01Chattala Peetha
The Peetha lists name Chattala, the old name of Chittagong, as the place where Sati’s right arm fell, with Devi as Bhavani and Bhairava as Chandrashekhara. The Bhavani temple stands on the slope, and Shiva as Chandranath crowns the hill. The town below is Sitakunda, the pool of Sita, and local tradition holds that Shri Rama and Sita rested here during the exile. A string of smaller shrines climbs the path between them, Virupaksha among them.
02Climbing on Shivaratri
The climb is steep, over a thousand steps and rough path, and takes two hours or more. On Shiva Chaturdashi, Maha Shivaratri in Phalgun, the Sitakunda mela fills the town for days and lakhs of pilgrims from Bangladesh, India and Nepal climb through the night with water for the abhisheka. Sadhus camp in the foothills. If you go, start before dawn and carry water; the last stretch is the hardest.
Sitakunda is about 37 km north of Chattogram city on the Dhaka highway. The Shivaratri mela in February–March is the main season.
