The breast of Sati — Shivani, she who belongs to Shiva, in the sacred forest of Chitrakoot where Rama spent his years of exile.
Ramgiri Peetha at Chitrakoot marks where the breast of Sati fell. The Goddess is Shivani (literally "she who is Shiva's" — Parvati) and the Bhairav is Chandbhairav (the Moon-Bhairav). Chitrakoot — "the mountain of many wonders" — is one of the most revered Rama pilgrimage sites, where Rama, Sita and Lakshmana spent eleven of their fourteen exile years. Tulsidas wrote the Ram Charit Manas here; Sages Atri, Anasuya and Markandeya had their ashrams here.
The Mandakini river flows through Chitrakoot, and the Ram Ghat on its banks is the main bathing ghat. The Kamadgiri hill — the sacred hill around which pilgrims perform the 5 km Parikrama — is the central act of Chitrakoot pilgrimage, done barefoot. The combination of the Shakti Peetha (Shivani) and the Rama sacred landscape gives Chitrakoot a rare dual Shaiva-Vaishnava-Shakta character.
By road from Satna (MP): 75 km. By road from Allahabad: 130 km. Nearest railway: Chitrakoot Dham Karvi Station or Satna Junction.
October to March. Ram Navami (April) draws large crowds. Avoid July–September (heavy monsoon, Mandakini floods).
The Kamadgiri Parikrama is done best at dawn — the 5 km barefoot circuit around the hill takes 1.5 hours and is one of the most meditative walks at any north Indian pilgrimage site.
The Breast of Goddess Sati fell at Ramgiri, consecrating this land as a Shakti Peetha. The Shakti here is Shivani and the guardian Bhairav is Chandbhairav.
One of the 51 sacred Shakti Peethas — explore its unique significance in the divine circuit.
Explore →One of the 51 sacred Shakti Peethas — explore its unique significance in the divine circuit.
Explore →One of the 51 sacred Shakti Peethas — explore its unique significance in the divine circuit.
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