Puri Shakti Peeth is among the 51 Shakti Peeth of Ma Sati. It is said that, the navel of maa Sati fell here, when lord Vishnu in order to relieve lord Shiva from grief of losing his wife Sati, used his ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ to incise maa Sati Body. Then, at the place of fall of navel, this temple was constructed. Puri Shakti Peeth is situated in Puri, Orissa, India. Jagannath temple of Puri is just on the walking distance from this Shakti Peeth. Here the idol of maa Sati is called as ‘Vimala’ and the lord Shiva is worshipped as ‘Jagannath’.
Puri is among the most holy place of India and caters thousands of pilgrims every year. It is located near to the Bhubaneswar city and it is around 60 Km from this capital city, which usually a 2 hour drive. Talking about the Shakti Peeth, it is much close to the Jagannath temple of Puri and has an immense importance here. The art and architecture of this place is quite adorable and the type of work done on the stones is impeccable. Since this is a major holy city, from time to time, there are various types of cultural events organized in this region. Actually in this whole vicinity, there are three temples. One is made very earlier and it is the main temple, while the other one quit new as compare to the main one. In front of the temple, there are three Rath, which depicts the vehicle of gods and during Rath Yatra, they are carried from temple to other. Here in this Shakti Peeth, it has 7 incarnations of Goddess Parvati within the premises namely, Varahi, Chamundi, Kaumari, Andri, Vaishnavi, Brahmi and Maheshwari.
History of Chitrakoot Puri Peeth
In the 10th century, a famous and ardent devote of Maa Vimala, constructed this temple. This temple was looked after by various Somavamsi kings and made this place, a historic place of worship. History to this place dates back in the time when it is said that the Navel of Maa Sati fell to this place. Best information about the origin and the formation of this temple, people can be taken from with local people. Religious books, Purans etc are worth trying to find out the history about the Shakti Peeth.
Festivals in Puri temple
- Rath Yatra is the most famous festival here and embarks the journey of lord Krishna, from Jagannath temple to the temple of Gundicha Mandir, with his brother and sister. After the 9th day, the journey is repeated in the opposite direction. The crowd accumulated during this festive season is immense and it really something that everyone should have a look at.
- Makar Sankranti, Sharad Purnima, Deepawali, Somvati Amavasya, Ram Navami are some of the other important festivals being celebrated here.
- Navratri that falls two times in a year- one in the month of March or April and other in the September or October month depending on the Hindu calendar, is among the major festival here. Navratri are celebrated for over 9 days, with some people not eating any type of food that is derived from the soil for these nine days. Special ceremonies and rituals are carried during these days.
- People (Almost every day) offer their offering to the god in form of fruit, milk, homemade sweets etc.
- Another festival that is celebrated with great enthusiasm is the ‘Shiv Ratri’ and during this day, people keep fast, pour milk on the Shiv Lingam and offers ‘Bail’ (A type of fruit) to the god idol.
Where to stay
If you are looking for either cheap or expensive type of accommodation, then both are available here. Here we have listed names of some hotels that will help you to short your search for finding accommodations spaces. Puri Hotel,Victoria Club Hotel, Sonali Hotel, Holiday Resort, Hotel Pulin Puri, Hotel Holiday Home, New Sea Hawk, Hotel Sea Gull ,Hotel Toshali ,Sand Resort, Sonar Bangla Hotel are some of the cheap, yet good accommodations places. Here the rent of each room may vary from Rs 400 to Rs 4000. Also there are several non payable guest houses or dharmsalas that are run by the various nonprofit organizations. Beware of the touts who promises to give hi-fi deals with cheap rates.
Shopping around Puri temple
- Religious Paraphernalia can be bought from the shops that are located just outside the temple.
- Traditional Clothes like can be bought from here, at local market.
- In terms of food, Dishes made from the rice are quit famous here and they are consumed in large number here.
- Bargaining for the items is really necessary here as shopkeepers tend to ask higher price for the good that you want to purchase. A little knowledge about the prices of the basic things in this country will help travelers a lot.
Other places that can be visited nearby
Following are some of the places that you might want to visit:
Lord Jagannath Temple, Puri Beach, Chilika Lake, Swargadwar, Sakshi Gopal Temple, Gundicha Temple, Lakshmi Temple, Loknath temple, Markandesvara temple, Sudarshan Craft Museum, is some of the star attraction nearby this temple.
How to reach the Puri temple
- Direct trains are available to Puri Railway station and various trains ply directly from Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Patna to here.
- Several deluxe bus services are available to Puri and they are worth trying, if you are not getting reservation in the train.
- Nearest airport is in the Biju Patnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar, and national flights are available till here. For international flights, this airport is the nearest location. But it is advisable to have taxi or your own mode of transportation when you are coming to Puri from airport.
- Rickshaw, Auto Rickshaw and Bus are common mode of transportation inside the city.
- Take necessary steps to protect yourself from sunburn etc, because in the summer season, temperature shoots up to 40+ degrees in this part of the country.