Astadasa means 18. Astadasa Shakti Peethams means 18 Goddess Durga (or her manifestations) abodes. These are spread across the sub-continent including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tibet and Nepal. These places of worship are said to be very powerful and people believe that miracles happen when one prays at these places. There are around six of 18 Shakti Peethams in southern part of the sub continent.
It is said there are actually 108 Shakti Peethams, while Adi Shankaracharya has identified Astadasa Shakti Peethams.
Aadi Shankaracharya’s Stotram :-
Lankayam Shankari devi, Kamakshi Kanchika pure /
Pradyumne Shrinkhala devi, Chamunda Krouncha pattane //
Alampure Jogulamba, Sri shaile Bhramarambika /
Kolha pure Maha lakshmi, Mahurye Ekaveerika //
Ujjainyam Maha kali, Peethikayam Puruhutika /
Odhyane Girija devi, Manikya Daksha vatike //
Hari kshetre Kama rupi, Prayage Madhaveshwari /
Jwalayam Vishnavi devi, Gaya Mangalya gourika //
Varanasyam Vishalakshi, Kashmire tu Saraswati /
Ashtadasha Shakti peethani, Yoginamapi durlabham //
Sayamkale pathennityam, Sarva shatri vinashanam /
Sarva roga haram divyam, Sarva sampatkaram shubham //
Meaning
Goddess Shankari in Sri lanka, Kamakshi in Kanchipuram,
Goddess Shrinkhala in Pradyumna and Chamunda in Mysore
Goddess Jogulamba in Alampur, Goddess Brhamarabika in Sri Shailam,
Goddess Maha Lakshmi in Kolhapur and Goddess Eka veera in Mahur
Goddess Maha Kali in Ujjain Purhuthika in Peethika,
Goddess Girija in Odhyana and goddess Manikya in the house of Daksha,
Goddess Kama rupi in the temple of Vishnu, Goddess Madhevaswari in Allahabad,
The flame giving Goddess in Jwala muki and Mangala Gouri in Gaya.
Goddess Visalakshi in Varanasi, Goddess Saraswathi in Kashmir,
Are the 18 houses of Shakthi, which are rare even to devas.
Legend behind Peethams
According to the Pithanirnaya Tantra the 52 peethas are scattered all over India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Pakistan. The Shivacharita besides listing 52 maha-peethas, speaks about 26 more upa-peethas. The Bengali almanac, Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika too describes the 52 peethas including the present modified addresses.
There was a great king called Daksha Prajapati who was son of Lord Brahma. He had 27 daughters and Sati devi is one among them. Sati devi got married to Lord Shiva. When Dashka entered the arena of a yaga performed by Agni, everyone except Lord Shiva stood up as a mark of respect. Daksha felt insulted by Lord Shiva’s behaviour. Later when Daksha conducted a yaga himself , he did not invite his daughter and his son in law. Though Sati felt bad because of the non invitation, she wanted to attend the yaga against the wish of Lord Shiva. When Sati, attended the yaga no body has cared for her and she felt insulted by the actions of her sisters and parents. Then when her father started abusing her husband she could not control her feelings and scarified herself at the place of yagna by creating agni from earth with her right thumb of her foot. Knowing this Lord Shiva removed one bunch of Jhatha from his head and hit it on the earth. From that Lord Veerabhadra has born and rushed to yaga spot and killed Daksha by cutting his head. Later Shiva went to the spot and taken the body of sati from the fire and started dancing with it. The world was terrorized from this Tandava Nritya and to stop this Nritya, Vishnu used his Sudarshan chakra and completely cut the Sati’s body in to pieces. These body parts have fallen at various places in India and Srilanka. Where ever these parts have fallen the places are called Shaktipeethas.
On this auspicious occasion of Navaratri let us have a look at the Shakthi Peethams starting with Jogulamba Devi in Alampur, Telangana where the Sati’s “Upper Jaw with Teeth” said to have fallen.
Jogulamaba Devi, Alampur
Jogulamba Devi temple at Alampur, is one of the 18 Sakti peethams , has been reconstructed after 615 years. Alampur is a sleepy town situated on the banks Tungabhadra River is a marvelous temple and remains of some ancient temple signify Badami Chalukyan architecture. The region was ruled by many South Indian dynasties. The principal deities at the Jogulamba temple are Jogulamba and Balabrahmeshwara.
Here Goddess Jogulamba is seen seated on the Corpse with scorpion, frog, and lizard on the head. She is seen in a naked avtar with her tongue stretched outside, an avtar of fierce goddess that grants Siddhi in Yoga and hence called Jogulamba. This word is a changed form of Yogula Amma in Telugu which means Mother of Yogis.
Alampur is the meeting point of the sacred rivers Tungabhadra and Krishna and is referred to as Dakshina Kashi(also known as Navabrahmeshwara Theertha) and the Western Gateway of Srisailam, the famous Shaivite (Shaivism) pilgrim centre.
Significance of Jogulamaba
Jogulamba can be understood as “Gruha Chandi” (protector of our homes). As we noticed, the idol shows that the goddess has a lizard, scorpion, bat and human skull in her hair. These are the indications of evil and signs of deterioration of a house. Lizard is the primary indication that a house starting to lose its life.
Gradually, the number of lizards shall increase which result in the welcoming of scorpions which is even worse. The next level would be the entrance of bats which may result in death of humans living in that house. People believe that Jogulamba protects them and their shelters from all kinds of evils. She is also worshipped to be freed from Vastu Doshas (faults in constructions). The temple attracts a large number of pilgrims from various parts for the country.
