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The 51 Shakti Peethas 32/51

Vrindavana Shakti Peetha

UmaDisputed: the common reading points to Vrindavan near Mathura; according to Sircar the original reading was probably "Umavana", Uttar Pradesh, or uncertain

Also known as: Katyayani Peeth, Vrindavan; Umavana (the reading Sircar proposes)

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Vrindavana Shakti Peetha: The 51 Shakti Peethas 32/51, Uma, Disputed: the common reading points to Vrindavan near Mathura; according to Sircar the original reading was probably "Umavana", Uttar Pradesh, or uncertain
In short

Vrindavana is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas of the Pithanirnaya; by the text Sati’s hair fell here, and the goddess is Uma and the Bhairava Bhutesha. The common reading points to Vrindavan near Mathura, but according to the historian D. C. Sircar the original reading was probably "Umavana" (Devikota).

Deity
Uma
Tradition
Shakta
List
The 51 Shakti Peethas 32/51
Place
Disputed: the common reading points to Vrindavan near Mathura; according to Sircar the original reading was probably "Umavana" (Devikota)
State
Uttar Pradesh, or uncertain
Country
India

The Katyayani Peeth at Vrindavan

Uttar Pradesh Tourism counts the Katyayani Devi temple at Vrindavan (Mathura) among the major Shakti Peethas of India and says a lock of Sati’s hair fell here; the limb agrees with the Pithanirnaya. According to the same page the gopis of Vrindavan worshipped Katyayani on the bank of the Yamuna, and Swami Keshavanand revived the place.

Where the sources differ

  • The Devi Bhagavata (7.30) names the goddess at Vrindavana Radha.
  • Because of the dispute between Sircar’s reading "Umavana" and the common reading Vrindavana, no map is given here; the Uttar Pradesh Tourism page does not name the goddess Uma or the Bhairava Bhutesha.
  • 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 Vrindavana Shakti Peetha?

By the Pithanirnaya, the hair; the goddess is Uma and the Bhairava Bhutesha. The place is disputed: Vrindavan near Mathura, or according to Sircar "Umavana" (Devikota).

Where is Vrindavana Shakti Peetha?

Vrindavana Shakti Peetha is in Disputed: the common reading points to Vrindavan near Mathura; according to Sircar the original reading was probably "Umavana" (Devikota), Uttar Pradesh, or uncertain.

Which lists of tirthas include Vrindavana Shakti Peetha?

The 51 Shakti Peethas (number 32 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. 53 (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. Devi Bhagavata Purana 7.30 (the list of 108 pithas), English translation by Swami Vijnanananda (wisdomlib.org)
  4. Uttar Pradesh Tourism (uptourism.gov.in): Katyayani Devi, Mathura

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