On the Western outskirts of the city of Guwahati in Assam, India stands the temple of Kamakhya, dedicated to the Tantric goddess of desire. Its origins are associated with the story of Sati, the first consort of the great god Shiva, who immolated herself to avenge an offense against her and her husband on the part of her father.  The grief-stricken Shiva took her body over his shoulder and set out upon a dance of cosmic destruction (tandava) throughout the Heavens. To pacify Shiva, the god Vishnu sent his discus Sudarshana to cut Sati’s corpse into 51 parts, which then fell to Earth.  On the site upon which each of these body parts landed, a shrine known as a Shakti Peetha was established, to be dedicated to various forms of goddess worship. As luck would have it, The genitalia of Sati landed at Kamakhya, which is now an important pilgrimage site for Tantric worshipers.