Kamakhya Temple

Infobox Mandir

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caption= Kamakhaya Temple, Guwahati
creator = Chilarai
proper_name = Kamakhya Temple
date_built = 1565
primary_deity = Kamakhya
architecture =
location = Nilachal Hill, near Guwahati, AssamThe Kamakhya Temple is a "shakti" temple situated on the Nilachal Hill in western part of Guwahati city in Assam, India. It is the main temple in a complex of individual temples dedicated to different forms of the mother goddess that include "Bhubaneshwari", "Bagalamukhi", "Chinnamasta", "Tara", etc. It is an important pilgrimage destination for general Hindu and Tantric worshipers.

Description

The current temple structure was constructed in 1565 by Chilarai of the Koch dynasty in the style of medieval temples. [Sarkar 1992 p16. It is said that Viswa Simha revived worship at Kamakhya. According to an inscription in the temple, his son Chilarai built the temple during the reign of Naranarayana, the king of Koch Bihar and the son of Viswa Simha, in the year 1565.] The form of the earlier structure, destroyed by the Kala Pahar, is unknown. The current structure has a beehive-like shikhara with delightful sculptured panels and images of Ganesha and other Hindu gods and goddesses on the outside. [cite web
url=http://www.indianngos.com/issue/culture&heritage/monuments/kamakhyatemple.htm
title=Kamakhya temple
publisher=
accessdate=2006-09-12 ] The temple consists of three major chambers. The western chamber is large and rectangular and is not used by the general pilgrims for worship. The middle chamber is a square, with a small idol of the Goddess, a later addition. The walls of this chamber contain sculpted images of Naranarayana, related inscriptions and other gods. [cite web
url=http://www.templenet.com/Assam/kamakhya.html
title=Kamakhya
publisher=
accessdate=2006-09-12 ] The middle chamber leads to the "sanctum sanctorum" of the temple in the form of a cave, which consists of no image but a natural underground spring. The spring emanates from a fissure in a large rock that symbolizes a "yoni". In summertime the water runs red with iron oxide resembling menstrual fluid, an occasion for the "Ambubasi festival". Though the temple is aligned facing east like most Hindu temples, the worship of the "yoni" is performed facing north.Fact|date=February 2007

However, its origins are much older. It is likely that it is an ancient Khasi sacrificial site, and worshiping here still includes sacrifices. Devotees come every morning with goats to offer to Shakti. [cite web
url=http://www.durga-puja.org/kamakhya-temple.html
title=Kamakhya temple
publisher=
accessdate=2006-09-12 ]

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.

Worship

The Kamakhya Temple in Assam symbolizes the "fusion of faiths and practices" of Aryan and non-Aryan elements in Assam. [Satish Bhattacharyya in the Publishers' Note, Kakati 1989.] The different names associated with the goddess are names of local Aryan and non-Aryan goddesses (Kakati 1989, p38). [Kakati suspects that "Kama" of "Kamakhya" is of extra-Aryan origin, and cites correspondence with Austric formations: "Kamoi", "Kamoit", "Komin", "Kamet" etc.] The Yogini Tantra mentions that the religion of the "Yogini Pitha" is of Kirata origin. [Kakati 1989, p9: Yogini Tantra (2/9/13) "siddhesi yogini pithe dharmah kairatajah matah".] According to Banikanta Kakati, there existed a tradition among the priests established by Naranarayana that the Garos, a matrilineal people, offered worship at the Kamakhya site by sacrificing pigs (Kakati 1989, p37).

The goddess is worshiped according to both the Vamachara (Left-Hand Path) as well as the Dakshinachara (Right-Hand Path) modes of worship (Kakati, 1989 p45). Offerings to the goddess are usually flowers, but might include animal sacrifices. In general female animals are exempt from sacrifice, a rule that is relaxed during mass sacrifices (Kakati 1989, p65). [Kakati mentions that the list of animals that are fit for sacrifice as given in the "Kalika Purana" and the "Yogini Tantra" are made up of animals that are sacrificed by different tribal groups in the region.]

