Kankalitala

Kankalitala is a temple town in Bolpur Sriniketan CD block in Bolpur subdivision of  Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Location
It is located about 9 km from Bolpur on the Bolpur–Labhpur road. It is situated on the bank of the Kopai River.

Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Earlier, Kankalitala was marked as a gram panchayat under Bolpur-Sriniketan block. However, in the 2011 census, it was not identified as a separate place, as per Google map and map of Bolpur-Sriniketan on page 718 of District Census Handbook Birbhum (Part A), it appears to be a part of Bengutia village.

Politics
As per orders of the Delimitation Commission, Kankalitala, Kasba, Sarpalehana Albandha, Sian Muluk and Singhee gram panchayats of Bolpur–Sriniketan CD Block will form part of Nanoor (Vidhan Sabha constituency) and Bolpur (Lok Sabha constituency).

Culture
It is one of the Shakti Peethas where the waist (or kankal in Bengali) of sati fell. There are several temples in the town. This is also a popular Hindu pilgrimage site of West Bengal. There is another temple in Kankalitala, Kanchishwar Temple in Kankalitala Temple complex.

The Kankalitala Temple as a Shakti Peeth
The mythology of Daksha yaga and Sati's self immolation is the story of origin behind Shakti Peethas. Shakti Peethas are holy abode of Devi formed due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Shiva carried it and wandered through. There are 51 Shakti Peeth linking to the 51 alphabets in Sanskrit. Each temple has shrines for Shakti and Kalabhairava. The Shakti of the temple is addressed as "Devgarbha" and the Bhairava as "Ruru". It is believed that Sati Devi's bones have fallen here.