The throat of Sati at the ancient Sharada Peeth — one of the great seats of Hindu learning, now in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The Kashmir Peetha is identified with the ancient Sharada Peeth (also Sarada Mata temple) at Sharda village in the Neelum Valley of Azad Kashmir. The throat of Sati fell here, and the Goddess is Mahamaya — the great illusion, the cosmic power of divine playfulness that veils ultimate reality. The Bhairav is Trisandhyeshwar (Lord of the Three Twilights). Sharada Peeth was one of the ancient seats of Sanskrit learning — the Sharada script used to write Kashmiri and Dogri derives its name from this Goddess of learning.
The Sharada Peeth was an active temple until the India-Pakistan wars of the 20th century made it inaccessible. Hindu Kashmiri Pandits, who fled Kashmir in large numbers in the 1990s, maintain a deep devotional connection to this Peetha. Occasional "virtual yatras" are organised. Some Kashmiri Hindu groups have requested and received limited permits to visit the Pakistani side for specific religious occasions.
The Peetha is in Azad Kashmir (Pakistan-administered). Indian Kashmiri Hindu pilgrims have periodically been allowed cross-LoC access under special government arrangements — check current diplomatic status before planning.
This is one of the most politically sensitive of the 51 Peethas. Many Kashmiri Pandits perform proxy worship at Sharada Mata temples established by the diaspora in Jammu and other cities.
Virtual darshan and diaspora Sharada Peeth temples exist in Jammu, Delhi and beyond for those unable to visit the original site.
The Throat of Goddess Sati fell at Kashmir (Sharada), consecrating this land as a Shakti Peetha. The Shakti here is Mahamaya and the guardian Bhairav is Trisandhyeshwar.
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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