This shape called Kurmapṛṣṭhākṛti is considered the holiest possible site for a Shakti temple, hence also bestowing the name of Kurma Pīṭha.

The temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas; legend says that a part of the right foot (Dakshin Charan) of Sati including the big toe fell here.

The main shrine, a cubical edifice with a three-tier roof with a finial, erected by Maharaja of Tripura Dhanya Manikya in 1501 CE, is constructed in the Bengali Ek-ratna style.

[2] Every year on the occasion of Diwali, a famous Mela takes place near the temple which is visited by more than 0.2 million pilgrims.

The shrine is situated on a small hillock which resembles in shape the hump of a tortoise, which gives it the name of Kurma Pīṭha.

The real incident of Daksha yaga and Sati's self-immolation had immense significance in shaping the ancient Sanskrit literature and even had impact on the culture of India.

It is an important incident in Shaivism resulting in the emergence of Shree Parvati in the place of Sati Devi and making Shiva a grihastashrami (house holder) leading to the origin of Ganapathy and Subrahmanya.

These are places that are believes to have enshrined with the presence of Shakti due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Lord Shiva carried it and wandered throughout Aryavartha in sorrow.

The water is full of rare bostami turtles (considered extinct in the wild), some of them quite large, that come up to the shore looking for crumbs of food that visitors buy at the nearby stalls and feed to these reptiles, as part of the rituals.

As an amphibian it is extremely essential for the turtles to have sandy exposure, which is not available in the lake after the construction of walls around the water body.

To assess the situation and the state of the natural habitat of the tortoise, a team of TSPCB consisting of scientists and engineers visited the pond and interacted with the local people on 22 March 2003.

[10] Now due to increasing awareness in the people about conservation of ecosystem, the Kalyan Sagar pond has been revived, and there is a thriving population of the rare bostami turtles living in the lake.