Bhadrakali Temple at Hanamkonda

This story is taken from here 

Bhadrakali Temple at Hanamkonda is significant Devi temple located on the hilltop between the twin cities of Hanamkonda and Warangal in Andhra Pradesh. The temple is held in high esteem by devotees of the of Goddess Bhadrakali popularly called the ‘Grant Mother Goddess’. Remarkable feature of the temple is the square shaped stone image of the Goddess (2.7 X 2.7 meters). In the image goddess is seen in a sitting posture with fierce looking eyes and face. The Goddess can also be seen wearing a crown and having eight hands holding various weapons.

Major Attractions of Bhadrakali Temple:
High point of Bhadrakali Temple is an artificial lake of 2 ½ kms radius in the vicinity of the temple. Number of natural rock formations in the surroundings add to the spiritual charm of the temple and are the most dominant feature of the temple. Some of the unique shaped rocks are said to carry immense spiritual powers. The structure of the temple is said to be 250 years old. Though the image of the deity is called the Bhadrakali, the goddess is said to have been transformed by the mantras into a very rare form called the Tripura Sundari, which includes the Kali form. Tripura Sundari is regarded as the supreme manifestation of Prakriti - the feminine power which is the vital energy of the universe. Literal meaning of Tripura Sundari is 'The Beauty of the Three Worlds' or more precisely the three Cites or 'Pura'. 

Best Time to Visit Bhadrakali Temple:
The best time to visit the famous Bhadrakali Temple in Warangal is the Telegu month of ‘Sravana’ which corresponds to the month of August - September according to Gregorian Calendar. At this time a festival is organised and the deity is aesthetically decorated in various forms. Housing about 8 major and 12 minor temples surrounding mountains of Bhadrakali Temple exude a sacred aura when a large number of devotees gather to offer prayers.

People who visit Bhadrakali Temple also visit Hanamkonda Fort which is just a kilometer away from the another well known thousand pillared Hanamkonda Temple. Inside the fort is the Siddeshwara Temple housing a small Linga shrine.

Vaishno Devi Temple

This story is taken from here

Vaishnavi’ means the one who is related to lord "Vishnu’’. Goddess Vaishnavi is the manifestation of the collective spiritual strengths of Mata Maha Kali, Mata Maha Lakshmi and Mata Maha Saraswati. It is described in Durga sapatshati that the goddess was born as a young girl of extraordinary beauty and strength, out of the collectively pooled 'Tejas' of various 'Devtas' and three lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shankar. The immediate purpose of the creation of the goddess was the annihilation of Asura (devil) Mahishasura. However another purpose of her creation was that she might usher on earth an era of pious and ascetic life so that the peace could prevail upon the world and she through her penance could rise to higher levels of spirituality and ultimately merge with Vishnu.

The ‘Goddess having been created by the Devtas and the three lords ordained the human form in the house of one Ratnakar as his daughter whom the family named as Vaishnavi. The girl right from her childhood displayed a hunger for knowledge which was like a vortex and which no amount of teaching and learning could sufficiently satiate. Subsequently, Vaishnavi started looking into her inner self for knowledge and soon learned the art of meditation and realized that meditation and penance only could bring her close to her greater objective. Vaishnavi thus relinquished all household comforts and went deep into the forest for Tapasaya (meditation). Meanwhile, Lord Rama, during his fourteen years of exile happened to visit Vaishnavi who recognized him immediately as no ordinary being but the incarnation of Lord Vishnu and immediately asked him to merge her into himself so that she could become one with the supreme creator.
                                                       

However Lord Rama, knowing that it was not the appropriate time, dissuaded her by saying that he will visit her again after the end of his exile and at that time if she succeeded in recognizing him, he will fulfill her wish. True to his words, Rama visited her again after being victorious in the battle, but this time he did so in the guise of an old man. Unfortunately, Vaishnavi was unable to recognize him this time and was distraught. Upon this, Lord Rama consoled her that the appropriate time for her being one with the creator had not come and he will eventually do so in ‘Kaliyug’ in his incarnation of ‘Kalki’. Rama also directed her to meditate and set up an Ashram at the base of Trikuta hills to elevate her level of spirituality so as to bless the mankind and rid the poor and destitute of their sufferings and only then will ‘Vishnu’ merge her into himself.

