One of the 52 legendary Shakti Peethas is located at Chitrakoot , in Uttar Pradesh, India. The holy place is dedicated to divine power Goddess Durga? is worshipped by a large number of Hindu devotees as Shivani? . It is believed that Devi Satis Right Breast fell here.
Shrine’s History
Devi Sati is worshipped as Shivani or Sharada and Lord Shiva as Chand Bhairav or as Chand. Chitrakoot shakthi peeth is located in Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh. Chitrakoot town is home of several ancient temples mentioned in Hindu Scriptures. Chitrakoot area borders Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Chitrakoot temple is considered as a very sacred place. Lord Rama, Sita Devi and Lakshmana are said to have spent their eleven and a half years in these forests out of their fourteen years of exile. Several sages, seers such as Atri, Sati Anusuya, Dattatreya, Maharishi Markandeya, Sarbhanga, Sutikshna have meditated here. Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar also took their incarnations here. It is also said when Lord Rama performed the Shradda ceremony of his father, all the gods and goddesses came to Chitrakuta to partake of the Shuddhi .The first known mention of Chitrakoot is in Valmiki Ramayana.
.jpg "Chitrakoot Shakthi Peetha Uttar Pradesh 38")
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
Several deluxe bus services are available to Chitrakoot and they are worth trying.
By Rail
Direct trains are available to Chitrakoot Railway station and various trains ply directly from Delhi to here.
By Air
The nearest airport is in the Allahabad, and national flights are available till here. For international flights, Delhi is the nearest location. But it is advisable to have the taxi or your own mode of transportation when you are coming to Chitrakoot from an airport.
Shrine Timings
All Days of the Week: 7:30 am to 7:30 pm.
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
Durga Puja is quite famous and celebrated with great enthusiasm here. Makar Sankranti, Sharad Purnima, Deepavali, Somvati Amavasya, Ram Navami are some of the other important festivals being celebrated here. Navaratri that falls two times in a year- one in the month of March or April and other in the September or October month depending on the Hindu calendar, is the major festival here. Navratri is celebrated for over 9 days, with some people not eating any type of food that is derived from the soil for these nine days. Special ceremonies and rituals are carried during these days. People offer their offering to the god in form of fruit, milk, homemade sweets etc. Another festival that is celebrated with great enthusiasm is the Shivaratri and during this day, people keep fast, pour milk on the Shiv Lingam and offers Bail (A type of fruit) to the god idol.
Extra Information About this Shrine
Some people identify chitrakoot as Rajagiri (modern Rajgir), a famous Buddhist pilgrimage). The Vulture’s Peak (Gridhakuta/ Grdhrakuta) of Rajgir is believed as Shakti peeth. Rajgir has many hot water springs (Kunds), and devotees feel sacred to bath in those Kunds. They are present near Lakshmi Narayan Temple (Once, the site of Tapodarama Monastery).
