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ISSN 0970-8669 Review

haktism focuses worship upon or , Devi near Narendranagar and this Surkhanda Sthe Hindu Divine Mother.Shakti means Devi near Dhanaulti. The temple is on the top of ‘Power’ or 'Energy'. is a hill at a height of 2,757 m (9,045 ft) from sea considered as the embodiment of ‘Shakti’, a level. The place is surrounded by dense forest culmination of the power and divine energy vested and gives a mesmerising scenic view to the in the Hindu Gods. In , the worship of devotees and visitors. Huge crowd gather during Durga has been associated with the annihilation the celebration of Dusshera festival which of evil powers and rise above the negative energies falls every year between the months of May and associated with the anger, greed, lust, egoism and June.It symbolises the Goddess-centric worship pride. as a cult began much earlier since tradition of Shakti, the supreme power of the ancient times with the worship of the Supreme universe. Female Power which was recognised with many forms of Nature. Shaktism as it has spread today, Indian Mythology is one of the richest has the beginning with the literature of the Vedic elements of Indian Culture. Through generations,

Surkhanda Devi : A Divine Destination

Dr. Sanghamitra Deobhanj

Age, which further evolved during the formative period of the Hindu epics, and flourished the most different stories in Indian mythology have been during the Gupta Age (300-700 CE). Devi passed from generation to generation either by Mahatmya, an important text in Shaktism, was word of mouth or through carefully written composed around fifth or sixth century CE.People scriptures.As per one such famous legend of Hindu who follow the tradition, customs and rituals mythology, or Dakshyani was the daughter associated with Shakti or Devi worship and of King and Queen . She grew up believe that Shakti is behind every creation, every listening to the legends of the great ascetic Lord action, are known as Shaktas. and became an ardent admirer of Lord Shiva by the time she reached womanhood. After Surkhanda Devi temple is a famous much dedication, meditation and prayer Lord Shaktipeetha of India. It is situated in the Tehri Shiva finally married Sati. Daksha was not happy district of Uttrakhand state and is a part of the with the marriage and on one occasion, he did Devi Darshan triangle in the Garhwal hills, namely; not even invite Shiva or Sati to a Yagna arranged Chandrabadani Devi near Devprayag, Kunjapuri in his palace. But Sati went to attend the function

54 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER - 2017 Odisha Review ISSN 0970-8669 alone despite Lord Shiva’s disapproval. There is situated at a distance of 8 kms from the popular Daksha insulted Sati about her husband, in front hill station Dhanaulti and 22 kms away from of others. Unable to bear the humiliation, Sati Chamba. Along with the religious importance, the jumped into the Yagna fire. Infuriated Lord Shiva place is also a nature-lover’s paradise. One can performed , the dance of destruction see the beautiful birds of region of the western carrying the corpse of Sati on His shoulders. Lord Himalayas. Flowers and herbs also attract the , tried to calm him down and cut Sati’s body visitors. Locally known as Burans or Gurans, into 51(fifty one) pieces. It is believed that those itis Rhododendron arboreum,is an evergreen 51 body pieces fell at different places towards shrub or small tree with a dashing show of bright the south of the Himalayas and all over Indian crimson red flowers. It is the state flower of Nepal sub-continent. All those places became the scared and seen in Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, worshipping places of , and Nagaland along with Uttrakhand. This flower is came to be known as Shakti Pithas. In popular eaten as chutney and the juice taken as squash woship Shakti is known by different names in which are believed to prevent the illness caused different places, like Durga, , , Gouri, by weather changes. Shankari, Kamakshi, Chamundeswari, , Biraja, Bimala, Vaishnavi, Vishalakshi, People visit the temple mainly for religious Bhramaramba, , , Jwalamukhi, etc. purpose and also for adventure and trekking pleasure. Everyone reaching the temple gets It is believed that out of the 51 sacred mesmerized by the awesome serenity and body parts of Sati, the head part of Sati fell at the tranquility of the place. Praying at this temple brings place now known as Surkhanda, in the state of lot of peace to the mind and soul. It is indeed a Uttrakhand. Earlier it was known as Sirkhanda divine destination for those believing in the Devi and with passage of time the name became Maata, the Mother Goddess, and the supreme Surkhanda. Kaddukhal is the starting point, power. In Odisha, we have many Shaktipithas. beyond which one has to trek to reach the temple. , Manikeshwari, Biraja, Bimala, One also has to be careful as the path to the top Tarini, , etc. are few famous of the hill,of nearly 2 kms is very steep. But the Shaktipeethas in Odisha. Every place on Earth is visit to the temple is definitely worth the pain and unique and has some geographical and historical tiredness. The spectacular view of the importance. But, at a few places we feel the surroundings from the temple is breath-taking. spirituality, peace and the divine bliss. Visiting the From the top one can have the 360 degree Shaktipeethas, gives spiritual energy and panoramic view of the Garhwal hill region. On a motivates people to conquer the evil inside and sunny day, with clear sky, towards the north outside and continue to do good work for the direction one can see the snow-capped mountains society and the whole world. of the Himalayas. Peaks like Gourishankar, Choukhamba, Kedardome, Nandadvi, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamonotri etc. can be viewed from the top. Valleys of and Dr. Sanghamitra Deobhanj, 945 Mahanadi Vihar, Rishikesh can also be seen on the other sides. It Cuttack – 4.

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