Chandranath Temple ( bn, চন্দ্রনাথ মন্দির or ''Chandronath mondir''), located on top of the

Chandranath Hill Chandranath Hill is the eastern part of the Himalayas separated from the Himalayas. This hill goes south and south-east of the Himalayas and crosses the Feni River through Assam and Tripura states of India and joins Chittagong, Bangladesh. From th ...

, is a famous

Shakti Peeth The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various for ...

located near

Sitakunda Sitakunda or Sitakunda Town ( bn, সীতাকুণ্ড শহর) is an administrative centre and the sole municipality (''Paurashava'') of Sitakunda Upazila in Chattogram District, located in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. Sitakunda ...

in Bangladesh where, as per

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

sacred texts, the right arm of Goddess

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

fell. Chandranath Temple is a pilgrimage site for Hindus. Its height about above sea level (according to Google map).

Historical references

The

Rajmala ''Rajmala'' is a chronicle of the Kings of Tripura, written in Bengali verse in the 15th century under Dharma Manikya I. Overview The ''Rajmala'' chronicles the history of the Manikya kings of Tripura. While it serves as an invaluable sou ...

states that about 800 years ago, Raja Biswambhar Sur, a descendant of the famous Adisur of

Gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

, tried to reach Chandranath by sea. The Nigamkalpataru refers to the poet Jayadev living for a time in Chandranath. By the time of

Dhanya Manikya Dhanya Manikya was the Maharaja of Tripura who reigned from 1490 to 1515 C.E. In this time, Tripura Sundari Temple was established. Biography Assisted by his generals Ray Kachag and Ray Kacham, Dhanya Manikya expanded Tripura's territorial do ...

, ruler of

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

, Chandranath received numerous endowments. Dhanya Manikya attempted to remove the idol of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

from the temple to his kingdom but failed.

Legend

was the first wife of Shiva as the first incarnation of

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

. She was the daughter of King

Daksha In Hinduism, Daksha (Sanskrit: दक्ष, IAST: , lit. "able, dexterous, or honest one") is one of the '' Prajapati'', the agents of creation, as well as a divine king-rishi. His iconography depicts him as a man with a stocky body and a ha ...

and Queen (the daughter of

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

). She committed self-immolation at the sacrificial fire of a

yagna Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...

performed by her father Daksha as she felt seriously distraught by her father's insult of her husband and her by not inviting them for the yagna. Shiva was so grieved after hearing of the death of his wife that he danced around the world in a

Tandav Nritya Tandava (also spelled as ) also known as , is a divine dance performed by Hindu god Shiva. Shiva is depicted as dancing the Tandava in his form of Nataraja. The ''Natya Shastra'', a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts describes various as ...

(“devastating penance” or dance of destruction) carrying Sati's dead body over his shoulders. Perturbed by this situation and to bring Shiv to a state of normalcy, Vishnu decided to use his Sudarshan Chakra (the rotating discus carried on his finger tip). He dismembered Sati's body with the chakra into 51 pieces and wherever her body fell on the earth, the place was consecrated as a divine shrine to Shakthi Peeth with deities of Sati (Parvati) and Shiva. These locations have become famous pilgrimage places as Pithas or Shakthi Pithas are found scattered all over the subcontinent including Pakistan,

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, apart from India. Sati is also known as Devi or Shakthi, and with blessings of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

she was reborn as the daughter of

Himavat Himavat (Sanskrit: हिमवत्, lit. ''frosty'') is the personification of the Himalayan mountains in Hinduism. He is the guardian deity of the Himalayas, and finds mention in the epic ''Mahabharata'' and other Hindu scriptures. Nomencla ...

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

and hence named as Parvati (daughter of mountains). She was born on the 14th day of the bright half of the month of

Mrigashīrsha Mṛgaśiraṣa (also spelled Mārgaśīrṣa/Mṛgaśira; Devanagari: मृगशीर्ष) is the 5th nakṣatra or ''lunar mansion'' as used in Hindu astronomy and astrology in the constellation Orion. Its position is described in the Sury ...

, which marks the

Shivarathri Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu c ...

(Shiva's night) festival. Aerial View of Chandranath Hill and Temple

The Chandranath Temple as a Shakti Peeth

The Chandranath Temple is considered as a

Shakti Peetha The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various fo ...

, the revered shrines of

Shaktism Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti ( Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, al ...

. ''The mythology of Daksha yaga and Sati's self immolation'' is the source mythology behind the origin of Shakti Peethas. Shakti Peethas are divine shrines of Shakti, due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Lord Shiva carried it and wandered throughout Aryavartha in sorrow. There are 51 Shakti Peeth linking to the 51 alphabets in Sanskrit. Each temple have shrines for

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

and

Kalabhairava Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''Bhairav ...

. The Right Arm of Sati Devi's corpse is believed to have fallen here. The Shakti is known by the name Bhavani.

References

External links

{{Coord, 22, 38, N, 91, 41, E, display=title, region:BD_type:landmark_source:GNS-enwiki Hindu temples in Chittagong Division 12th-century Hindu temples Shakti Peethas Tourist attractions in Chittagong Hindu pilgrimage sites in Bangladesh