Chintpurni

The Hindu genealogy registers at Chintpurni, Himachal Pradesh are kept here. North of Chintpurni are the western Himalayas. Chintpurni lies within the much lower Shiwalik (or Shivalik) range. Himachal Pradesh has 5 Shakti Pithas - Chintpurni, Jwalamukhi Temple, Bajreshwari Mata Temple, Shri Chamunda Devi Mandir and Naina Devi Temple. The legend behind the Shakti Pitha is part of the Shaktism tradition which tells the story of the self-immolation of the goddess Sati. Vishnu had to cut her body into 51 body parts, which fell on Earth and became these sacred sites. The legend of Chhinnamasta Devi is apparently also part of the Shaktism tradition in Chintpurni. Here, Chhinnamasta is interpreted as the severed-headed one as well as the foreheaded-one.

• Name — Maa Chintpurni • Pushpin Map — India Himachal Pradesh • Pushpin Caption — Location in Himachal Pradesh • Country — India • State — Himachal Pradesh • District — Una district • Location — Chintpurni, 177110 • Elevation M — 977.87 • Deity — Chhinnamasta • Festival — Navratri • Architecture — Hindu • Completed — unknown • Creator — Mai Das • Website — http: chintpurni.in Chintpurni is a small town in the Una district of Himachal Pradesh about 40 km (25 miles) north of Una, not far from the border with the Indian state of Punjab. The elevation is about 977 meters (about 3,200 feet). It is home to the Maa Chintpurni Temple which is a major pilgrimage site as one of the Shakta pithas in India. The Hindu genealogy registers at Chintpurni, Himachal Pradesh are kept here. North of Chintpurni are the western Himalayas. Chintpurni lies within the much lower Shiwalik (or Shivalik) range. Himachal Pradesh has 5 Shakti Pithas - Chintpurni, Jwalamukhi Temple, Bajreshwari Mata Temple, Shri Chamunda Devi Mandir and Naina Devi Temple. The legend behind the Shakti Pitha is part of the Shaktism tradition which tells the story of the self-immolation of the goddess Sati. Vishnu had to cut her body into 51 body parts, which fell on Earth and became these sacred sites. The legend of Chhinnamasta Devi is apparently also part of the Shaktism tradition in Chintpurni. Here, Chhinnamasta is interpreted as the severed-headed one as well as the foreheaded-one.

• Illustration — Shiva carrying the corpse of Sati Devi The Chinnamastika Devi is a divine embodiment of self-sacrifice and there by the Chintpurni shri is considered as a Shakta pitha. The story of Daksha yaga and Sati's self immolation is the story liked to the Shakta pithas. Shakta pithas are holy shrines of Shakti associated with a story that says about the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Lord Shiva carried it and wandered in sorrow. There are 51 Shakta pithas associated with the 51 alphabets in Sanskrit. It is believed that Sati Devi's consciousness fell here.

Hindu genealogy registers at Chintpurni are the genealogy registers of pilgrims maintained here by panditas. Hindu pilgrimage and marriage records were also used to be kept at this holy place. The Genealogical Society (GSU) of Utah, USA has microfilmed Hindu pilgrimage records for Haridwar and several other Hindu pilgrimage centres. Priests (pandits) located at each site would record the name, date, home-town and purpose of visit for each pilgrim. These records were grouped according to family and ancestral home. The holdings by GSU include Haridwar, Kurukshetra, Pehowa, Chintpurni, Jawalapur and Jawalamukhi.

In general, temperature in Chintpurni is about 5 degrees lower than in the Punjab and Haryana plains and in Delhi. The average annual rainfall is 2587 mm. In 2012, it had a chilling winter as there was a snowfall, reported after a period of 52 years, leading to road jams.