Vani · Nashik · Maharashtra · Sahyadri Hills · 4,659 ft
Where the right arm of Goddess Sati fell upon seven sacred peaks of the Sahyadri — one of the three-and-a-half Shakti Peethas of Maharashtra, home to an 8-foot swayambhu idol with 18 arms cloaked in vermilion, the goddess who slew Mahishasura when the gods could not, perched on a cliff at 1,230 metres above the sacred Girna valley.
← Back to All ShaktipeethasBackground & Mythology
Saptashrungi Devi Temple stands on a cliff at approximately 1,230 metres (4,659 feet) elevation in the Sahyadri mountain range near Nanduri village, Kalwan taluka, Nashik district — approximately 60 km from Nashik city and 26 km from Vani town. The Saptashrungi hill complex consists of seven sacred peaks (sapta = seven, shrunga = peaks), within which the Goddess is believed to reside eternally.
According to Shakta tradition, the right arm of Goddess Sati fell upon these seven peaks when Lord Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra dismembered her body. The Goddess is worshipped here as Saptashrungi Nivasini — "she who dwells in the seven peaks" — and also as Mahishasuramardini, the 18-armed Durga who destroyed the invincible buffalo demon when the combined might of all the gods had failed.
The central idol is entirely swayambhu — self-manifested, not carved by human hands. It stands approximately 8 feet tall and has been coated over centuries with layer upon layer of sindoor and other offerings until it now has a remarkable texture and presence. The 18 arms of the Goddess hold various divine weapons — the entire arsenal of the gods who gifted her their weapons before she went into battle against Mahishasura. The idol's face, framed in gold, peers out from the mountain rock with an expression that devotees describe as simultaneously fierce and compassionate.
At the foot of the hill, the stone head of Mahishasura — the buffalo demon — stands as a permanent reminder of the Goddess's greatest victory. The head has been there since antiquity, its presence establishing the narrative context of every darshan at this temple: you approach the Goddess who won the war that could not otherwise be won.
Why People Visit
A warrior goddess at the summit of seven Sahyadri peaks — one of Maharashtra's four supreme Shakti seats, the 18-armed Mahishasuramardini in her swayambhu form, presiding over a landscape of extraordinary mountain beauty.
Getting There
The temple is near Nanduri village, 60 km from Nashik city and 26 km from Vani town. Nashik is the most practical base. The nearest airport is Nashik (Ozar), and the nearest rail hub is Nashik Road Junction.
Visitor Guidelines
A hilltop shrine of immense spiritual charge in the Sahyadri wilderness. Come prepared for the climb, come with devotion appropriate to the warrior goddess, and come with respect for the mountain's sacred ecology.
In the seven-peaked Sahyadri range above Nashik, at 1,230 metres where the forest air tastes of the Western Ghats and the view stretches to the Girna plains below, the 18-armed Goddess waits. The right arm that fell here is the arm of action, of power, of protection — raised against every Mahishasura that arises. Climb the steps. Offer the sindoor. Receive the warrior grace.