Vaishnavi, after immense hardships reached the foot of the Trikuta Hills and after setting up her ashram there she began to meditate. As predicted by Lord Rama, her glory spread far and wide and people began to flock to her Ashram to seek her blessings. As the time passed, a Tantrik named Gorakh Nath who had a vision of the episode between Lord Rama and Vaishnavi in the retrospective time frame, became curious to find out whether Vaishnavi has been able to attain a high level of spirituality or not. He, therefore, sent his most able disciple ‘Bhairon Nath’ to find out the truth. Bhairon Nath on locating the ashram started observing Vaishnavi secretly and realised that though a ‘Sadhvi’ she always carried bow and arrows with her and was always surrounded by langoors (apes) and a ferocious looking lion. Bhairon Nath was enamored by Vaishnavi’s extraordinary beauty and losing all good sense he began to pester Vaishnavi to marry him. Meanwhile a staunch devotee of Mata Sridhar organised a Bhandara (Community meal) in which the whole village and Guru Gorakh Nath along with all his followers including Bhairon were invited. During the course of Bhandara Bhairon Nath attempted to grab Vaishnavi but she tried her best to daunt him.

On failing to do so, Vaishnavi decided to flee away into the mountains to continue her ‘Tapasaya’ undisturbed. Bhairon Nath however chased her to her destination. The goddess after halting at Banganga, Charan Paduka, and Adhkwari, finally reached the holy cave Shrine. When Bhairon Nath continued to follow her despite the goddess trying to avoid a confrontation, the goddess was compelled to kill him. Bhairon Nath met his ultimate fate when the goddess, just outside the mouth of the cave, beheaded him. The severed head of Bhairon fell with a force at a distant hilltop. Bhairon Nath upon death realised the futility of his mission and prayed to the deity to forgive him. The almighty 'Mata' had mercy on Bhairon and gave him a boon that every devotee of the goddess shall have to have the Darshans of Bhairon after having the Darshans of the goddess and only then shall the yatra of a devotee be complete. Meanwhile, Vaishnavi decided to shed off her human form and assuming the face of a rock she immersed her self into meditation forever.

Thus Vaishnavi, in the form of a five and a half feet tall rock with three heads or the ‘Pindies’ on the top is the ultimate destination of a devotee. These Pindies constitute the Sanctum Sanctorum of the holy cave known as the shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji, which is revered by one and all.

Sri Jagadguru Ajaatha Nagalinga Swamy Mutta-Navalagunda

Ajaatha Nagalingaswamy

The following temple is a testimony that the "Hinduism" is not a religion, but a way of life. This temple is UNIQUE and one of its kinds. The temple that I’m referring to is Sri Ajaatha Nagalinga Swamy Mata  in Navalagunda town in Darward Dist., Karnataka, India. Sri Ajaatha Nagalinga Swamy is a 19^th century Yogi. He was born in Javalagi Village in Sindhanur town of Raichur Dist., Karnataka. He became a yogi at a very young age. He spent his initial life in wondering around, doing miracles, and helping people in distress.  He finally settled down at the Mouneshwara cave temple in Dharwad.  His teachings were very simple and anyone could easily understand and put it in to practice.  He preached; ''Ones heart is the temple while ones soul is the god''. So, one has to have a clean and pure heart. He believed in Advaitha philosophy. In his times he was very popular among villagers, still he is. He has many devotees and many followers.         

Ajaatha Nagalinga Swamy

He is a yogi who has uncanny resemblance to Jesus Christ. The Picture of Sri Ajaatha Nagalinga Swamy’s hung on the temple walls will concur with my comparison. When there is a mention of Jesus Christ then there should some reference to Bible. Yes, you read me right. There is indeed a very sacred book here and that is the BIBLE. Bible is the sacred book in this Hindu temple. Everyday, the temple priest offers prayers as per Hindu tradition and is kept for display. Every devotee who comes to this temple pays his/her prayers to the bible aswell. Bible written in Kannada-the official language of Karnataka state is not read in this temple. Although, bible is very sacred here it is not a ‘CHURCH’ but a ‘HINDU’ Temple.

