Gandaki Chandi (Muktinath)

Gandaki Chandi is the name given to the goddess at the Muktinath area in the Mustang region of Nepal, and tradition connects the peeth with the right cheek of Sati. The Bhairava is Chakrapani. The Gandaki river, in whose valley the shrine lies, is the source of the black ammonite stones known as shaligrams, which are revered as forms of Vishnu, so the landscape carries both Vaishnava and Shakta meaning.

Muktinath is one of the best known pilgrim places of the Himalaya, honoured by Hindus and by Buddhists, who know the site under different names. This overlap of traditions is typical of the Himalayan borderlands, where the same hillside can be sacred to several communities. In the Shakta account, the presence of Chandi as a peeth goddess adds a further layer, and the pairing with Chakrapani, a name of Vishnu, reflects the same river valley connection.

The Nepal peeths are respected parts of the larger list, but the Tantra Chudamani and Pithanirnaya differ on which Himalayan places hold which body part. The right cheek is also credited to other places, so devotees and scholars should treat the exact attribution as local tradition rather than a settled fact. The Daksha yajna story, with Sati's body divided across the land, explains why a remote mountain valley can be counted among the seats of the goddess.