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The 51 Shakti Peethas 50/51

Lanka Shakti Peetha

IndrakshiUncertain; probably Sri Lanka, Uncertain

Edited by the SanatanBodh editorial teamLast updated: 3 sourcesDrafted with AI, checked against sourcesReport a mistake
Lanka Shakti Peetha: The 51 Shakti Peethas 50/51, Indrakshi, Uncertain; probably Sri Lanka, Uncertain
In short

Lanka is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas of the Pithanirnaya; by the text Sati’s anklet fell here, and the goddess is Indrakshi and the Bhairava Rakshaseshvara. From the Bhairava’s name the historian D. C. Sircar takes it as Sri Lanka, but "lanka" can mean any island and the text names no shrine.

Deity
Indrakshi
Tradition
Shakta
List
The 51 Shakti Peethas 50/51
Place
Uncertain; probably Sri Lanka, but the text names no shrine
Region
Uncertain
Country
Sri Lanka

Where the sources differ

  • The text quoted in the Vachaspatyam says that the goddess here, Indrakshi, was worshipped by Indra of old.
  • Sri Lanka Tourism’s list of Ramayana sites describes the Koneswaram temple at Trincomalee, but names no Shakti Peetha there or anywhere else.
  • Some popular lists today link this pitha with a temple, but we found no official or scholarly source for it; so no temple and no map are given here.
  • According to Sircar the original Pithanirnaya probably had 42 names and the last eight pithas (Nalahati to Virata) were added later; this pitha is one of those eight.
  • 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

What fell at the Lanka Shakti Peetha?

By the Pithanirnaya, Sati’s anklet, an ornament rather than a limb; the goddess is Indrakshi and the Bhairava Rakshaseshvara.

Where is Lanka Shakti Peetha?

Lanka Shakti Peetha is in Uncertain; probably Sri Lanka, but the text names no shrine, Uncertain (Sri Lanka).

Which lists of tirthas include Lanka Shakti Peetha?

The 51 Shakti Peethas (number 50 of 51 in the list).

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. 57 and index (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. Sri Lanka Tourism (srilanka.travel): Ramayana trail, places

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