Bible @ the sacred sanctum

The miracle of this temple is the bible, which is 

growing on its own. There is a very interesting story as how this Bible reached this temple. This Bible is one book and has both Old and New Testaments. Once lived a great Devi devotee by the name Kalappa in Mushteegeri village of Badami town in Bagalkote dist, Karnataka. Kalappa also showed interest in Bible reading; he had a first edition of bible (published in 1865 by Watson machine prints). Sri Ajaatha Nagalinga Swamy met Kalappa and prophesied his next birth. He took the bible from Kalappa, drilled a hole on it with the help of a hook (used to peel coconut from its shell).  The yogi then dropped a 1 Re Victorian silver coin in to the perforation. It came out from the other end smoothly. He informed Kalappa that the hole will completely close on its own and when it does, he will be born again in a different avatar.  From that day on, the hole started closing.. subsequently the missing words on the bible reappeared magically. As of today, the hole is a size of a needle. Yogi passed away in 1881. The yogi’s followers have erected the place where he is buried, a Shiva lingam. Late Kalappa gave away the Bible to the temple. To this date, the Bible and the Silver coin are preserved in this temple with great care and devotion.  And Temple officials have recorded the radius of this hole regularly. Anyone can access it, ofcourse with temple authorities permission. 

Bible and the coin

Thole that is closing on its own

The coin that was dropped inside the hole

initial measurement were recorded on the bible itself

Official records of the measurement

Besides bible, there are also some interesting items in this temple like the ‘Panja’ (The sword used during Muslim festival ‘Moharam’) and a “Cart” (sidagi in Kannada) used to carry the dead to the burial ground in this very same temple. No where else you will see bible, panja or the cart together in a hindu temple. This Sidagi was used as yogi’s chariot. Yogi used to sit on it and his followers carried him around. Yogi first found this abandoned cart at a graveyard, and requested his students to carry it while he sat on it. He requested to go around the village. Many villagers objected to this procession, as it is very uncommon for a living person to use a sidagi. Those who objected were mysteriously died, and  some  faced weird difficulties. They understood that yogi was not an ordinary person and then on they too became a staunch follower of the yogi. Thereby, yogi attracted many devotees from all walks of life. Today, female devotees tie green bangles in memory of yogi’s greatest devotee Beemavva to this cart for either for a prosperous marriage or for children. All their wishes have come true. Sometimes bangles are tied for various reasons too. Moharam too is celebrated in this Hindu temple. This temple resonates communal harmony from every nook and corner.

Panja

Sidagi

Although, yogi is not physically present, some devotees claim they have seen the yogi, while some others say they have heard the yogi speaking, either ways people in this region have great respect for the yogi, who has taught that making peace is more important than making war. This indeed will be one of my favorite Temple stories to this date. 

The arier view of the temple/mutt

The Entrence

The cave temple

The cave temple 1

                   

Tirupparankundram- mudal padai veedu

Tirupparankundram Murugan Kovil is one of my favorite temples. I got married in this temple, I did not have a traditional south indian wedding, instead a very very simple marriage took place at this very same temple. I love this temple as I share some of the beautiful memories associated with it. On an average, there are around 50-100 marriages that takes place here. These numbers increases during peak wedding seasons. This is a favorite place for many Hindu families to tie the knot.  The following temple story is Not written by me. As per the website, the text credit is given to RK Das. In future, I will add any additional info as and when I have it. So, with his blessings let me share the story of 1st abode of Lord Muruga. 

