Tārā Tāriṇī, Ganjam

The twin-goddess Shakta Pitha on the hilltop above the Rushikulya river at Ganjam district, Odisha, counted among the Adi Shakta Pithas (the older network, distinct from the 51 Shakti Pitha list) as the site where Sati's breasts fell. The temple is unusual in that the goddesses — Tara and Tarini — are worshipped as a pair in a single sanctum, representing the breasts. The temple is 300m above the plain and is reached by 999 steps. Legend holds that two Buddhist monks Basu and Shiva Dasa carried the Tara icon from Varanasi to this hill in the 7th century. The goddesses are considered the Ishta Devi of the Jagannath temple at Puri; the Tara-Tarini pilgrimage is part of the Puri circuit.