Legends

According to the Kalika Purana, Kamakhya Temple denotes the spot where Sati used to retire in secret to satisfy her amour with Shiva, and it was also the place where her "yoni" fell after Shiva danced with the corpse of Sati (Kakati 1989, p34). This is not corroborated in the "Devi Bhagavata", which lists 108 places associated with Sati's body, though Kamakhya finds a mention in a supplementary list (Kakati, 1989, p42). The "Yogini Tantra", a latter work, ignores the origin of Kamakhya given in "Kalika Purana" and associates Kamakhya with the goddess Kali and emphasizes the creative symbolism of the "yoni" (Kakati, 1989 p35).

Kamakhya during Ahom era

According to a legend the Koch Bihar royal family was banned by Devi herself from offering puja at the temple. In fear of this curse, to this day no descendants of that family dares to even look upward towards the Kamakhya hill while passing by.

Without the support of the Koch royal family the temple faced lot of hardship. By the end of 1658, the Ahoms under king Jayadhvaj Singha had conquered the Lower Assam and their interests in the temple grew. In the decades that followed the Ahom kings, all who were either devout Shaivite or Shakta continued to support the temple by rebuilding and renovating it.

Rudra Singha (reign 1696 to 1714) was a devout Hindu and as he grew older he decided to formally embrace the religion and become an orthodox Hindu by being initiated or taking sharan of a Guru, who would teach him the mantras and become his spiritual guide. But, he could not bear the thought of humbling himself in front a Brahmin who is his subject. He therefore sent envoys to Bengal and summoned Krishnaram Bhattacharyya, a famous mahant of Shakta sect who lived in Malipota, near Santipur in Nadia district. The mahant was unwilling to come, but consented on being promised to be given the care of the Kamakhya temple to him. Though the king did not take sharan, he satisfied the mahant by ordering his sons and the Brahmins in his entourage to accept him as their spiritual guru.

When Rudra Singha died, his eldest son Siba Singha (reign 1714 to 1744), who became the king, gave the management of the Kamakhya temple and along with it large areas of land (Debottar land) to Mahant Krishnaram Bhattacharyya. The Mahant and his successors came to be known as Parbatiya Gosains, as they resided on top of the Nilachal hill. Many Kamakhya priests and modern Saktas of Assam are either disciples or descendants of the Parbatiya Gosains, or of the Nati and Na Gosains. [Gait,Edward "A History of Assam", 1905, pp172-173]

Festivals

Being the centre for Tantra worship this temple attracts thousands of tantra devotees in an annual festival known as the Ambubashi.Another annual celebration is the Manasha Puja. Durga Puja is celebrated annually during Navaratri in the fall. It is a five day festival attracting several thousand visitors. [cite web
url=http://www.durga-puja.org/kamakhya-temple.html
title=Kamakhya Temple
publisher=
accessdate=2006-09-12 ]

Notes

References

* Kakati, Banikanta (1989) "The Mother Goddess Kamakhya", Publication Board, Guwahati
* Sarkar, J. N. (1992) "Chapter I: The Sources" in The Comprehensive History of Assam, (ed H K Barpujari) Publication Board, Assam.
* Gait, Edward (1905) "A History of Assam"

External links

* [http://www.templenet.com/Assam/kamakhya.html Kamakhya - in Assam]
* [http://www.durga-puja.org/kamakhya-temple.html Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati, Assam]
* [http://www.religiousportal.com/KamakhyaTemple.html Read Useful Details about Kamakhya temple,Assam]
* [http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-tantratemples1.htm Tantra Temples]
* [http://www.indianngos.com/issue/culture&heritage/monuments/kamakhyatemple.htm Kammakkya Temple] dead link|date=January 2008|url=http://www.indianngos.com/issue/culture&heritage/monuments/kamakhyatemple.htm