Sati Anusuya, Chitrakoot

Sati Anusuya Ashram in Chitrakoot is a very serene holy ashram located on the banks of sacred river Mandakini. Sati Anusuya is one of the most celebrated women in the Vedic history. She is so celebrated that even the consorts of Trimurtis felt envious. ‘Anusuya’ implies ‘freedom from envy and jealousy’.

The ashram where she stayed with her husband Sage Atri and three sons is located in the serene and scenic forest area of Chitrakoot Dham in Bharata Bhumi on the banks of the sacred Mandakini River in present-day Madhya Pradesh. Her sons are Lord Dattatreya, Sage Durvasa and Chandradeva. Sage Kapila was her brother and Guru as well.

She was the daughter of Sage Kardama and Devahuti, the daughter of Swayambhuva Manu.  She set the example of a perfect woman, a powerful personality who could make things happen such as bringing down the Mandakini river on earth, etc through the strength of her chastity.

It is said that Sage Atri had extolled the virtues of his wife to Lord Rama when He came visiting. He never felt diminished in stature due to his wife. Two movies were made in honour of Sati Anusuya in the Telugu language in 1957 and 1971.

Sati Anusuya Ashram

The Sati Anusuya Ashram lies around 18 kms from the Chitrakoot Town further upstream of the Mandakini River. As per the Valmiki Ramayana, Sati Anusuya lived there with her husband, the famous Sage Atri and their three sons. The Mandakini River was brought down to earth through her severe austerities after severe famine affected the region for 10 years. All the living beings there were affected and thus Anusuya Devi’s compassion reversed the condition.

Now, there is lush greenery everywhere and all the living beings are fully happy and satisfied even to date. Many small streams coming from the hills converge together to form the Mandakini presently.

After the meeting with Bharata and other family members, Lord Ramachandra did not want to stay in Chitrakoot. He decided to leave this place immediately and head further in the forest. On the outskirts of Chitrakoot, He met Atri Muni and stayed overnight in this place. While Rama and Lakshmana discussed with Atri Muni, Sita Devi spent time with Anusuya Devi.

On the request of Anusuya Devi, Sita Devi had narrated the incidents of Her marriage with Lord Ramachandra and unfolded all the events until then. Anusuya Devi explained to Sita Devi the importance of a woman’s unflinching devotion to her husband. She gifted Sita Devi a never ending heavenly cosmetics, divine clothes which would never get dirty and heavenly jewels which she had received from the devatas.

In the ashram are deities of Sati Anusuya and her family. You can have their darshan and make offerings of sindhoor, bangles, saree, etc. The dense forests of Dandaka begin from here. These were once infested with demons but cleared by Lord Rama.a

The Trimurtis Test Sati Anusuya

Sati Anusuya was tested by the Trimurtis viz Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva to measure the level of devotion she had for her husband Sage Atri. They did this to honour the request of their consorts who desired to test her chastity after hearing her virtues and glories from Sage Narada.

She could invoke special powers if she used the Paada Teertham of Sage Atri i.e. water which washed her husband’s feet. The Trimurtis came before her in the form of mendicants begging for alms. She offered them food but they refused it saying that their vow allows them to accept food only from people who served them naked.

Initially, this request put her in a great dilemma but using her intelligence, she sprayed Paada Teertham on the three mendicants, thus converting them into babies. Then, she fed the three babies without breaking her chastity and respecting the mendicants. The Trimurtis highly appreciated her vow of chastity.

Dattatreya Becomes Sati Anusuya’s Son

She narrated the events to Sage Atri when he arrived at the ashram. The sage could realise with his mystic potency that the babies were none other than the Trimurtis. He told this to Sati Anasuya who was overjoyed. The three babies conjoined to become one personality called Dattatreya Who had three heads, two limbs and six arms.

When the consorts of the Trimurtis learnt about these lilas from Sage Narada, they went to her ashram. They requested their husbands back. Their request was granted while Lord Dattatreya stayed with Sati Anusuya and Sage Atri as their son too.

Prowess of Sati Anusuya

A brahmana with the name Kaushika used to visit a prostitute regularly. In spite of his being a brahmana and having a very devoted wife at home, the brahmana continued visiting the prostitute. In due course of time, he contracted leprosy following which the prostitute abandoned him.

These events led him back to his house where his loving and caring wife received him without any hesitation. Though he was completely looked after by his wife with great affection and love, he still desired to visit the prostitute. He asked his wife to take him to her.

In the meantime, Sage Mandavya, who was injured by a criminal, was lying on a spike in the forest. While Kaushika was travelling through the forest with his wife, he accidently tripped over the sage. In that state, Sage Mandavya cursed Kaushika that he would die before the next sunrise.

Kaushika’s wife, who heard this, was very aggrieved but was able to prevent the sunrise next morning through her austerities and devotion to her husband. Hence, when the sunrise didn’t happen, it caused havoc in the heavens. The devatas went to Lord Brahma seeking a solution.

In turn, Lord Brahma went to Anusuya Devi to convince the brahmana’s wife to allow the sunrise to happen naturally. She convinced the brahmana’s wife to allow the sunrise to happen while assuring that her husband would live.

In a different version, it is said that following this incident, Lord Brahma was born to Sati Anusuya as Chandraatri. Once, Rahu masked the sun covering the entire universe in darkness. Sage Atri got the sun released from Rahu following which Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva were born to the couple as Lord Dattatreya and Sage Durvasa respectively.

How to Reach Sati Anusuya Ashram

Visiting the ashram is simply a breeze away if you join the highly recommended Ayodhya Kashi Yatra conducted by Tirtha Yatra.

It is located around 18 km away from Ramghat in Chitrakoot. Hence, you have to reach Chitrakoot to visit the temple. From Chitrakoot, you can hire an autorickshaw for a day at a fixed rate or use shared-rickshaws to visit the temple and holy places nearby. Here’s your transportation options to Chitrakoot –

By Road: Chitrakoot is well connected by regular bus service from cities and towns in both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. This includes private as well as state services from Prayagraj, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Satna and many more places.

At a distance of 75 to 80 kms, Satna is the nearest city. Alternatively, you can hire taxis from these cities.

By Rail: Chitrakutdham Karwi Railway Station is the nearest railway station at a distance of 8 to 10 kms. You can alight here and catch a bus or hire a taxi to Chitrakoot.

By Air: The Bamrauli Airport in Prayagraj is the nearest airport 111 kms away. You can fly in here and use the rail or road route to reach Chitrakoot.