Maya Devi

Local goddess considered to be a form
of Durga, whose home is in the northern
Indian town and sacred city of
Haridwar. According to local tradition,
the site where her temple is built is one
of the Shakti Pithas, a network of sites
sacred to the Goddess which spreads
throughout the subcontinent. Each
Shakti Pitha marks the site where a body
part of the dismembered goddess Sati
fell to earth, taking form there as a different goddess; Maya Devi was Sati’s
433
Maya Devi
navel. Although this claim is not attested
in other literature on the Shakti Pithas,
the site itself is believed to be very old.
One of the oldest names for the
Haridwar region is Mayapur, the “city of
Maya.” See also pitha.