Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 833: Shri Panchashat pita rupini (ōṃ pañcāśatpīṭharūpiṇyai namaḥ)

The Divine Mother is enshrined in fifty (one) key centers of worship.

When Sati Devi, (the Divine Mother) wanted to go for Her father Daska’s Yaja, She did not get Her spouse Shiva’s approval. He refused to go there as there was no invitation. In the Yaja place, Sati Devi was not welcomed or respected. She felt upset that Her spouse was not invited and She did not get the respect. As a result, She put Herself in Yaja fire.

Shiva was furious to hear the sad happening to His spouse, Sati Devi. He came to that Yaja, and his creation Veera batra completely destroyed it.  Shiva carried Sati Devi’s body and losing his senses wandered around in all directions. Mahavishnu followed Shiva carrying dead body of Sai Devi, learnt of this happening He cut that Sati Devi’s dead body into fifty-one parts. These parts fell in various places, making Shakti  pita. In each place, the Divine Mother’s grace and glories are shining forever. Pilgrimage to Shakti pitas is a good form of the Divine Mother worship.

The fifty-one Shakti Pitas’ corresponds to fifty-one akshras of Sanskrit. These are called Maheshvara sutras. the Divine Mother is in fifty-one Nada or sound form, which is in, agreement with Nama 901 “Nada rupa” to be discussed later.

Panchashat is fifty. Since there are fifty-one Shakti Pithas, we can take Panchashat as fifty-one. Letters A to Ksha are fifty-one letters.

representing fifty-one Devis. Fifty-one Shakti Pitas are all over Indian sub-Continent. We have seen Kundalini pass through Chakras within our body, with fifty one  Devis or the Divine Mother forms giving a total of fifty one of them.

In Indian sub-continent there are fifty-one famous centers of Shakti worship between Kamarupa and Chayachatra.  Chayachatra may be the state of Kerala. This connective is because Kerala is the land where coconut trees abound, giving shade (Chayachatra means an umbrella that gives shade). Further Kamarupa to Chayachatra supposedly means from north to south.

Harsha diksita interprets Panchashat as fifty-one in the commentary on first verse of the Sharada Tilaka. Some commentators, however, insist that fifty-one is not the right number of Shakti pitas and that in counting one pitha per letter of alphabet, the letter Ksha  need not be counted and there are then only fifty letters to be counted giving fifty shakti pitas.

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 06 May 2022; updated 13 August 2025

References:

1.     The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamis AparnaSan Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.     Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3.     The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Sithbavandar