation, Nourishment, and Annihilation.

Sr. No.	Temple	Place	State in India/Country	Appellation	Part of the body fallen	Shakti	Image
1	Historically unknown Recent claims : Koneswaram Temple	Lanka Historically undetermined Recent claims : Trincomalee	Sri Lanka	Shankari Pitham	Groin	Goddess Shankari
2	Kamakshi Amman Temple	Kanchipuram	Tamil Nadu	Kamakoti Pitham	Navel	Goddess Kamakshi
3	Shrinkala Temple	Pradmunyee	West Bengal	Bhavatārini Pitham	Part of stomach	Goddess Shrinkhala
4	Chamundeshwari Temple	Mysuru	Karnataka	Krouncha Pitham	Hair	Goddess Chamundeshwari
5	Jogulamba Temple\|Jogulamba Devi]	Alampuram	Telangana	Yogini Pitham	Teeth	Goddess Jogulamba
6	[Mallikarjuna Temple, Srisailam\|Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple]	Srisailam	Andhra Pradesh	Srisaila Pitham	Neck	Goddess Bhramarambika
7	Mahalakshmi Temple	Kolhapur	Maharashtra	Shri Pitham	eye	Goddess Mahalakshmi
8	Renuka	Mahur	Maharashtra	Moola Pitham	Left hand	Goddess Renuka
9	Mahakaleswar Temple	Ujjain	Madhya Pradesh	Ujjaini Pitham	Upper lip	Goddess Mahakali
10	Kukkuteswara Swamy Temple	Pithapuram	Andhra Pradesh	Pushkarini Pitham	Back	Goddess Puruhutika
11	Biraja Temple	Jajpur	Odisha	Oddyana Pitham	Part of abdomen	Goddess Biraja
12	Bhimeswara Temple	Draksharamam	Andhra Pradesh	Daksharama Pitham	Left cheek	Goddess Manikyamba
13	Kamakhya Temple	Guwahati	Assam	Kamarupa Pitham	Genitals	Goddess Kamakhya
14	Alopi Devi Mandir	Prayagraj	Uttar Pradesh	Prayaga Pitham	Fingers	Goddess Madhaveshwari
15	Jwalamukhi Temple	Jwalamukhi	Himachal Pradesh	Jwalamukhi Pitham	Tongue	Goddess Jwala
16	Mangla Gauri Temple	Gaya	Bihar	Gaya Pitham	Breast	Goddess Sarvamangala
17	Vishalakshi Temple	Varanasi	Uttar Pradesh	Varanasi Pitham	Earrings	Goddess Vishalakshi
18	Sharada Peeth	Sharda	Pakistan	Sharada Pitham	Right hand	Goddess Sharada

Sharadha pitha is currently in a ruined state. Only ruins are found in these places. Its ruins are near the Line of Control between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled portions of the former princely state of Kashmir and Jammu. Instead, Sringeri Sharada pitham, Sringeri in Karnataka even though not a Shakta pithas, is this aspect of the goddess. It is believed that Goddess Sharada moved from her ruined temple in Kashmir to live in the new temple in Sringeri. Requests have been made by the Hindu community in Pakistan to the Pakistani government to renovate the temple, the issue being raised by former Indian Home minister L. K. Advani to the Pakistan authorities as a confidence-building measure, by increasing the people-to-people cross-border interaction.
Currently, a new Sharada pitha temple has been inaugurated and consecrated by the Indian Government and the Sringeri Sharada Peetham in 2023, in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir, on the other side of the LOC and much farther from the original temple. The Indian Government is planning an international corridor between the old Sharada pitha and India.

