Ashta Dasa Shakthi Peetha stotram

                                                       By

                                        Adhi Shankara Bhagwad Pada

                                                            Translated  by

                                                         P.R.Ramachander

There was a great king called Daksha Prajapati who was the son of Lord Brahma, He had 27 daughters. Sati devi was one of them. Daksha gave his daughter Sati in marriage to Lord Shiva, During the conduct of a fire sacrifice, when Daksha entered the arena, every one except Lord Shiva stood up to respect him. Daksha felt very insulted by Lord Shiva’s behaviour. So when he conducted a yaga again, he did not invite his daughter Sati and his son in law Lord Shiva. Sati felt sad because of this and went to the Yaga against the wishes of Lord Shiva. She was badly insulted by her father Daksha and jumped in to the sacrificial fire. Shiva hearing this rushed to the place but could not save Parvathi. He cut off the head of Daksha and took the body of Sati in his hand and started dancing furiously. To bring down his anger, Lord Vishnu cut the body of Sati in to 18 pieces and these pieces fell down in different places of India. These places are called Shakthi Peethas. Some people are of the opinion that there are 51 Shakthi Peethas and yet others of the opinion that there are 108 Shakthi Peethas. This stotra written by Adhi Shankara names the places of Shakthi Peethas and the name of the Goddess in temples there. http://srisailam.co.in/shaktipeethas.html gives the following list of the Shakthi Peethas:-

 

Part of the body fallen	Place	Name of Shakthi
1.Groin	Trimkomali(Srilanka)	Sankari devi
2.Back Part	Kanchi(Tamilnadu)	Kamakshi devi
3.Stomach part	Praddyumnam(Gujarat)	Sri srunkala devi
4.Head hairs	Mysore(Karnataka)	Chamundeswari devi
5.Upper teeth rows	Alampur(Andhra Pradesh)	Jogulamba devi
6.Neck part	Srisailam(Andhra Pradesh)	Bhramramba devi
7.Eyes	sholapur(Maharastra)	Mahalakmi devi
8.Right hand	Nanded(Maharastra)	Ekavenika devi
9.Upper lip	Ujjain(Madya pradesh)	Mahakalai devi
10.Left hand	Pithapuram(Andhra Pradesh)	Puruhutika devi
11.Navel	Cuutack(Orissa)	Girija devi
12.Left cheek	Draksharamam(A.P)	Manikyamba devi
13.Vulva	Gauhathi(Assam)	Kamarupa devi
14.Fingers(hand)	Prayaga(Uttar Pradesh)	Madhaveswari devi
15.Head part	Jwala(Himaclapradesh)	Vaishnavi devi
16.Breast part	Gaya(Bihar)	Sarvamangala devi
17.Wrist	Varanasi(Uttar Pradesh)	Visalaksi devi
18.Right Hand	Kashmir	Saraswathi devi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lankayam Shankari devi, Kamakshi Kanchika pure /
Pradyumne Shrinkhala devi, Chamunda Krouncha pattane //

 

Goddess Shankari in Sri lanka,  Kamakshi in Kanchipuram,

Goddess Shrinkhala in Pradyumna and Chamunda in Mysore

Alampure Jogulamba, Sri shaile Bhramarambika /
Kolha pure Maha lakshmi, Mahurye Ekaveerika //

 

Goddess Jogulamba in Alampur, Goddess Brhamarabika in Sri Shailam,

Goddess Maha Lakshmi in Kolhapur and Goddess Eka veera in Mahur

Ujjainyam Maha kali, Peethikayam Puruhutika /
Odhyane Girija devi, Manikya Daksha vatike //

 

Goddess Maha Kali in Ujjain Purhuthika in Peethika,

Goddess Girija in Odhyana and goddess Manikya  in the house of Daksha,

 

Hari kshetre Kama rupi, Prayage Madhaveshwari /
Jwalayam Vishnavi devi, Gaya Mangalya gourika //

 

Goddess Kama rupi in the temple of Vishnu, Goddess Madhevaswari in Allahabad,

The flame gving Goddess in Jwala muki and Mangala Gouri in Gaya.

 

Varanasyam Vishalakshi, Kashmire tu Saraswati /
Ashtadasha Shakti peethani, Yoginamapi durlabham //

Goddess Visalakshi in Varanasi, Goddess Saraswathi in Kashmir,

Are the 18 houses of Shakthi , which are rare even to devas.

 

Sayamkale pathennityam, Sarva shatri vinashanam /
Sarva roga haram divyam, Sarva sampatkaram shubham //

 

If read in the evening daily , it leads to killing of all enemies,

And also curing of all diseases and getting of all types of wealth.