Tirupparankundram, a hill five miles southwest of Madurai, is the fourth pilgrimage site of Muruga. A cave temple dedicated to the element of earth and mentioned in various classical Tamil texts as the 'Southern Himalaya' where the gods assemble, Tirupparankunram is also mentioned in legend as 'the place where the sun and moon abide'. Murugan was married to Devasena upon the hill and for many centuries the Tamil people have considered it the most auspicious place for their own marriages, especially during the time of the Pankuni Uttiram, the festival of marriage held in late March. Besides the fantastic temple to Murugan on the hill, there is also a Muslim shrine dedicated to 'Sekunder' (al-Sikandar or Alexander the Great) who is associated with Murukan by the Muslim pilgrims. "Sikandar was a friend of Murugan at the time when Murugan was King here," they say.

Tirupparankundram is situated three miles southeast of Madurai on the main railway line. It is one of the Aru Padai Veedugal or six sacred places selected by Lord Subrahmanya for his abode. The importance of this temple is that here was celebrated the marriage of Lord Subrahmanya with the daughter of Indra, Devayanai. 

Long, long ago, when Lord Subrahmanya was staying at Kanda Verpu, the two daughters of Lord Maha Vishnu, Amrita Valli and Sundara Valli, cherished the desire of becoming the consorts of Subrahmanya. With this aim in mind they both went to Saravana Poigai and commenced austere penance to fulfil their desires.

Pleased with their prayer and worship, Lord Subrahmanya appeared before them and told Amrita Valli, "You will be brought up by Indra as his daughter and I shall marry you in due course." Her younger sister Sundara Valli was also graced with a similar blessing. She was born to sage Sivamuni and brought up by Nambi, the headman of Veddas. Amrita Valli took the form of a female child and went to Mount Meru, the abode of Indra, and told him, "I am the daughter of Maha Vishnu and the responsibility of looking after me has been entrusted to you." On hearing this, Indra became very happy and directed Airavatam, his white elephant, to take care of the child. The elephant with all love brought her up and affection and she attained the age of marriage in course of time. Hence she came to be known as Devayanai, one who was brought up by the heavenly elephant of Indra (yānai in Tamil means elephant).

The six sons of sage Parasara were cursed to become fishes in the Saravana Poigai. On request for redemption, these six boys were ordered to pray to Lord Subrahmanya. When they got his darshan, they could get redemption. It was also made known to them that Lord Subrahmanya would come to Tirupparankunram after vanquishing the demon Surapadma. Anxiously they waited for the arrival of Subrahmanya. When the mission of Subrahmanva to vanquish Surapadma was over at Tiruchendur, on his way, he came to this spot followed by all the devas and heavenly beings whom he had released from the untold miseries caused by Surapadma.

On his arrival at Tirupparankunram, the sons of Parasara received Subrahmanya and, at their request, he consented to stay there. He at once ordered Viswakarma to construct a beautiful abode for himself, for the devas and for others.

He also suggested to the heavenly architect to build roads and erect a city around them. Indra, the king of the angels, desired to get his daughter Devayanai married to Subrahmanya, as a mark of his gratitude for relieving him and the devas from the depredations of the demon Surapadma. He expressed his desire to Brahma and Vishnu who were present there. They were only too glad to hear the proposal. When they communicated the desire of Indra to Lord Subrahmanya he readily agreed to it and said: "Devayanai has been praying at Saravana Poigai in the Himalayas for this happy marriage. Now the time has come for its being solemnised." As Subrahmanya agreed to this marriage, Indra sent a messenger to bring his wife Indrani and daughter Devayanai from Mout Meru.

The marriage took place at Tirupparankunram, after the victory of Subrahmanya over Surapadma. All arrangements for marriage were made and the marriage was performed at the Tirupparankunram Temple. All the devas, Siva and Parvati attended the marriage and blessed Subrahmanya and Devayanai. Since then, the temple has become a very famous abode of Subrahmanya.