In Skanda Purana

As per Sankara Samhita of Skanda Purana,

Sri Sankari Pitham
Sri Simhika Pitham
Sri Manika Pitham
Sri Shadkala Pitham
Sri Bhramaramba Pitham
Sri Vijaya Pitham
Sri Mahalakshmi Pitham
Sri padmakshi renuka Pitham
Sri Kamakoti Pitham
Sri Kuchananda Pitham
[Biraja Temple|Sri Biraja Pitham]
Sri Bhadreshwari Pitham
Sri Mahakali Pitham
Sri Vindhyavasini Pitham
Sri Mahayogi Pitham
Sri Kanyaka Pitham
Sri Vishalakshi Pitham
Sri Saraswati Pitham
Sri Ugratara Shakta pitha
Sri Abhirami Pitham

List of all Shakta pithas

In the listings below:

"Shakti" refers to the Goddess worshipped at each location, all being manifestations of Goddess Sati; later known as Parvati or Durga;
"Bhairava" refers to the corresponding consort, each a manifestation of Shiva;
"Body Part or Ornament" refers to the body part or piece of jewellery that fell to earth, at the location on which the respective temple is built.

More details on this are available in the text 'Tantrachūḍamanī' where Parvati tells these details to her son Skanda.
Important notes:

The Guhyeshwari temple should not be confused with the Shakta pitha mentioned in the Peethanirnaya from Tantra Chudamani, where Sati's both knees are said to have fallen in Nepal and the presiding deity is Mahamaya. According to the Nepal Mahatmya 11.107 and 1.38, Sati's both knees fell near the confluence of the Vishnumati and Bagmati rivers, where the presiding deity is Mahamaya, while the Anus fell near the Bagmati river close to the Mrigasthali of the Pashupati temple, and the deity is Guhyeshwari or Guhyakali.
The main idol of the Dhakeshwari Shakta pitha in Bangladesh is currently relocated to the Kumartuli Dhakeshwari Temple in Kolkata, West Bengal. The temple priest fled to India with the main idol during the partition via a specially chartered train. While in the original shrine, a replica is placed. The original holy gem of Goddess Sati was lost long before. So for the actual idol, visit the Kumartoli shrine.
The Shrinkhala Shakta pitha in Hooghly, West Bengal, is a disputed site. The original shrine was destroyed during the Bengal Sultanate and an Islamic Minar was built there by the Muslims. Years later, a door claimed by the locals as the door to the sanctum of the temple is closed by the ASI. The Hindus claim that the temple was destroyed and the minar was built there. It is claimed that the idol of Goddess Shrinkhala was taken to Sringeri in Karnataka but no such evidence exists there to date because a different Sharada Devi Temple was built there by Adi Shankaracharya. At present in the Hooghly district, only the Ratnabali Shakta pith is present.
Confusion about Hingalaj Bhawani Temple: it is said the main deity was secretly shifted to Talcher, Odisha in the medieval era by the then Maharajah of Talcher Princely State, where she is in the form of Hingula Debi.

