THE EIGHTEEN SAKTI PEETHAS AND THEIR PLACES Every Hindu desires to know the places of eighteen sakti

peethas and their prominence. Most unfortunate it is neither the Government nor the religious heads and seers give authenticated information either about the jyothirlingaas or about the sakti peethaas. During my recent visit to Western Indian places I observed a fancy display of JYOTIRLING and SAKTI PEETH even at ordinary temples. It may have to be agreed that whereever a temple exists, there a Lord exists and the Lord in general is powerful but that does not mean that the word JYOTHIRLING AND SAKTI PEETHA are used very casually. There is an utter confusion about the location of Jyothirlingaas and sakti peethaas. Some one in Bihar claims that they have a jyothirling and some one in Gujarat claims that he has renovated the jyothirling temple and this is a practical confusing situation for any Hindu. I really do not understand why the seers do something in this aspect leaving their claims that Lord Vishnu is greater than others and vice versa. Hindu religion is one and it accepts all Lords with different names as ONE. One should not try to differentiate and introduce a conflict, which may lead a further disaster in future. Particularly the religious heads should not try for their individual supremacy and they should know the religion is supreme. They should feel like protecting the value of the religion first and remain on one platform always without showing publicly their difference of opinion which will dilute the following and plant a seed of hatreds towards the religion. I am trying to indicate the places of sakti peethas to the extent of my knowledge and I request for readers support in the form of suggestions to improve upon if needed. S.No Name of the Goddess Place State/Country Goddess Sati parts of her body 1 Saankari Trinkomali Srilanka Foot ornaments (Gajjalu) 2 Jogulamba Aalampuram Andhra Pra. Upper line of tooth 3 Kamaakshi Kanchi Tamilnadu Back 4 Srunkhaladevi Pradyumna Gujarat Stomach Gangaasaagar Bengal (There is a confusion) 5 Chamundi Mysore Karnataka Hair 6 Bramaramba Srisailam Andhra Pra. Neck 7 Mahaalakshmi Kolhapur Maharashtra Eyes 8 Ekaveera Mahu(Nanded) Maharashtra Right Arm 9 Mahaakaali Ujjain M.P Upper lip 10 Puroohootika Pithapuram A.P Left Arm 11 Girijadevi Odhyanam Orissa Naabhi 12 Maanikyaamba Draksharam A.P Left side of the face 13 Kaamarupi Gowhati Assam Yoni staanam 14 Maadhaveeswai Prayag U P Hand fingers 15 Vaishanvi Vaishnodevi Himachal Head 16 Maangalyadevi Gaya Bihar Breasts 17 Visalaakshi Varanasi U.P Manikarnika 18 Saraswathi Srinagar J & K Right side of the face I am trying to find out some authenticated information and the exact place of Pradyumna for S No 4.

What is called a ""Panchaayatana Pooja""?

To one of my questions, one scholarly person has mentioned the following ::-""" We have Shiva Panchayatanam, Vishnu Panchayatanam , ., Surya Panchayatanam, Ganapati Panchatanam, Shakti panchaayatanam etc etc.""" May I know in detail, how to perform Pooja for each way like Shiva Panchayatana way, Vishnu Panchyatana way, etc ??? Is there any other Panchaayatana other than the above ???

y y

2 years ago Report Abuse

haritha....

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Good question. I hope no one floated this great question. i will try my level best to answer your question. my answer: Panchayatana puja is the system of worship in the Smarta sampradaya of Hinduism. It is said to have been introduced by Adi Shankara, the 8th century CE Hindu philosopher. It consists of the worship of five deities: Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha. Depending on the tradition followed by Smarta households, one of these deities is kept in the center and the other four surround it. Worship is offered to all the deities. The five are represented by small murtis, or by five kinds of stones, or by five marks drawn on the floor. One is placed in the center as the devotee's preferred God, Ishta Devata, and the other four in a square around it. The shanmathas are shaiva, vaishnava, shakta, soura, ganapatya and koumara. The Panchayatana puja applies to the daily puja the devotee does at home. I remember someone mentioning on the list sometime ago that Shanmukha is used instead of surya in some places in Tamilnadu. But then, the Agama mode of worship in ancient temples had to be regulated too. So, I think that Sri Shankara refined the prevalent Shanmathas (the Agamic worship included). Examples to this are numerous, some of them being Shringeri,Kanchi,Guruvayoor,Badrinath, and even Shabarimalai, the abode of dharmashasta. In the thread about the role of Ishwara it was noted that an exclusive approach to God can end up in fanaticism. Yet the opposite extreme, to just lump everything together into one insipid mess is not good either. In the Smarta sampradaya we have a practice that attempts to eliminate both problems--the panchayatana puja. We believe it was established by Shankaracharya himself. According to the Digvijayas the situation was not good at that time. There were many sects and philosophies that misinterpreted or were completely against the Vedas. Amongst the astikas much energy was misspent in arguing over whether Shiva Bhagawan was superior to Vishnu Bhagawan or both were inferior to Mataji etc. To alleviate this and to get people thinking of the Advaita bhava, this puja was started. In this puja all the five major deities of Sanatana Dharma are worshipped: Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesh Bhagawans. There are five forms of arranging Them: Shiva panchayata ( 1 ) Vishnu Surya Shiva Devi Ganesh