Text courtesy of R.K. Das

Karni Mata Temple-Deshnok

Karni Mata

This temple is located in Deshnoke, 30 kms  from Bikener, Rajasthan.  This is famous as Rat Temple. The rats are very sacred in this temple. There are many 1000s of rats here. These rats are considered as holy and not as pests. It is believed that there are around 20,000 rats here. They are seen everywhere. Neither the rats nor the devotees are scared of each other. Devotees and rats share a special bond. These rats are known as Khabas. They offer prayers to these rats. The Prasadam is first offered to the Khabas and only then to the devotees.  This place is free of Plague or any other contagious diseases.  There is a popular belief that the rats are the incarnations of dead ancestors of Charan clans and when rats die, they are born as humans. The Karni Mata protects these rats. They are considered as the holiest rats. Although, there are around 20000 rats here no one to this date has seen any baby rats. Any given day, they all are of same size, shape, weight and height. There are many white rats as well. They are considered as the holiest and pure Khabas.

Khabas feeding on milk

This is shared as prasadam

No other temples have these many rats anywhere. This temple is always filled with devotees. When these rats climb on you or have your prasadam it is considered as blessings. If one kills a rat here, one needs to replace it with a gold or silver Khaba of same size, shape, height and weight.  When rats die, they usually produce a foul smell and this is an universal truth, however when rats die here, they do not produce any foul smell at all. There is no foul odor whatsoever. When a Rat dies there will be a birth in her tribe. This is beautifully timed. This is definitely a wonder. Rats became sacred in her temple when Karni Mata's stepson Laxman drowned in a tank he was attempting to drink from. She negotiated with the god of death-Yuma. She wanted to revive the child. However, the lord Yuma refused to process her request citing that the diseased boy has already taken a rebirth. Karni Mata then comes to an agreement that all the people of her tribe when dead should be born as rats before taking another human birth. Yuma gave his nod. Hence all the rats here are considered as diseased ancestors. The Karni Mata protects them all.  

 Karni Mata was born on 2^nd October 1387 in Suwap, Rajasthan. She was the 7^th child of Mehoji Charan and his wife Deval Devi. Her real name was Ridhubhai. When Karni Mata’s mother wanted to abort the baby she simply could not. Goddess Durga showed up in her dreams and informed that the child is an incarnation of herself. When Ridhubhai was just 6, she cured her relative off of a deadly disease, hence she was known as Karni. At a very young age she was married off to a wealthy man-Dipoji Charan of the village of Sathika around AD 1415 but did not live a conventional "married life." She was not interested in worldly affairs. She desired to live a saint’s life. Karni put forth a proposal to marry her younger sister Gulab, and subsequently processed with it. Goddess Karni Mata came from Charan clan. She lived for 150 years and remained young and beautiful. After her death, she became a rat. The Charan clans believe that once they die, they too will be reincarnated as a rat and subsequently, when a rat dies, it will be reincarnated as a human again.

She is believed as an incarnation of Durga. She was the goddess Bickner and Jodhpur Kingdoms.  She had blessed them with prosperity, peace and good health. To this date there is no outbreaks of any epidemics in Bickner in spite of having that many rats!  Ganga Singh Bickner built the temple in the 15^th century. The temple is heavily influenced by mogul architecture. The entire temple is built with beautiful white marble. He also gifted a Silver door. Initially there were no idols or temple just few footprints. However, now the temple has a sacred sanctum, an idol where she holds a “trisul’’ and of course a lot of rats!!         

Temple outside view

The Door

Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy- Mangalagiri

The following Temple story has to be the most interesting stories so far. I am talking about Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Mangalagiri. This place is 10kms from Vijayawada and is in Guntur District of Andra Pradesh. There are two Narasimha Swamy temples here. One on the Mangalagiri hills and the other at the bottom of the hill. The Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple on the hill is known as ‘Panaka’ Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, while the temple at the bottom is known as Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple. In Panaka Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, there are no idols here. A Wall of a rock has an opening at the centre that resembles an open mouth is revered as Panaka Narasimha Swamy. The entire thing looks like a beautiful painting of Narasimha Swamy extended on the wall, keeping the opening as the mouth.

