Hinglaj

Sacred site (tirtha) located on the
coast of the Arabian Sea in the
Baluchistan Province of modern
Pakistan. Hinglaj is one of the Shakti
Pithas, a network of sites located
throughout the subcontinent that are
sacred to the goddess Sati. Each Shakti
Pitha marks the site where a body part
of the dismembered goddess fell to
earth, and then took form as a different goddess; in the case of Hinglaj, the
body part was the crown of Sati’s head.
Hinglaj is the furthest west of all the
Shakti Pithas, and thus represents the
furthest boundaries of the traditional
Hindu cultural area.
The presiding goddess at Hinglaj
is known by various names, the most
common being Hinglaj Devi. She is
considered an extremely powerful
goddess—partly because of her
dangerous location on the periphery of
India, but also because the crown of the
head (brahmarandhra) is considered
the highest and most powerful part of
the subtle body.
The subtle body is an alternate physiological system believed to reside on a
different plane of existence than the
actual body, but with certain correspondences to the actual body. It is visualized
as a set of six psychic centers (chakras)
running roughly along the course of the
spine. Above and below these centers
are found the two divine principles,
Shiva (awareness) and Shakti (power)—
the latter at the base of the spine, and
former in the crown of the head.
Because of Hinglaj’s association with
mastery of the subtle body, a visit to her
shrine was considered essential for anyone striving for perfection in yoga. By
283
Hinglaj
the 1800s the area around her shrine
had become completely dominated by
Muslims and thus well outside the
Hindu culture area. To travel outside of
this area is to risk loss of one’s Hindu
identity. To counter the danger of traveling outside this area, it became traditional for ascetics who had gone there
on pilgrimage to be branded with her
symbol on their return to India, as a way
to purify them and remake them as
Hindus. The political tensions between
India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947 have made it almost
impossible for Hindu pilgrims to visit
the shrine. For further information see
George Weston Briggs, Gorakhnath and
the Kanphata Yogis, 1973. See also pitha.