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History
According to historical sources, the temple was razed to the ground during Muslim invasion in 1390 AD. The local people put up a fierce resistance and killed the invaders and moved the main idol to the nearby Balabrahmeswara temple. Since then, the idol had been worshipped in the secluded place in the temple.
The Chalukyas of Badami, mainly by the initiative of Pulakesin-II put up a number of temples in and around Alampur in the 7th and 8th centuries.
At Alampur alone, Chalukyas built nine temples devoted to Navabrahmeswara and Jogulamba. Of them, eight magnificent temples of Navabrahmeswara survived but the temple of Tarakabrahma could not be traced.
The Jogulamba temple was reconstructed at the same place where it stood. The temple was rebuilt in the same way it was described in the `Rasaratnakaram’ of Nityanatha Sidha of 12th century AD. Sankaracharya was believed to have installed `Sri Chakra’ at Jogulamba temple, which is not available now.
Alampur was under the rule of Shatavahana Ishvakus of Nagarjunakonda, Badami Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Kalyani Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Vijayanagara Empire and Qutb Shahis of Golconda. Alampur was previously Known as Halampuram, Hamalapuram And Alampuram. Name of this place as Hatampura, mentioned in the inscription dated AD 1101 belongs to Western Chalukya, Tribhuvanamalla Vikramaditya VI. There are Navabhrama Temples, these impressive temples should be visited on tour to Andhra Pradesh not only because they are historically important but also because they reflect remarkable architectural skills.
Navabhramma temples in Alampur:
Alampur is the home of very ancient Navabhramma temples dating back to the 7th century CE.
The Nava Bhramma temples were built by the Badami Chalukyas, who ruled for about 200 years from the middle of the sixth century onwards. The Badami Chalukyas built several temples in Karnataka, and the Alampur temples in Andhra Pradesh.The Alampur site preserves archeological remains in the form of temples exhibiting a hybrid style of architecture – dating back to the 6th-7th centuries CE. Some of the images from this site are also housed in a museum nearby.
The Nava Bhramma temples are Taraka Bhramma, Swarga Bhramma, Padma Bhramma, Bala Bhramma, Garuda Bhramma, Kumara Bhramma, Arka Bhramma, Vira Bhramma and the Vishwa Bhramma. These temples are all enclosed in a courtyard on the left bank of the river Tungabhadra.
The Bala Bhramma temple is the principal shrine of worship. It dates back to the year 702 CE – per the inscriptions seen here. Shivaratri is celebrated in great splendour here.
Swarga Brahma temple was built during 681-696 AD by Lokaditya Ela Arasa in honour of the queen of Vinayaditya, it is mentioned in an inscription found above the Dwarapalaka image. It is the finest example of Badami Chalukya Architecture and sculpture. This temple is the most elaborately ornamented temple. Temple with an imposing tower (Rekhanagara vimana) is the finest compared to other temples at Alampur.
The Taraka Bhramma temple is partly in ruins, and it has no image in the sanctum. It bears telugu inscriptions from the 6th-7th century CE. The Swarga Bhramma temple with an imposing tower is considered to be among the finest in Alampur, and is an excellent specimen of Chalukyan architecture and sculpture. It contains several sculptures in bas relief, and it dates back to the end of the 8th century.
Padma Bhramma temple temple partly in ruins, contains a Shivalingam of clear stone with mirror like finish. The Viswa Bhramma temple is among the most artistic of the Nava Bhramma temples. The sculptural work here depicts scenes from the epics.
Suryanarayana temple is also in the enclosed courtyard is located the Suryanarayana temple, dating back to the 9th century. This temple has bas reliefs representing the incarnations of Vishnu. There is also a Narasimha temple with inscriptions from the period of Krishna Deva Raya of the Vijayanagar Empire.
Near Alampur, is Papanasam with a cluster of over 20 temples of varying sizes and styles. The most important of these is the Papanaseswara temple.
Legend of Renuka Mata
Besides being a religious hub, Alampur is also famous for being a home to the Ashram of Maharshi Jamadagni. According to a legend, Maharshi Jamadagni stayed in Alampur with his wife Renuka and four sons. They were making their livelihood and worshipping Bala Brahmeswara and Jogulamba Devi. Renuka Mata, with her power, regularly used to make a pot with sand and bring water from the Tungabhadra River. One day, she noticed a king of Gandharvas bathing in the river with his wives. On seeing this, she formed a prejudice that happiness comes from materialistic wealth but not by worship.
At this thought, she lost all her powers and could not make the pot. She went home without water and on being asked the reason by Jamadagni, Renuka told about the incident and admitted her sinful thoughts. Then, Jamadagni got angry on her and ordered his sons to kill her. Three of them refused to do so but the fourth son, Parasurama, obeyed the order of his father and killed his mother by cutting her head off with his axe. Jamadagni was pleased and offered him a boon. Parasurama asked him to give back life to his mother. Then Jamadagni revived her life.
Legends say that the head of Renuka Mata became Ekaveera Devi, a symbol of Maya rupa; (materialistic thoughts) and the headless body became Bhudevi, a symbol of Matru rupa (mother). Many people say that Ekaveera Devi manifested herself as Goddess Yellamma in Undavelli village near Alampur, while the shrine of Bhudevi is present in the premises of Bala Brahmeswara temple.
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