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High medieval · Hindu · India
Bhimakali Temple
श्री भीमा काली मंदिर
Sarahan, Himachal Pradesh · 31.4494°, 77.6309°
Bhimakali (Durga)BushahrKath-kuni timber-and-stone, blending Hindu and Buddhist formsShakti Peethadisputed
Contested attributions
This site is counted in the lists below by some sources and not others. We list the claim and the disagreement rather than silently picking a side.
Shakti Peetha — The Bhimakali Temple article states the temple is 'revered as one of the 51 sacred Shakta pithas' where Sati's ear fell, citing Om Chanda Handa's Temple Architecture of the Western Himalaya (2001) and a Dainik Jagran piece, yet the shrine does not appear in Wikipedia's combined Shakta pithas table (as of 2026).source
Sacred since
1200 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
13th c.; new tower rebuilt in the 1920s
Bushahr
History & significance
Counted among the fifty-one Shakta pithas, this hill shrine at Sarahan was the tutelary temple of the rulers of the former Bushahr state. Its twin towers of interlocked timber and stone make it one of the best-known examples of Himachali kath-kuni building.
Sthala katha — the traditional account
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
Devotees hold that the ear of Sati fell here when Shiva carried her dismembered body across the earth.