Sri Karavipur Shakti Peeth Temple, Pakistan.

Address

Sri Mahishamardini Shivaharkaray Or Karavipur Shakti Peeth, Parkai, Lasbela Distirct, Sindh, Pakistan.

Diety

Shakti: Mahishmardini Bhairava: Krodhish, Body part or ornament: Eyes

Introduction

Karavipur is located in Karachi, near Pakistan.. Some believe that the temple is located in Sukkur city, Pakistan on the banks of the river Sindh. There is another belief that the temple is located at Sharkar in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. The temple is well connected by all the three modes of transport. Karavipur temple is one of the ancient temples in the world.

Puranic Significance

While Hindus worship the goddess as “Karavipur devi”, Muslims call the deity as “Nani”. This place is known for curing poison related ailments like snake bite etc. Shivaharkaray or Karavipur is a Shakthi peeta where the THREE EYES of Devi is said to have fallen. Here Sati (Devi) is worshipped as Mahishamardini. Lord Shiva is worshipped in Ragi, (grain) form as Krodhish, the one who can get angry. This Shakthi Peet is the third among the 51 Shakthi Peetas. ANOTHER STORY OF SATI: In Hindu mythology, the son of Brahma, King Prajapati Daksha had a daughter named Sati. Princess Sati grew up adoring the legends and tales of Shiva, and when finally her age of getting married came, she knew it was only the ascetic Lord Shiva of Kailash where her heart and soul resided. Soon enough, Daksha’s daughter left her father’s luxuries and palace and began her meditation to win Shiva’s heart. She performed intense penance in dense forests and renounced food completely. When she finally pleased Shiva through her austerities, the lord of Kailash appeared in front of her and agreed to marry her. The legend goes that Sati and Shiva were happy in their marital bliss, but their marriage had not gone down too well with King Daksha, who considered ascetic Shiva nothing short of an uncouth lad who lives a hermit’s life not worthy of his daughter. So when Daksha organized a great yajna, he invited all the deities, gods and sages–but consciously excluded his son-in-law Shiva to insult him. Hurt by her father’s decision, Sati decided to visit her father and demand the reason for not inviting them. When she entered Daksha’s palace, she was bombarded with insults directed towards the Shiva. Haughty and proud King Prajapati Daksha called him all sorts of names right from a dishevelled god who hung out in graveyard to the supposed ‘lord of the beasts’. Unable to bear anything against her husband, a devastated Goddess Sati threw herself in the glowing scared fire of yajna. When Shiva’s attendants informed him about the demise of his wife, he grew enraged and created Veerbhadra from a lock of his hair. Veerbhadra created havoc in Daksha’s palace and killed him. Meanwhile, mourning his beloved soulmate’s death, Shiva tenderly held Sati’s body and started his dance of destruction (taandav). To save the universe and bring back Shiva’s sanity, Lord Vishnu cut Sati’s lifeless body using Sudharshan Chakra into 51 pieces.

Festivals

Durga puja is one of important festivals celebrated at Mahishamardini temple. Goddess Mahishasurmardini is worshipped during navratri very grandly. During Navaratri, Goddess is worshipped in a new form during 9 days. A four day theerth yatra is celebrated in April when people from different parts of the world attend the yatra.