Vishnu panchayata ( 2 )

Shiva Ganesh

Vishnu Devi Surya

Surya panchayata ( 3 ) Shiva Ganesh Surya Devi Vishnu

Devi panchayata ( 4 ) Vishnu Shiva Devi Surya Ganesh

Ganesh panchayata ( 5 ) Vishnu Shiva Ganesh Devi Surya This way the sadhaka can put his own belowed form of God in center stage but he never forgets that He has other forms too. The important purpose of doing the panchayatana puja is to overcome the bheda-bhava among the different deities of various sects. Among the different sects of shaivas, vaishnavas, etc., each views its own deity as the Supreme and makes the others inferior to its main deity. This creates a bheda-bhava among the deities and this is simply a trick played by maya. Says the maya-panchaka: Other than the above, I remember someone mentioning on the list sometime ago that Shanmukha is used instead of surya in some places in Tamilnadu. Vinayagar is also one of the five Gods the worship of whom was popularized by Adi Shankaracharya; the other four being Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and Surya. The worship of these five deities is called the panchaayatana puja. In some cases, Skanda is also worshipped. Thanks for the opportunity and hope this will help you !!! Source(s): my view http://www.nilacharal.com/news/religion/

namaste, > Because, generally the nirmAlya of siva is taken by Chandishwara Murti (also as per the Bodhayana Mahanyasa Kalpa & Siva Panchayatana paddhati by Sringeri). Both books have a reference to Nandi and Chandishwara. They give the same shloka -- "bANa rAvaNa chandIsha nandi bhRi~ngiriTAdayaH. mahAdeva-prasAdo.ayaM sarve gRihNantu shAmbavAH". In many temples, after the abhisheka of the Linga is complete, a quick abhisheka of Nandi, near the bali-piiTha is also performed. This also finds a place in some panchAyatana-pUjA traditions. The bell that we use has Nandi perched on top. After the main pUjA to the panchAyatana vigrahas, a separate pUjA (including AvAhana and abhiSheka) is performed to this Nandi, and nirmAlya is offered to him. When selecting a good ghaNTA, we look for two things -- the quality of the sound, and the quality of the Nandi vigraha on top. Most modern ghaNTA-s don't have both :-) Some time ago, I found such a relevant picture on the net, which I've temporarily uploaded to http://www.mudgala.com/nandi.jpg (I can't seem to find the original link anymore) bhavadIyaH, ajit

On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 10:58 PM, sriram <sriram_sapthasathi@...>wrote: > Dear vishwam, > > Kindly clarify whether it is nandi or chandishwara. > > Because, generally the nirmAlya of siva is taken by Chandishwara Murti > (also as per the Bodhayana Mahanyasa Kalpa & Siva Panchayatana paddhati by > Sringeri). > > While i have not gone thru Shri RS Vadhiyar's book, Shri Ajit would be the > right person to comment. > > As regards your other clarificatons: > > i) Surya puja is not done after sunset. > > ii) Panchayatana can be done in the evening if you skip the morning > anushtana. But you must observe fast the entire day and dinner can be taken > only after performing panchayatana in the evening. (breakfast without salt, > spices etc. and milk, tender coconutwater are permissible) > > iii) For pradosha puja, siva can be worshipped exclusively from > panchayatana set and after puja can be placed back. > > However, extreme care should be taken at the time of dAna and pratigraha of > the panchayatana samputam. When you give the panchayatana set to a brahmin > or when you take the panchayatana from somebody else, care should be taken > that entire set of 5 ie., aditya, ambika, bana linga, salagrama and ganapati > should be present as a SINGLE SET. > > HOWEVER, IF THE SALAGRAMA IS EITHER NRISIMHA /GANDA BHERUNDA/JWALA NRISIMHA > CERTAIN EXTRA AMOUNT OF NAIVEDYA OTHER THAN THE NORMAL NAIVEDYA SHOULD BE > OFFERED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE DIETY. > > with regards, > sriram > > --- In ambaa-l@yahoogroups.com, vishwanthan Krishnamoorthy <krishvishy@...> > wrote: >> >> > > There are a couple of differences in the R.S Vadhiyar and the Sringeri > book > > 1. Role of Nandi