Sr. No.	Place	State in India/Country	Body part or ornament	Shakti	Bhairava	Image
1	A. Amarnath Temple, from Srinagar through Pahalgam B. Shri Parvat in Ladakh	Jammu and Kashmir	A. Throat B. Anklet	Mahamaya Devi	Trisandhyeshwar
2	Attahas Temple – At a village also named as Attahas or Ashtahas around 2 km east of Labhpur village road in the district of Birbhum	West Bengal	Lips	Phullara Devi	Vishweshwar
3	Bahula Temple at Ketugram, 8 km from Katwa, Purba Bardhaman	West Bengal	Left arm	Goddess Bahuladevi	Bhirukeshwar
4	Bakreshwar, on the banks of Paaphara river, 24 km distance from Siuri Town , district Birbhum, 7 km from Dubrajpur Rly. Station	West Bengal	Portion between the eyebrows	Mahishamardini devi	Vakranatheshwar
5	Avanti, also known as Harsiddhi, at Bhairav hills on the banks of Shipra river in the city of Ujjaini.	Madhya Pradesh	Elbow	Avanti Devi	Lambkarneshwar
6	Bhabanipur, located in the Upazila of Sherpur, Bogra, Rajshahi Division. Also located at Karatoyatat, it is about 28 km distance from the town of Sherpur.	Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh	Left anklet	Aparna Devi	Vamaneshwar
7	Biraja Temple at Jajpur, in Jajpur District	Odisha	Navel	Biraja Devi	Varaheshwar
8	Mithila, near Janakpur	Nepal	Left shoulder	Uma Devi	Mahodareshwar
9	Mahamaya Shakta pitha, at the confluence of the Vishnumati and Bagmati rivers in Kathmandu.	Nepal	Both knees	Mahamaya Devi	Kapali
10	Guhyeshwari Temple, near the bank of the Bagmati river, east of thePashupatinath temple.	Nepal	Anus	Guhyakali Devi	Pashupati
11	Muktinath Temple..	Nepal	Head	Gandaki Chandi Devi	Chakrapani
12	Saptashrungi Temple, Nashik	Maharashtra	Chin	Bhadrakali Saptashrungi Devi	Vikritaksheshwar
13	Hinglaj Mata Temple	Pakistan	Brahmarandhra	Kottari Devi	Bhimalochaneshwar
14	Kalipeeth Temple, Kalighat, Kolkata	West Bengal	Right toes	Kali Devi	Nakuleshwar
15	Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati	Assam	Yoni	Kamakhya Devi	Umanandeshwar or Bhayanandeshwar
16	Kankalitala, on the banks of Kopai River 10 km north-east of Bolpur station in Birbhum district, Devi locally known as Kankaleshwari	West Bengal	Waist	Devgarbha Devi	Rurunatheshwar
17	Kumari Temple">Devi Kanya Kumari">Kumari Temple, Kanyakumari	Tamil Nadu	Back	Kanyakumari Devi	Nimisheshwar
18	Bajreshwari Mata Temple, Kangra	Himachal Pradesh	Left Breast	Jayadurga Devi	Abhirunatheshwar
19	Kiriteswari Temple at Kiritkona village, 3 km from Lalbag Court Road railway station in Murshidabad district	West Bengal	Crown	Vimala Devi	Sanvarteshwar
20	Ratnavali, on the banks of Ratnakar river at Khanakul I Krishnanagar, district Hooghly	West Bengal	Right Shoulder	Kumari Devi	Ghanteshwar
21	Locally known as Trishrota/Bhramari Devi in Jalpaiguri near a small village Boda on the bank of river Teesta or Tri-shrota mentioned in Puranas	West Bengal	Left leg	Bhramari Devi	Ambareshwar
22	Manas, under Tibet at the foot of Mount Kailash in Lake Manasarovar, a piece of Stone	China	Right hand	Dakshayani Devi	Amareshwar
23	Ugratara Asthan	Bihar	Left Eye	Goddess Tara	Saharsa
24	Manibandh, at Gayatri hills near Pushkar 11 km north-west of Ajmer. People know this temple as Chamunda Mata Temple or Shri Raj Rajeshwari Puruhuta Manivedic Shakta pitha.	Rajasthan	Wrists	Gayatri Devi	Sarvanandeshwar
25	Indrakshi Temple, Nainativu	Sri Lanka	Silambu	Indrakshi Devi	Rakshaseshwar
26	Nartiang [Durga Temple\|Jayanti Durga Temple], Nartiang Jaintia Hills district.	Meghalaya	Left thigh	Jayanti Devi	Kramadishwar
27	Jeshoreshwari [Kali Temple]	Bangladesh	Palms of hands and soles of the feet	Jashoreshwari	Chandeshwar
28	Jwalamukhi Temple, Kangra from Pathankot alight at Jwalamukhi Road Station from there 20 km	Himachal Pradesh	Tongue	Jwalamukhi	Unmatta Bhairaveshwar
29	Panchsagar Near Lohaghat just 12 km from nearest railway station Tanakpur. पूर्णागिरी Champawat Varahi Devi	Uttarakhand	Lower teeth/ Navel	Varahi Devi	Maharudra
30	Near Somnath temple, Veraval, Gir Somnath district. Local People call this temple as Kali Mandir, It is nearby Triveni Sangam.	Gujarat	Stomach	Chandrabhaga Devi	Vakratundeshwar
31	Alopi Devi Mandir near Sangam at Prayagraj	Uttar Pradesh	Finger	Lalita Devi	Bhaveshwar
32	Bhadrakali Temple, either in Kurukshetra or Thanesar	Haryana	Ankle bone	Bhadrakali Devi	Sthanu
33	Sharda Mandir, Maihar\|Maa Sharda Mandir] on top Trikoot Hill, at Maihar	Madhya Pradesh	necklace	Shivani Devi	Chandeshwar
34	Nandikeshwari Temple is located in Sainthia city	West Bengal	Necklace	Nandini Devi	Nandikeshwar
35	Manikyamba Temple, Draksharamam, Kakinada	Andhra Pradesh	Navel	Manikyamba	Bheemeshwar
36	Naina Devi Temple	Himachal Pradesh	Right eye	Mahishamardini Devi	Krodhishwar
37	Narmada temple, at the source point of Narmada River in Amarkantak	Madhya Pradesh	Right buttock	Narmada Devi	Bhadraseneshwar
38	Bhramaramba Temple, Srisailam	Andhra Pradesh, India	Neck	Bhramarambika Devi	Mallikarjuna
39	Narayani Temple, Suchindram	Tamil Nadu	Upper teeth	Narayani Devi	Sihareshwar
40	Sugandha, situated in Shikarpur, Gournadi, about 20 km from Barisal town, on the banks of Sonda river.8	Bangladesh	Nose	Sugandha Devi	Trayambakeshwar
41	Udaipur, Tripura, at the top of the hills known as Tripura Sundari temple near Radhakishorepur village, a little distance away from Udaipur town	Tripura	Right leg	[Tripura Sundari\|Raja Rajeshwari Lalita Tripura Sundari]	Tripureshwar
42	Ujaani, at Mangalkot 16 km from Guskara station in Purba Bardhaman district	West Bengal	Right wrist	Mangal Chandika	Kapilambareshwar
43	Vishalakshi Temple, Varanasi	Uttar Pradesh	Earring	Vishalakshi Devi	Kala Bhairaveshwar
44	Vibhash Shakta pitha, at Tamluk under district Purba Medinipur near river Rupnarayan	West Bengal	Left ankle	Kapalini Devi also known as Bargabhima Devi	Sarvanandeshwar
45	Ambika Shakta pitha, Virat Nagar district, Alwar, near Bharatpur, India	Rajasthan	Fingers of Left Leg	Ambika Devi	Amritaksheshwar
46	Katyayani Shakta pitha, Vrindavan, district Mathura	Uttar Pradesh	Ringlets of hair	Uma Devi	Bhuteshwar
47	Devi Talab Mandir, District Jalandhar	Punjab	Left Breast	Tripuramalini Devi	Bhishaneshwar
48	Baidyanath Dham, Deoghar	Jharkhand	Heart	Jayadurga Devi	Vaidyanath
49	Kamakshi Amman Temple">Tripura Sundari">Kamakshi Amman Temple, Kanchipuram	Tamil Nadu	Odyanam	Kamakshi Devi	Ekambareshwar
50	Jogadya, at Kshirgram near Kaichar under Burdwan district	West Bengal	Great toe	Jogadya Devi	Ksheerkantakeshwar
51	Puruhutika Temple, Kakinada	Pithapuram, Andhra Pradesh	Hip part	Puruhutika	Durvaseshwar
52	Arasuri Ambaji Shakta pitha at Gabbar Hill	Gujarat	Heart	Amba	Batuka Bhairava
53	Danteshwari Temple, Dantewada	Chhattisgarh	Tooth	Danteshwari Devi	Kapala Bhairava
54	Tara Tarini, Purushottampur, Ganjam	Odisha	Breast	Tara Tarini Devi	Tumbeshwar
55	Nalhateswari, Nalhati	West Bengal	Stomach/Nauli	Kalika Devi	Jogeshwar
56	Vimala Temple,, Puri	Odisha	Foot	Vimala Devi	Jagannatheshwar
57	Shankari Temple, originally located in an unknown place. This shrine is now identified with Koneswaram Temple in Trincomalee.	Sri Lanka	Groin	Shankari Devi	Trikoneshwar
58	Mahalakshmi Temple, Shri Shail, Sylhet	Bangladesh	Neck	Mahalakshmi	Sambaranandeshwar
59	Dhakeshwari Temple, Kumartoli	Dhaka, Bangladesh Currently in West Bengal, India	Gem of Sati's Crown	Dhakeshwari Devi	Shiva
60	Tarapith Rampurhat	West Bengal	Third eye	Tara Devi	Chandrachuda Bhairava
61	Chinnamastika Temple, Chintpurni	Himachal Pradesh	Foot	Chhinnamastika Devi	Rudra Mahadeva
62	Kaali Mandir at Pavagarh hill in Panchmahal district with in Champaner Pavagadh Archaeological Park.	Gujarat	Right leg toe	Mahakali Devi	Batuka Bhairava	-
63	Aranya Devi Temple, Arrah	Bihar	Right thigh	Aranyani	Bhuma Bhairava
64	Tuljabhavani Temple, Tuljapur	Maharashtra		Tuljabhavani Devi	Bhairava
65	Vaishno Devi Temple, Katra	Jammu and Kashmir	Skull/Right arm	Vaishno Devi	Bhairava
66	Tripura Sundari Temple, Banswara	Rajasthan	Unknown	Goddess Tripura Sundari as Rajarajeshwari	Aanand Bhairava
67	Chattal Bhavani Temple, Chittagong	Bangladesh	Upper teeth	Chattal Bhawani Devi	Chandrashekhar
68	Jnanakshi Rajarajeshwari Temple, Bengaluru	Karnataka	Ear	Goddess Tripura Sundari as Rajarajeshwari	Abiru Bhairava

