Rampurhat

According to Hindu belief, an insulted Sati, the wife of Lord Shiva, sacrificed herself at a yagya (fire worship ritual) which was being performed by her father Dakshmaharaj. Angry with this incident Lord Shiva started the Tandava Nritya (Dance of Destruction). In order to prevent the destruction of all creation, Lord Vishnu used his Sudarshan charka (wheel) to cut the body of Sati into several parts. Sati's body was scattered all over the Indian subcontinent. There are 51 such holy spots where temples have been erected and they are called Pithas or the Shakti Pithas. Some of the Pithas are in West Bengal. The most popular of them are Kalighat (in Kolkata), Bakreshwar and Tarapith. It is believed that the eyeball of Sati fell down at Tarapith. In Bengali, the eyeball is called 'Tara' and that is why the name of the village was changed from the earlier Chandipur to Tarapith.