Chandranath Temple ( or ''Chandronath mondir''), located on top of the Chandranath Hill, is a famous Shakta pitha located near

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

in Bangladesh where, as per

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

sacred texts, the right arm of Deiti Sati fell. Chandranath Temple is a pilgrimage site for Hindus. Its height about above sea level (according to Google map).

Historical references

The temple is believed to date back to the 11th century, it holds significant historical and religious importance. 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 s ...

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

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

, 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, ruler of

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

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

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

from the temple to his kingdom but failed.

Legend

Sati was the first wife of Shiva as the first incarnation of

Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...

. She was the daughter of King

Daksha Daksha ( ,) is a Hindu god whose role underwent a significant transformation from Vedic mythology, ''Vedic'' to Itihasa-Purana, ''Itihasa-Puranic'' mythology. In the ''Rigveda'', Daksha is an ''Adityas, aditya'' and is associated with priestly ...

and Queen (the daughter of

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

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

yagna In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well a ...

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 (“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 Sudarshana Chakra (, ) is a divine discus, attributed to Vishnu in the Hindu scriptures. The Sudarshana Chakra is generally portrayed on the right rear hand of the four hands of Vishnu, who also holds the Panchajanya (conch), the Kaumodaki ...

(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 List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, 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 Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

she was reborn as the daughter of

Himavat Himavat () 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. Nomenclature Various Hindu scriptures refer to th ...

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 Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

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

Mrigashīrsha Mṛgaśirā (also spelled Mr̥gaśīrṣa; Devanagari: मृगशीर्ष) is the 5th nakshatra, nakṣatra or ''lunar mansion'' as used in Hindu astronomy and astrology in the constellation Orion (constellation), Orion. Its position is des ...

, which marks the Shivarathri (Shiva's night) festival. Aerial View of Chandranath Hill and Temple

The Chandranath Temple as a Shakta pitha

The Chandranath Temple is considered as a Shakta pitha, the revered shrines of

Shaktism Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...

. The mythology of Daksha yaga and Sati's self immolation is the source mythology behind the origin of Shakta pithas. Shakta pithas 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 Shakta pithas linking to the 51 alphabets in Sanskrit. Each temple have shrines for

Shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

and Kalabhairava. 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 Shakta pithas Tourist attractions in Chittagong Hindu pilgrimage sites in Bangladesh