Bakreshwar

Bakreshwar (also Vakreshwar) is a composite pilgrimage site in Birbhum district of West Bengal that uniquely combines a Shakti Peetha with a Shiva temple and a field of eight geothermally active hot springs. The presiding goddess, Mahishasuramardini (the slayer of Mahishasura), is worshipped here as Ugrachanda — the fierce, blazing form of the Devi. The compan ion Shiva linga here is Vakranath (the curved-necked lord), from whom the site takes its name.

The eight thermal springs, with surface temperatures ranging from 40°C to 65°C, are the site's most distinctive feature. Pilgrims bathe sequentially through them — beginning with the cooler springs and progressing toward the hottest — a ritual believed to purify the body as thoroughly as a Ganges bath. The springs are grouped around small tanks with ghats. The area is administered by the Birbhum district and has basic pilgrim infrastructure. Bakreshwar is often combined with Tarapith (about 25 km away) in a single circuit.

When Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra severed Sati's body, the mana (mind) or, in some texts, the section between the eyebrows representing the seat of the third eye, fell here. The immense psychic energy of Sati's mind pervades the earth as heat — hence the natural thermal springs. The companion Bhairava is Vakranath, so named because Shiva's neck turned (vakra) and became crooked when Sati immolated herself, the physical grief of the cosmic lord manifested in stone.