Panaka is a sweet drink, which is made out of sugarcane juice sugar & jaggery (sugar made out of sugarcane) different variations also exists. This drink is made on different occasions such as Ugadhi, Shivarathri, etc. The lord Narasimha Swamy here is popularly known as Panaka Swamy. He got this name ‘coz it is the favorite drink of this lord here. Panaka are offered to lord as ‘Naivaidhyam’ every single day. The specialty and the unbelievable thing here is whenever Panaka is offered to the lord and irrespective of the quantities offered, only equal half of the drink comes out from the other end, the other half is drunk by the lord himself. Also, one can here the gulping sounds as Panaka is pored it in to the openings through a conch. Only when the gulping sound is stopped, the remaining Panaka comes out from the other end. This Panaka is the ‘prasadam’ and is offered to the devotees. Ants, house flies and other flies are usually attracted to sweets and sweet drinks. However, there are no ants or flies in this temple in spite of spilling of huge quantities of Panaka, sugar and other ingredients on the Temple floor. Only when the world ends is when ants and flies are attracted to the sugar, this is the popular belief here.

  

                                   

Panaka

Managalagiri this place is one of the 8 important Mahakshetrams (sacred places) in India. The eight places where Lord Vishnu manifested himself are (1) Sri Rangam (2) Srimushnam (3) Naimisam (4) Pushkaram (5) Salagamdri (6) Thothadri (7) Narayanasramam (8) Venkatadri. Thothadri is the present Mangalagiri. Managalagiri is also known by several names such as stutadri, mukyadhi, and dharmadhi. Hasthadri, mangaladri. Vedavyasa has made references of this place in many puranas. Bhrmavartha Purana is one puranas that has references of this place. The lord here is worshipped from Krutha Yuga to till this date.

Enterance

The temple has a very interesting story to it. There was a demon by the name ‘Namuchi’ he tormented people of all lokas. So, Brahma-the creator of the universe along with the rest of the gods and goddess approached Maha Vishnu-the protector of the universe for a solution. Narasimha Swamy an incarnation of Vishnu attempted to kill the demon with his Sudarshana Chakra. However, the demon Namuchi escaped and took refuge at the MangalaGiri hills. He camouflaged as an insect and hid between the rocks by digging a hole on the ground to escape the ire of Narasimha Swamy. The witty lord realized this and closed the hole thereby suffocating the demon. The demon eventually died of lack of oxygen. The angry lord opened his mouth and got frozen as a rock. All the gods and goddess tried their best to subdue lord’s anger. Narasimha swamy instructed them to offer drinks thru’ this opening. From then on People and every one started poring drinks to the lord. Hence the practice of poring drinks in to the mouth came in to existence. It is believed that people offered Honey, Ghee, Milk and now Panaka in Sat Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga and the current Kali Yuga, respectively.

The Temple down the hill is Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. When Lakshmi was created while churning the milk ocean; gods and goddess built a pond here and brought water from all the holiest rivers all over. The Pond was later used by Mahalakshmi to bathe everyday. Goddess Lakshmi took bath, penance and meditated on Vishnu thereby sacrificing her life for Vishnu. Mahalakshmi in this temple is known as Rajalakshmi. All the rituals are carried out as per Vaishnava agamana shastra. Prayers are offered trice a day. On special days such as Narasimha Jayanthi, Vaikunta Ekadhasi, Rathsapthami, Ugadhi etc special poojas are offered.

Pond to correct an architecture errors

The Temples

Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu and Krishna Devaraya erected the temple towers.   Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu’s temple tower is 153 feet high and 49 feet in breath, has 11 floors and faces east and was built between 1807 and 1809.  The tower, built in just two years was slanting on the west side. To correct this error, after consulting with the architects and sculptors the king decided to dig a pond of 153 depth and of same breath as that of the tower in the east side to the tower. By doing so, the error was corrected. The pond became famous. The pond here is known as chekadu koneru (dark pond) Krishna Devaraya built front part of the temple. One can see the difference in the architecture. This temple is one of the fascinating temples in India. which have less width and more height like this tower. Utthara Gali Gopuram (Tower on North Side) is opened on the Vaikunta Ekadasi (Mukkoti) day. It was constructed by Rangapuram Jamindar Madapati Venkateswararao in 1911. When Padamati Gali Gopuram (Tower on West Side) was being constructed, accidentally some stones fell down and some workers died. By this incident, the work was stopped and had not been started till now. Dhakshina Gali Gopuram (Tower on South Side) was renovated in 1992 for Krishna pushkaras by the initiative of the Executive officer Sri Nootakki Kotaiah.