Other Shakipeeths:-
The following shrines are not recognised as the Shakta pithas, but are still claimed by the devotees and priests, for various reasons.
1. Jwala Devi Temple in Jobner, Rajasthan, India
2. Jayanti Kali Temple
3. Asamai Devi Temple in Kabul, Afghanistan
4. Juranpur Kali Temple in West Bengal, India
5. Ambika Bhawani, Saran, Bihar
5. Sarbamangala Temple in Burdwan, West Bengal
6. Jogamaya Shakta pitha in Kalahandi, Odisha, India
There are disputes about the location of the Jayanti Shakta pitha. Based on most presented manuscripts and facts it is situated in the namesake Jaintiapur Upazila town, Bangladesh, which was previously the capital of the Jaintia Hills tribe kingdom, in the Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, India, excluding Jaintiapur. However, some believe that the Nartiang Durga Temple is the true Jayanti Shakta pitha, although historical evidence supporting this claim is limited. Some other people argue the actual shrine is at Amta in West Bengal, where the goddess is worshiped as Maa Melai Chandi in Melai Chandi Mandir. But this fact can not be corroborated with any evidence. Moreover, refuting most texts, in Melai Chandi Mandir, the Bhairava is Durgeshwar rather than Kramadishwar. Some also identify the Jayanti shrine with the Mahakal cave temple situated in the village Jayanti of Alipurduar in India, where many statues were created by Stalagmites and Stalactites, but there is no evidence.

