Prayag Shakti Peeth is among the 51 Shakti Peeth of Ma Sati. It is said that, the ten fingers 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 ten fingers, this temple was constructed. Prayag Shakti Peeth is situated in Prayag Raj in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Here the idol of maa Sati is called as ‘Lalita’ and the lord Shiva is worshipped as ‘Bhava’. There is a temple which is dedicated Maa Sati and it is called as Laliteshwar Mahadev temple.
Prayag is itself a major hub for the religious structures, and a major holy city in Hindu culture. Three major rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati meet here and this place is also called as ‘Sangam’. Every period of a year, you will see lots of people flocking to this part of country to take holy dip and it is said that by doing so, a human soul cleanses all his devils and bad deeds. Now talking about the Shakti Peeth, Laliteshwar Mahadev temple is said to be located in holy premises of Akshaywat in Vayavya of north-west corner near the bank of Yamuna. The art and architecture of the temple is really something to see for and in the sanctorum of the temple, there is large idol of Maa Sati with four hands and a glowing wheel behind the ‘Mukut’. Just adjacent to this idol, are the idol of lord Shiva and Mata Parvati. Also in the temple you will see the idols of Lord Ganesha and Gajanan.
History of Prayag Shakti Peeth
History to this place dates back in the time when it is said that the ten fingers 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 Prayag temple
- Kumbh Mela is the star attraction here and it attract crowd in exorbitant numbers, both domestic and international as well. It is celebrated after a gap of very 12 years and on this auspicious period, people take bath in the holy water of Sangam.
- 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.
- Person (Almost every day) offers 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
Since Prayag is among the most worshipped place in Hindu culture, this place is full of accommodation arrangements. Even if the private accommodation are kept part, still the government plus the non government organization comfort spaces are more. Since the turnaround of the people to this place is vast every time of the year, there is great business thriving in terms of hotels. But the good thing is that, there are ample numbers of good, yet cheap accommodation places available here. Beware of the touts that promise to provide good accommodation at cheaper rates.
Shopping around Prayag temple
- Religious Paraphernalia can be bought from the shops that are located just outside the temple. Just visit Sangam , that is situated 7 Km from the civil lines, and there are lot number shops to buy idols, books etc.
- People buy all sorts of things like gems, traditional dress, musical instruments etc from here and handicraft products are quite buzz in this part of country.
- Namkeens and Handicrafts items are also in great demand, so check out them too. Some shops where the handicrafts are available at good price are Asian Crafts (Katra Road), Bhuali Crafts (ADA Colony), Rainbow International (George Town).
- 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…
- Sangam- Here people take holy bath
- Akbar’s Fort & Patalpuri Temple
- Akbar's Fort
- Anand Bhavan
- Khusru Bagh
How to reach the Prayag temple
- Road transportation is the most common means and buses directly to Prayag are available from major cities of North india.
- Direct trains are available to Allahabad railway station and you get trains from every part of the country.
- Several deluxe bus services are available to Prayag and they are worth trying, if you are not getting reservation in the train.
- Nearest airport is in the Allahabad and national flights are available to this airport. International flights are available till Delhi.
- 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.