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Kamakhya Temple

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Kamakhya Temple in Assam
Kamakhaya Temple, Guwahati
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictGuwahati
Location
LocationNilachal Hill, Guwahati
StateAssam
CountryIndia
Architecture
TypeStone architecture
CreatorChilarai (rebuilt), during the reign of Maharaja Nara Narayan
Local musicians singing bhajan at Kamakhya temple, Guwahati, Assam

The Kamakhya Temple (Assamese: কামাখ্যা মন্দিৰ) (Pron: kəˈmækjə or kʌˈmækjə) is an ancient Shakti Peeth temple situated on the Nilachal Hill in western part of Guwahati city in Assam, India. It is the main temple, dedicated to Kamakhya, in a complex of individual temples dedicated to the ten Mahavidyas: Bhuvaneshvari, Bagalamukhi, Chinnamasta, Tripura Sundari and Tara, Kali, Bhairavi, Dhumavati, Matangi and Kamala.[1] Among these Tripurasundari, Matangi and Kamala reside inside the main temple whereas the other seven reside in individual temples.[2] It is an important pilgrimage destination for general Hindu and especially for Tantric worshipers.

Description

The most important part of the temple is the inner sanctorum, the garbhagriha, a cave below ground level:[3]

The garbhagriha is small, dark and reached by narrow steep stone steps. Inside the cave there is a sheet of stone that slopes downwards from both sides meeting in a yoni-like depression some 10 inches deep. This hallow is constantly filled with water from an underground perennial spring. It is the vulva-shaped depression that is worshiped as the goddess Kamakhya herself and considered as most important pitha (abode) of the Devi.

The garbhaghrihas of the other temples follow the same structure—a yoni-shaped stone, filled with water and below ground level.

The current structure has been built in the reign of Maharaja Nara Narayan[4] of Koch kingdom [5] with remnants of the earlier Koch temple carefully preserved.[6] Temple was destroyed during the middle of second millennium and revised temple structure was constructed in 1565 by Naranarayan and Chilarai of the Koch dynasty in the style of medieval temples. The inside wall of the temple contains the images of Nara Narayan and Chilarai and an inscription recording its rebuilding by Chilarai in A.D. 1565 during the reign of Maharaja Nara Narayan[7]. The Kamakhya Temple Inscription speaks of this great king in the following words: Glory to the king Malla Deva, who by virtue of his mercy, is kind to the people, who in archery is like Arjuna, and in charity like Dadhichi and Karna...[8]. [9] The current structure has a beehive-like shikhara characteristic of lower Assam[10]with delightful sculptured panels and images of Ganesha and other Hindu gods and goddesses on the outside.[11] 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.[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 that flows through a yoni-shaped cleft in the bedrock. During the Ambubachi festival each summer,the menstruation of the Goddess Kamakhya is celebrated. During this time, the water in the main shrine runs red with iron oxide resembling menstrual fluid.

It is likely that this is an ancient Khasi sacrificial site, and worshiping here still includes sacrifices. Devotees come every morning with goats to offer to Shakti.[13]

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.

Kamakhya Temple in Himachal Pradesh.

The Kamakhya temple in the forest region of Polian Purohitan in Una District of Himachal State is situated at about 600 mt above sea level. The Pindi,was brought over by the Rajpurohits of Brahaminical - Aryan descent of the sage Vatsayan some 800 years ago after the invasion of the Shans in 1200C, with the destruction of the first tantric ritual site. The worshippers escaped in mass migration from the Garo-Khasi hill region of Assam, via the Tibet Himalaya silk route to Kashmir .While some left for the north west frontiers, a few families of the Brahamin Vatsayan Rajpurohits sanctified the tantric Kamakhyakuldevi in the wilderness of an isolated forest hill in Polian Purohitan.

Worship

Sculptures carved on the temple

The first tantric Kamakhya Temple was destroyed during the Mongol invasion in the Nilachal hills in the 12 BC, so was the fate of the second tantric temple destroyed in the Muslim attacks, probably by the Hindu convert Muslim warrior 'Kala Pahad'. The Brahaminical legend of the 'Shakti' in the later period led to the worship of the tantric goddess as Hindu 'Shakti' goddess. The worship of all female deity in Assam symbolizes the "fusion of faiths and practices" of Aryan and non-Aryan elements in Assam.[14] The different names associated with the goddess are names of local Aryan and non-Aryan goddesses.[15] The Yogini Tantra mentions that the religion of the Yogini Pitha is of Kirata origin.[16] According to Banikanta Kakati, there existed a tradition among the priests established by Naranarayana that the Garos, a matrilineal people, offered worship at the earlier Kamakhya site by sacrificing pigs.[17]

The goddess is worshiped according to both the Vamachara (Left-Hand Path) as well as the Dakshinachara (Right-Hand Path) modes of worship.[18] 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.[19]

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Legends

A complete view of the temple

Vatsayana,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 erroneously worshipped as a 'devi' by the Hindus.

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.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22]

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 of 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.[23]

Festivals

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.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ "About Kamakhya Temple".
  2. ^ (Shin 2010, p. 4)
  3. ^ (Shin 2010, p. 5)
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ " (Banerji 1925, p. 100)
  6. ^ "This temple was built on the ruins of another structure erected by king Sukladhvaja or Naranarayana, the first king and founder of the Koch dynasty of Cooch Bihar, whose inscription is still carefully preserved inside the mandapa. (Banerji 1925, p. 100)
  7. ^ (D Nath 1989:185)
  8. ^ (D Nath 1989:88)
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ (Banerji 1925, p. 100)
  11. ^ "Kamakhya temple". Archived from the original on 2006-03-18. Retrieved 2006-09-12.
  12. ^ "Kamakhya". Retrieved 2006-09-12.
  13. ^ "Kamakhya temple". Retrieved 2006-09-12.
  14. ^ Satish Bhattacharyya in the Publishers' Note, Kakati 1989.
  15. ^ Kakati suspects that Kama of Kamakhya is of extra-Aryan origin, and cites correspondence with Austric formations: Kamoi, Kamoit, Komin, Kamet etc. (Kakati 1989, p. 38)
  16. ^ Kakati 1989, p9: Yogini Tantra (2/9/13) siddhesi yogini pithe dharmah kairatajah matah.
  17. ^ (Kakati 1989, p. 37)
  18. ^ (Kakati 1989, p. 45)
  19. ^ 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.(Kakati 1989, p. 65)
  20. ^ Kakati 1989, p34
  21. ^ Kakati, 1989, p42
  22. ^ Kakati, 1989 p35
  23. ^ Gait,Edward A History of Assam, 1905, pp172-173
  24. ^ "Kamakhya Temple". Retrieved 2006-09-12.

References

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