Temple Towers

Shakthi Peetham

The origin of Sakthi Pidam :

Sati, Lord Shiva's consort in spite of her husband's objection, attended the grand 'yaga' conducted by her father. Dhaksha the father-in-law of Lord Shiva intentionally ignored Shiva and his daughter in his guest list. Sati showed up at the yaga without her consort. However, Dhaksha humiliated her and her husband in his absence in front of everyone. Sati could not bare the humiliation and jumped in to the fire. When lord Shiva learnt this, he created Veerabdhra and Maha Kali from a strand of his lock to avenge Daksha. Later, lord shiva is to hurt by the news of his wife's death that he literally carries her and dances ferociously. This type of dance is called Rudra Thandava.   Bhrama, Vishnu and the rest of gods and goddess were worried and in order to subdue Lord Shiva's anger, Lord Vishnu with his 'sudharshan chakra' slashes Sati in to 51 pieces. each piece fell in to different parts of the earth. And the places were these parts fell came to be known as Shakthi Pidam.  Shakthi means Energy, Pidam means throne.  It is believed that these places resonates strong energy and are the holiest of holy places!  Going forword, I will pen down each and every story of Shakthi Pidam. 

There are different lists of 50/51/52 Shakti peethas.
These numbers resemble the Matrikas(Letters) of Sanskrit language.
This list of Panchasat Shakti peethas is collected from Tantra Chudamani.

