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The 51 Shakti Peethas 8/51

Nepala Shakti Peetha

MahamayaNepal, Uncertain (perhaps Bagmati Province)

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Nepala Shakti Peetha: The 51 Shakti Peethas 8/51, Mahamaya, Nepal, Uncertain (perhaps Bagmati Province)
In short

Nepala is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas of the Pithanirnaya; by the text Sati’s knees fell here, and the goddess is Mahamaya and the Bhairava Kapali. The text says only "Nepal" and does not even name Pashupatinath; the historian D. C. Sircar takes it as perhaps Kathmandu.

Deity
Mahamaya
Tradition
Shakta
List
The 51 Shakti Peethas 8/51
Place
Nepal, perhaps Kathmandu; the text names no shrine
Region
Uncertain (perhaps Bagmati Province)
Country
Nepal

Where the sources differ

  • The Nepal Tourism Board calls the Guhyeshwari temple on the Bagmati near Pashupatinath in Kathmandu the most important Shakti Peetha of Nepal, but says Sati’s hips or yoni fell there, not the knees; the Pashupati Area Development Trust also calls Guhyeshwari one of the Shakti Peethas, naming no limb. So Guhyeshwari is not taken here as this "Nepala" pitha of the Pithanirnaya, and no map is given.
  • 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 limb of Sati fell at the Nepala Shakti Peetha?

By the Pithanirnaya, the knees; the goddess is Mahamaya and the Bhairava Kapali.

Where is Nepala Shakti Peetha?

Nepala Shakti Peetha is in Nepal, perhaps Kathmandu; the text names no shrine, Uncertain (perhaps Bagmati Province) (Nepal).

Which lists of tirthas include Nepala Shakti Peetha?

The 51 Shakti Peethas (number 8 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. 45 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. Nepal Tourism Board (ntb.gov.np): Faith and tradition: Shakti Peeths and Shakti shrines of Nepal
  4. Pashupati Area Development Trust (pashupati.gov.np): Guheswori Temple

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