Ambaji

Ambaji, near the Aravalli hills in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat, is the peeth where the heart of Sati is said to have fallen in the account used here. The Devi is Arasuri Amba, and the Bhairava is Batuk Bhairav. The heart is the most intimate of the body parts in the list, which gives the shrine a special place in the imagination of devotees who understand the goddess as the heart of the cosmos.

A distinctive feature remembered in tradition is that the sanctum is not marked by a carved figure. The focus of worship is a sacred geometric diagram, the Visa Yantra, which is kept covered and honoured in place of an image. This points to the Tantric side of Shakta worship, where the yantra is considered a direct embodiment of divine energy. Details of ritual practice belong to the priests of the shrine and need not be repeated here.

Gujarat has a strong culture of goddess worship, expressed in the nine nights of Navratri through garba and dandiya dances. Ambaji is among the best known goddess destinations in the state, and many families from Gujarat and Rajasthan see Amba as their clan goddess. As always, the Tantra Chudamani and the Pithanirnaya do not give identical lists, and the heart is sometimes placed at other sites, so Ambaji's claim is one strong tradition among several.