Kamakhya Temple

 

It is one of the very popular temples of India dedicated to the mother goddess Kamakhya.  It is one of the 51 Shakti Pithas. The temple of Kamakhya is situated on the hills of Neelachala Parvat near Guwahati in the north eastern state of Assam. The Neelachala Parvat is also known as the Kamagiri hill and thus the goddess residing on this hill is known as the Kamakhya. She is known to grant the wishes of her devotees.

The traditional name of Assam had been Kamarupa and this region is known for worship of Shakti.  There is a complex consisting of several temples around Maa Kamakhya Temple. Apart from this, there are also the temples of 10 Mahavidyas in and around temple. These include Bhuvaneshvari, Bagalamukhi, Chinnamasta,Tripura Sundari, Tara, Kali, Bhairavi, Dhumavati, Matangi and Kamala Temples. Among these, Tripurasundari, Matangi and Kamala reside inside the main temple whereas the other seven are individual temples located on Nilachal Hills.

According to the Hindu mythologies, It is believed that Sati’s reproductive organ, Yoni, fell in this place. The Kalika Purana, an ancient work in Sanskrit describes Kamakhya as the yielder of all desires, the young bride of Shiva, and the giver of salvation. Shakti is known as Kamakhya.

Vatsyayana, a Vedic Sage in Varanasi during the later first Century was approached by the King in the Himalayan region (now Nepal) to find a solution to convert the tribals and their rituals of human sacrifice to a more socially accepted worship.

The Sage suggested the worship of a tantric goddess Tara that spread towards the eastern Himalayan belt till the Garo Hills where the tribals worshipped a fertility ‘yoni’ goddess ‘Kameke’. It was much later in the later Brahaminical period Kalika Purana that most tantric goddess were related to the legend of ‘Shakti’ and began to be worshiped as a ‘devi’ by the Hindus.

In sixteen century, the temple of Kamakhya was destroyed by invaders but it was rebuilt by King Nara Narayan in the seventeenth century. The sculptures in the Kamakhya Temple are worth seeing. The images of Hindu gods and goddesses are etched out inside the temple.

Being the centre for Tantra worship this temple attracts thousands of tantra devotees in an annual festival known as the Ambubachi Mela. Another annual celebration is the Manasha Puja. Durga Puja is also celebrated annually at Kamakhya during Navaratri in the autumn. This five-day festival attracts several thousand visitors.

Source:

http://www.mapsofindia.com/assam/tourism/holy-places.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakhya_Temple

http://www.kamakhyadham.com/inside-main-temple/

https://www.tripadvisor.in/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g503692-d2097284-i220762551-Kamakhya_Temple-Guwahati_Assam.html

 

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