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The 51 Shakti Peethas 28/51

Kankalitala Shakti Peetha

Kankaleshwari (Devagarbha in the Pithanirnaya)Kankalitala, West Bengal

Also known as: Kanchi Peetha (Pithanirnaya); Kankaleshwari temple

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Kankalitala Shakti Peetha: The 51 Shakti Peethas 28/51, Kankaleshwari (Devagarbha in the Pithanirnaya), Kankalitala, West Bengal
In short

The Kanchi pitha of the Pithanirnaya is usually placed at Kankalitala on the Kopai river near Bolpur, Birbhum district, West Bengal. By the text Sati’s skeleton (bones) fell here, and the goddess is Devagarbha and the Bhairava Ruru; but the Kanchi of the older lists is Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, so the identification is disputed.

Deity
Kankaleshwari (Devagarbha in the Pithanirnaya)
Tradition
Shakta
List
The 51 Shakti Peethas 28/51
Place
Kankalitala, on the Kopai river near Bolpur, Birbhum district
State
West Bengal
Country
India

How to reach Kankalitala

  • According to West Bengal Tourism (2022): on the Bolpur-Labhpur road, about 8 km north-east of Shantiniketan and about 9 km from Bolpur; nearest railway station Bolpur.

Where the sources differ

  • The West Bengal Tourism page said Sati’s waist fell here and called the goddess Parvati; the Pithanirnaya gives the skeleton (bones) and the goddess Devagarbha.
  • According to the historian D. C. Sircar the Kanchi of the older lists is Kanchipuram (Conjeeveram) in the south. Because of this dispute over the identification, no map is given here.
  • The official website of the Sri Kamakshi Ambal Devasthanam at Kanchipuram counts the Kamakshi temple among the 51 Shakti Peethas, but names no limb.
  • The count of pithas depends on the text: the Pithanirnaya lists 51, some Bengali lists 52, the Devi Bhagavata (7.30) gives 108 places with names of the goddess, and the early Tantras name only four (Sircar).

Frequently asked questions

Which part of Sati fell at Kankalitala?

At the Kanchi pitha of the Pithanirnaya the skeleton (bones) fell; the goddess is Devagarbha and the Bhairava Ruru. West Bengal Tourism gave the waist.

Where is Kankalitala Shakti Peetha?

Kankalitala Shakti Peetha is in Kankalitala, on the Kopai river near Bolpur, Birbhum district, West Bengal.

Which lists of tirthas include Kankalitala?

The 51 Shakti Peethas (number 28 of 51 in the list).

How to reach Kankalitala?

According to West Bengal Tourism (2022): on the Bolpur-Labhpur road, about 8 km north-east of Shantiniketan and about 9 km from Bolpur; nearest railway station Bolpur.

Sources

  1. D. C. Sircar, The Śākta Pīṭhas (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal 1948; Motilal Banarsidass, 1973): table of the Pithanirnaya pp. 35-37, note on this pitha p. 52 (archive.org)
  2. Vachaspatyam (Taranatha Tarkavachaspati), "pitha": the list of pithas quoted from the Tantrachudamani (Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries, sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de)
  3. West Bengal Tourism (wbtourism.gov.in), "Kankhaleshwari Temple", Shakti Peeth section (Wayback Machine copy of 26 November 2022: web.archive.org/web/20221126000324/https://www.wbtourism.gov.in/destination/kankaleshwari; the page is no longer on the site)
  4. Sri Kamakshi Ambal Devasthanam, Kanchipuram, official website (kanchikamakshi.org): about

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