Vindhyavasini">Yogamaya">Vindhyavasini Shakta pitha

The Vindhyavasini Shakta pitha is considered a Shakta pitha even though any body parts of Sati did not fall there. Vindhyavasini is the ultimate and the highest form of the goddess, she is called Adi Parashakti. Goddess Vindhyavasini is considered the embodiment of all of the Mahavidyas, Navadurgas, Matrikas, Yoginis and all the other goddesses present in this universe, she is Tripura Sundari herself. Many legends are associated with Vindhyavasini, she is also called Mahadurga. She is the combined form of all 108 Shakta pithas as mentioned in the Devi Bhagavata Purana text. This is because it is the place where the goddess chose to reside after her birth in Dvapara Yuga.
At the time of the birth of Krishna to Devaki and Vasudeva, Vindhyavasini took birth in Gokula to Nanda and Yashoda as per the instruction of Lord Vishnu. Vasudeva replaced his son Krishna with this girl child of Yashoda so that Krishna could escape his demon uncle Kamsa, whom he would kill later according to a prophecy. When Kamsa tried to kill the girl, she slipped from his hands, assumed her true form and warned Kamsa that his killer still lived on. She left Mathura and the goddess chose the Vindhya Mountains as her abode to live on the earth. It is also believed that Vindhyavasini is the sister of Krishna.