Kamakhya Temple
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| Kamakhya Temple in Assam | |
|---|---|
Kamakhaya Temple, Guwahati
| |
| Coordinates: | 26.166426°N 91.705509°ECoordinates: 26.166426°N 91.705509°E |
| Name | |
| Other names: | Shakti Peeth |
| Proper name: | Kamakhya Temple |
| Location | |
| Country: | India |
| State: | Assam |
| District: | Guwahati |
| Location: | Nilachal Hill, Guwahati |
| Architecture and culture | |
| Primary deity: | Kamakhya |
| Important festivals: | Ambubachi Mela |
| Architectural styles: | Stone architecture |
| Number of temples: | 6 |
| Number of monuments: | 6 |
| History | |
| Date built: (Current structure) | 1564-63 |
| Creator: | Chilarai (rebuilt) |
The Kamakhya Temple (Assamese: কামাখ্যা মন্দিৰ) is a Hindu temple dedicated to the mother goddess Kamakhya, one of the oldest of the 51 Shakti Pithas,[1] 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, Tara, Kali, Bhairavi, Dhumavati, Matangi and Kamala.[2] Among these, Tripurasundari, Matangi and Kamala reside inside the main temple whereas the other seven reside in individual temples.[3] It is an important pilgrimage destination for general Hindu and especially for Tantric worshipers.
Contents
[hide]Description[edit]
The temple consists of four chambers: garbhagriha and three mandapas locally called calanta, pancaratna and natamandira. The garbhagriha has a pancharatha plan[4] and rests on plinth moldings that are similar to the Surya Temple at Tezpur, above which are dados from a later period of the Khajuraho or the Central Indian type, consisting of sunken panels alternating with pilasters.[5] The sikhara in the shape of a bee-hive, which is characteristic of temples in Lower Assam.[6] The inner sanctum, the garbhagriha, is a cave below ground level and consists of no image but a rock fissure:
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.[7]
The garbhaghrihas of the other temples in the Kamakhya complex follow the same structure—a yoni-shaped stone, filled with water and below ground level.
The current structure has been built during the Ahom times,[8] with remnants of the earlier Koch temple carefully preserved.[9][10][11] Temple was destroyed during the middle of second millennium and revised temple structure was constructed in 1565 by Chilarai of the Koch dynasty in the style of medieval temples.[12] The current structure has a beehive-like shikhara characteristic of lower Assam[13]with delightful sculptured panels and images of Ganesha and other Hindugods and goddesses on the outside.[14] 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.[15] 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.
History[edit]
The earliest historical dynasty of Kamarupa, the Varmans (350-650), as well as Xuanzang, a 7th-century Chinese traveler ignore the Kamakhya, when it is assumed that the worship was Kirata-based beyond the brahminical ambit.[16] The firstepigraphic notice of Kamakhya is found in the 9th-century Tezpur plates of Vanamalavarmadeva of the Mlechchha dynasty.[17] There is enough archaeological evidence of a massive 8th-9th century temple.[18] There is a tradition that the temple was destroyed by Kalapahar, a general of Sulaiman Karrani (1566–1572), though the latest historical findings favor instead an earlier destruction during Hussein Shah's invasion of the Kamata kingdom (1498) then under Nilambar.[19] The ruins of the temple was said to have been discovered by Vishwasingha, the founder of the Koch dynasty, who revived worship at the site; but it was during the reign of his son, Naranarayan, that the temple reconstruction was completed in 1565. The reconstruction used material from the original temples that was lying scattered about. Banerji (1925) records that this structure was further built over by the rulers of the Ahom kingdom. Many other structures are yet later additions.
Kamakhya during Ahom era[edit]
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.[20]
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.[21]
Worship[edit]
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.[22]
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.
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.[23] The different names associated with the goddess are names of local Aryan and non-Aryan goddesses.[24] The Yogini Tantra mentions that the religion of theYogini Pitha is of Kirata origin.[25] 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.[26]
The goddess is worshiped according to both the Vamachara (Left-Hand Path) as well as the Dakshinachara (Right-Hand Path) modes of worship.[27] 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.[28]
Legends[edit]
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.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31]
Festivals[edit]
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.[32]
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