No:	Place:	Part of the body:	Bhirava:	Shakti:
1.	Hingula (Pakistan)	Brahma randhra (Head)	Bhima lochana	Kottari
2.	Sharkarara (Maha rashtra)	Trinetra ( eyes)	Krodheesha	Mahisha mardini
3.	Sugandha (Bangla desh)	Nasika (Nose)	Triambaka	Sunanda
4.	Kashmira (Jammu&Kashmir)	Kantha desha (throat)	Tri sandhyeshwara	Maha maya
5.	Jwala mukhi (Himachal pradesh)	Jihwa (Tongue)	Unmatta/ Vatukeshwara	Siddhida/ Ambica
6.	Jalandhara (Punjab)	Vama stana (Left Breast)	Bhishana	Tripura malini/ Tripura nashini
7.	Vidya natha (Bihar)	Hridaya (heart)	Vidya natha	Jaya durga
8.	Nepala (Nepal)	Janu dwaya (Knees)	Kapali	Maha maya
9.	Manasa (Tibet)	Dakshina hasta (Right hand/palm)	Amara/ Hara	Dakshaini
10.	Utkala/ Viraja (Orissa)	Nabhi (Navel)	Jagannatha	Vimala/ Vijaya
11.	Gandaki (Nepal)	Dakshina ganda (Right Cheek)	Chakra pani	Gandaki chandi
12.	Bahula (West bebgal)	Vama bahu (Left arm)	Bhiruka/ Tivraka	Bahula
13.	Ujjaini (Madhya pradesh)	Kurpara (Elbow)	Kapilambara	Mangala chandi
14.	Chattala (Bangla desh)	Dakshina bahu (Right Hand)	Chandra sekhara	Bhavani
15.	Tripura (Tripura)	Dakshina pada (Right Foot)	Tripuresha	Tripura
16.	Trisrota (West bengal)	Vama pada (Left Foot)	Ambara/ Eshwara	Bhramari
17.	Kama giri/ Kama rupa desha (Assam)	Maha mudra/ (Vagina) Yoni	Umananda	Kamakhya/ Dasha maha vidya
18.	Yugadya/ Ksheera grama (West bengal)	Dakshina (right foot) padangushta	Ksheera kantaka	Bhoota dhatri
19.	Kali peetha (West bengal)	Dakshina padanguli (Right Toes)	Nakuleesha	Kali
20.	Prayaga (Uttar pradesh)	Hastanguli (Fingers)	Bhava	Lalitha
21.	Jayanti (Bangladesh)	Vama jangha (Left Thigh)	Kramadeeshwara	Jayanti
22.	Kireeta/ Kireeta kona (West bengal)	Kireeta (Crown)	Samvarta/ Siddha rupa	Vimala/ Bhuvaneshi
23.	Manikarnika/ Varanasi (Uttar pradesh)	Karna kundala (earring)	Kala bhirava	Vishalakshi
24.	Kanyashrama (Bangladesh)	Prishta (Back)	Nimisha	Sharvani
25.	Kurukshetra (Haryana)	Dakshina gulpha (Right Ankle)	Sthanu	Savitri
26.	Manivedika (Rajasthan)	Mani bandha (Wrists)	Sarvananda/ Sharvananda	Gayatri
27.	Srisaila/ Sri hatta (Andhra pradesh)	Greeva (Neck)	Samvarananda/ Shambarananda	Maha lakshmi
28.	Kanchi (Tamil nadu)	Kankala ( Ottiyana (Ornament covering stomach)	Ruru	Deva garbha/ Veda garbha
29.	Kala madhava (Assam)	Vama nitamba (Left Hips/buttocks)	Asitanga	Kali
30.	Shona (Madhya pradesh)	Dakshina nitamba ( Right Hips/buttocks)	Bhadra sena	Narmada
31.	Rama giri/ Raja giri (Uttar pradesh)	Dakshina stana (right Breast)	Chanda	Shivani
32.	Brindavana (Uttar pradesh)	Kesha jala (Hair)	Bhootesha/ Krishna natha	Uma/ Katyaini
33.	Shuchi/ Anala (Tamil nadu)	Oordhwa danta pankti (Upper teeth)	Samhara/ Samkrura	Narayani
34.	Pancha sagara (Maharashtra)	Adho danta pankti (base Teeth)	Maha rudra	Varahi
35.	Kara toya tata (Bangladesh)	Vama talpa (North )	Vamana	Aparna
36.	Sri parvata (Andhra pradesh)	Dakshina talpa (Right )	Sundarananda	Sundari
37.	Vibhasa (West bengal)	Vama gulpha (Left ankle)	Sarvananda	Kapali/ Bhima rupa
38.	Prabhasa (Gujarat)	Udara (Belly/stomach/abdominon)	Vakra tunda	Chandra bhaga
39.	Bhirava parvata (Madhya pradesh)	Oordhvoshta (upper lips)	Lamba karna	Avanti
40.	Jana sthana (Maharashtra)	Chibuka (Chin)	Vikritaksha	Bhramari
41.	Godavari teetra (Andhra pradesh)	Vama ganda (Left Cheek)	Danda pani/ Vatsa nabha	Vishwa matrika/ Rakini
42.	Ratnavali (West bengal)	Dakshina skandha (Right shoulder)	Shiva	Kumari
43.	Mithila (Nepal)	Vama skandha (North Shoulder)	Mahodara	Uma devi/ Maha devi
44.	Nalahati (West bengal)	Nala (Vocal chord with part of the tracheae)	Yogeeshwara	Kali
45.	Karnata (Karnataka)	Karna (ear)	Abhiru	Jaya durga
46.	Vakreshwara (West bengal)	Manas (Heart)	Vakra natha	Mahisha mardini
47.	Yashora (Bangla desh)	Vama hasta ( Left Hand)	Chanda	Yashoreshwari
48.	Attahasa (West bengal)	Adharoshta(lower lips)	Vishweshwara	Pullara
49.	Nandi pura (West bengal)	Kantha hara (Neck lace)	Nandikeshwara	Nandini
50.	Lanka (Sri lanka)	Nupura (Anklet)	Rakshaseshwara	Indrakshi
51.-	Virata (Rajasthan)	Vama padanguli (Left Toe)	Amrita	Ambika
52.?	Magadha (Bihar)	Dakshina jangha (Right Thigh)	Vyoma kesha	Sarvanandakari