Manivedika Shakti Peeth is among the 51 Shakti Peeth of Maa Sati. It is said that, the wrist of maa Sati fell here, when lord Vishnu in order to relieve lord Shiva from grief of losing his wife Sati, used his ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ to incise maa Sati Body. Then, at the place of fall of wrist, this temple was constructed. Manivedika Shakti Peeth is situated in Sitakunda station of Gayatri hills near Pushkar and 11 km north-west of Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. Here the idol of maa Sati is called as ‘Gayatri’ and the lord Shiva is worshipped as ‘Sarvananda’. There is a temple which is dedicated Maa Sati and it is called as Manivedika temple. Meaning of Gayatri is Saraswati. Saraswati is the goddess of Knowledge in Hindu culture.
The temple is constructed on a hill and made of stones on which various idols of gods and Goddess are engraved. The art and architecture of the temple is commendable and the huge pillars show the grandness of this holy structure.
History of Manivedika Shakti Peeth
History to this place dates back in the time when it is said that the Right arm of Maa Sati fell to this place. Best information about the origin and the formation of this temple, people can mingle with local people.
Festivals in Manivedika temple
- Pushkar Mela is the star attraction here and it attract crowd in exorbitant number, both domestic and international as well.
- Navratri that falls two times in a year- one in the month of March or April and other in the September or October month depending on the Hindu calendar, is among the major festival here. Navratri are celebrated for over 9 days, with some people not eating any type of food that is derived from the soil for these nine days. Special ceremonies and rituals are carried during these days.
- Person (Almost every day) offers their offering to the god in form of fruit, milk, homemade sweets etc.
- Another festival that is celebrated with great enthusiasm is the ‘Shivaratri’ and during this day, people keep fast, pour milk on the Shiv Lingam and offers ‘Bail’ (A type of fruit) to the god idol.
Where to stay
Since this Shakti Peeth lies near to Jaipur and Ajmer, those itself are major tourist Hub, there is no scarcity of accommodation places. Yes, you won’t get any accommodation space near the Shakti Peeth, but in Ajmer there is a whole bunch of accommodation provisions. And the best part is that you will get every range of hotels. The price of each room may very Rs 250 per night to Rs 1 Lakh per night.
As far as food is concerned, In Rajasthan you will mostly get vegetarian food and it is worth trying. Yes milk products are not in abundance as compared to other states.
Shopping around Manivedika temple
- Rajasthan is a major hub for the Shopping and hotspot among the tourist, both domestic and international.
- People buy all sorts of things like gems, traditional dress, musical instruments etc from here and handicraft products are quite buzz in this part of country.
- Items related religious activity can be obtained from outside the temple itself.
- Bargaining for the items is really necessary here as shopkeepers tend to ask higher price for the good that you want to purchase. A little knowledge about the prices of the basic things in this country will help travelers a lot.
Other places that can be visited nearby…
- A lake that is said to have been made because of the fall of lotus flower from hands of Lord Brahama is the main attraction of Pushkar.
- Dargah of Khwaja Muin-ud-dinChishti in Jaipur is holy shrine made by Humayun and it sees a large turnaround of crowd every year.
How to reach the Manivedika temple
- Road transportation is the most common means and buses directly to Pushkar are available from major cities of Rajasthan.
- Although there is no direct train to Pushkar from major station but, yes from Jaipur you will get lot number of trains plying to this part.
- Several deluxe bus services are available for Pushkar and they are worth trying, if you want to protect yourself from the scorching heat of the sun.
- Nearest airport is in the Jaipur and both national and international flights are available to this airport.
- Take necessary steps to protect yourself from sunburn etc, because in the summer season, temperature shoots up to 40+ degrees in this part of the country.