> > not present in the Sringeri book, couple of informed persons I spoke too > were emphatic that the anugnya and the nirmalaya samarpanam has to be done > to nandi in order to accrue the merits and not occur the wrath of nandi :), > which is given in the R.S Vadhiyar book >> > > 2. Tarpanam > > not present in the laghu padathi of Sringeri book, but present in the > longer form in the same book and R.S Vadhiyar. >> > > However both books are a wonderful reference for siva puja >> > > Some Questions > > 1. What is the general rule regarding Surya puja done after sunset? or > more particularly can Siva Panchayatana Puja be performed in the evening if > one misses it in the mornings? >> > > 2. I was in the habit of performing pradosha puja to only the lingam from > the panchayatana samputam, however I was told that the set should not be > separated and that even pradosha puja should involve the other deties or > have a separate lingam. Can the deities be separated? >> > > regards > > Vishwam >> >> >> >> >> > > ________________________________ > > From: Ajit Krishnan <ajit.krishnan@...> > > To: ambaa-l@yahoogroups.com > > Sent: Thursday, February 5, 2009 12:46:56 PM > > Subject: Re: [ambaa-L] Fw: Re: Shiva & Devi panchayatana puja Books >> >> > > namaste, >> > > Generally speaking, most books on daily rituals for use by smArta-s will > > include a pancAyatana pUjA prayoga. Look for titles like nityAhnikam, > > brahma-karma- samuccaya etc. Here are four publications that stand out >> > > (a) nityAhnikam by anantarAma shAstry (R.S.Vadhyar & Sons). Kerala > Palghat > > tradition. A very nice procedure with vaidika mantra-s, available through > > Giri Trading. In the US, its available from Arsha-vidya ( > > http://books. arshavidya. org/cgi-bin/ process/shop/ display/item? > prrfnbr=27029) >> > > (b) pUjA vidhAnam by giridhara shAstry. Sringeri tradition. Nice > > supplementary mantra collections, along with the > > aShTottara-nAMAvali for each devatA. The lalitAShTottaranAmA valiH > > is particularly nice. >> > > (c) AshvalAyana brahma karma samuccaya (Pune series, available in > Sringeri > > area book stalls) >> > > (d) bodhAyanIya ve.nkaTeshIya prayoga (Karnataka Havyaka tradition). This > > one has elaborate pUjA-s for each devatA including nyAsa, mantra japa, > > navashakti / dvAdasha-nAma pUjA and AvaraNa pUjA. The pancAyatana > procedure > > from this compendium is also republished in the booklet 'panchAyatana > devara > > pUjA' by shankaranArAyana bhaTTa (Kannada script only). This booklet has >a > > large introduction, explaining each step. >> > > bhavadIyaH, >> > > ajit >> > > > > From: yashdrasunresh <yashdrasunresh@ ...> >>> > > > > I shall be grateful if anyone knows of books in English on > > > > Shiva and > > > > Devi panchayatana puja please.

>>>> > > > > Sri Guru Datta > > > > Yashdra >>>> >> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >> > > > > > -----------------------------------> > -> pradiipa-jvaalaabhir-divasakara-niiraajana-vidhiH > sudhaasuutesh-candropala-jalalavair-arghya-racanaa . > svakiiyair-ambhobhiH salila-nidhi-sauhityakaraNaM > tvadiiyaabhir-vaagbhis-tava janani vaacaaM stutiriyam.h > > Web Page: http://www.ambaa.org/ > Support: help@... > Preferred Transliteration: http://www.aczoom.com/itrans/ > > Be informed, visit: http://www.kanchi-sathya.org/

Re: on Siva panchayatana puja namaste, > Because, generally the nirmAlya of siva is taken by Chandishwara Murti (also as per the Bodhayana Mahanyasa Kalpa & Siva Panchayatana paddhati by Sringeri). Both books have a reference to Nandi and Chandishwara. They give the same shloka -- "bANa rAvaNa chandIsha nandi bhRi~ngiriTAdayaH. mahAdeva-prasAdo.ayaM sarve gRihNantu shAmbavAH". In many temples, after the abhisheka of the Linga is complete, a quick abhisheka of Nandi, near the bali-piiTha is also performed. This also finds a place in some panchAyatana-pUjA traditions. The bell that we use has Nandi perched on top. After the main pUjA to the panchAyatana vigrahas, a separate pUjA (including AvAhana and abhiSheka) is performed to this Nandi, and nirmAlya is offered to him. When selecting a good ghaNTA, we look for two things -- the quality of the sound, and the quality of the Nandi vigraha on top. Some time ago, I found a relevant picture on the net, which I've temporarily uploaded to http://www.mudgala.com/nandi.jpg (I can't seem to find the original link anymore) bhavadIyaH, ajit --- In ambaa-l@yahoogroups.com, "sriram" <sriram_sapthasathi@...> wrote: > > Dear vishwam, > > Kindly clarify whether it is nandi or chandishwara. > > Because, generally the nirmAlya of siva is taken by Chandishwara Murti (also as per the Bodhayana Mahanyasa Kalpa & Siva Panchayatana paddhati by Sringeri). > > While i have not gone thru Shri RS Vadhiyar's book, Shri Ajit would be the right person to comment. > <trimmed>