By Dr. Sandeep Sadanand Chaugule : Many believe that the India got united under British and it got a shape under British Raj, until then many smaller kingdoms were ruling smaller parts of India. Until British came there was no concept of United India. And many school history books also teach the same concepts.
Shrine photo of Hungalaja one of the Shakti Peetha, now based in Baluchistan, Pakistan
However India’s soul, shape and the concept is far older than many thousands of years. It is the psyche which makes you an Indian and not the geographical boundaries. To define this Indian psyche many places were identified which could unite this vast land into a concept. One of them is the 52 Shakti Peethas.
Shakti peetha are the energy sources across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, where feminine energy is celebrated, it is across this vast subcontinent. Hence it’s not very true that the boundaries or British decided India or Indian-ness, it is the Shakti peetha, Jyotirlinga, or Dham decides India.
Concept of 52 Shakti Peetha. Though in Devi Bhagvat 108 Peetha are mentioned, In Kalika Puran 26, Shiva- Charitra 51, Durga- Saptashati and Tantra Chudamani defines it 52 in number.
I think Devi- Saptashati or Tantra- chudamni should be taken as most authentic as these energy places we mostly Trantrik places. The places of 52 Sahkti peetha in true sense define boundaries of India.
The story of Shakti Peethas is related to the Story of Shiva and Sati. Devi Sati jumped into the ritual fire of her father Daksha Prajapati’s Yajna as she was angered by the disrespect shown to her and her husband Shiva by her father. Shiva carried the charred body of Devi around the world in grief.
The gods prayed to Vishnu and he cut the charred body of Devi into smaller pieces that fell at various places. Those places became Shakti Peethas. These Shakti Peethas are scattered around India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and also Bhutan.
These are energy sources on the earth.
52 is an untouchable number as per mathematics, an untouchable number is a positive integer that cannot be expressed as the sum of all the proper divisors of any positive integer. This is the third untouchable number after 2 and 5. In the combination of 52, 5 is the only untouchable odd number. Hence on can see the 52 is a number with combination of one even untouchable number (2) and a only odd untouchable number.
52 are also weeks of a calendar year. According to numerology… 52 essences contains, the 7’s essence, such as introspection, intuition, and wisdom, plus a dose of the 5’s essence, such as curiosity, wit, and expression of a personal sense of freedom, plus a dose of the 2’s essence, such as teamwork, relationships, and diplomacy,
The number 52’s focus on the expression of personal freedom gives it a perspective of individuals that’s tolerant and non-judgmental.
Sati is a representation of unbound and individual expression. In the stories of Sati and Shiva one will make out that the unbound, free and own willful acts are the core of Sati’s characteristic. She is mother nature tolerant, free and nonjudgmental.
2 represents duality – Purusha and Prakriti (Reality and Illusion), while 5 represents the 5th element – the earth. Hence 52 Peetha is also a representation of unbound earth and the duality dwelling in it.
Tantiricsm has used the numbers very intelligently, and hence 52 is the number given to power houses around the Indian subcontinent.
I pray to that free, tolerant and unbound Mother situated between these 52 power houses to give all of us that steadfastness, power and up-liftment in the life.
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्ति–रूपेण संस्थिता। नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः
Oh the one who dwells in all being as energy, I bow to you
Compiled by: Dr. Sandeep Sadanand Chaugule
You can follow the author on Twitter @sandipchaugulle
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