Description:
According to Hindu Mythology, wife of Lord Shiva Sati went uninvited to her father. She was immensely insulted and in rage she burnt herself alive. When Lord Shiva learnt of his wife's death he started performing the Tandava Nritya, the devastating dance holding Sati's corpse on his shoulders. As the dance progressed all the three worlds began shaking towards destruction. To save the cosmos of annihilation, Lord Vishnu hurled his disc towards the corpse. The disc cut the corpse into 51 pieces which fell on the earth. Shaktipiths were formed wherever the pieces fell and five of them fell in Birbhum. The most famous of them, however, is the Kalighat in Kolkata. The Shaktipiths of Birbhum are:
Bakreshwar: Around 60 km from Shantiniketan and just 19 km from Siuri, this is considered to be the most sacred Shaktipiths. The idol of Goddess Mahishasurmardini marks the spot where Sati's forehead and eyebrows fell. Bakreshwar has nine natural hot springs with rich therapeutic minerals. A huge thermal project 13 km from Bakreshwar is also coming up.
Tarapith: It is around 70 km from Shantiniketan and is the place where Sati's eyes fell.
Kankalitala: Just nine km away from Shantiniketan, this place has a small temple of kali where the Goddess's pelvis fell.
Nalhati: Nalhati claims to be the place where Sati's wind pipe fell.
Fullora: A small temple marks the place where Sati's lips fell in Fullora.
