The famous Maa Kamakhya temple is located in the middle of the Nilachal Hills in the western part of Guwahati, the capital city of the state of Assam in northeastern India. Maa Kamakhya Devalaya is considered to be the most sacred and oldest of the 51 Shakti Peethas in the world. It is the center of the powerful Tantric Shakti religion, widespread in India.
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Interesting Facts About Kamakhya Temple | Mystery of Kamakhya Temple
Maa Kamakhya temple is located in the middle of the Nilachal Hills in the western part of Guwahati. Guwahati is the capital city of the state of Assam in northeastern India and gateway to Assam. The city is the capital of the state of Assam and has several ancient temples. The most famous of these is the Kamakhya Temple. The Nilachala Hills, referred to in ancient texts as Nilakuta, Nilgiri, Kamagiri and also known as Kamakhya Dham, where the famous temple of Goddess Kamakhya is located in the western part of Guwahati.
Besides the main temple of Maa Kamakhya, there are temples of Dashamahavidya (ten incarnations of God), such as Kamakhya (i.e.. with Tripura Sundari, Matangi and Kamala), Kali, Tara, Bhuvaneshwari, Baglamukhi, Chinnamasta, Bhairavi, Dhumavati, and five temples of Lord Shiva such as Kameshwar , Siddheshwar, Kedareshwar, Amaratokeshwar, Aghora and Kautilinga are also known as the Nilamakpahar complex.
There are other temples in the Nilachala Hills such as Badurga Temple, Jaya Durga Temple, Lalita Kanta Temple, Smasanakali Temple, Gadadhar Temple, Gadharna Temple, Trinatha Temple, Samkshipeshwari Temple, Dawarpala Ganesh Temple, Hanuman Temple, Pandunath.
The main festivals are Ambubachi and Durga Puja. Thousands of devotees are coming here to get blessing of Maa Kamakhya on the occasion of Ambubachi.
Kamakhya Mythology
The holy temple of Maa Kamakhya is given its own mythology and mystery. The aesthetic significance of this temple cannot be known only by its factual history; Instead, we must rely on oral history and historical legends. The initial story begins with creation. There are several oral legends about Maa Kamakhya.
Legend 1 - Despite being forbidden by her husband Lord Shiva, Sati went to the sacrifice performed by her father Prajapati Daksha. Lord Shiva and Sati were not invited by Daksha. After Sati reaches the sacrificial site, Daksha starts insulting Lord Shiva in front of all the denizens of the three worlds. Unable to bear the humiliation, Sati took her life at the sacrificial altar. When Lord Shiva learned about this tragic incident, he became angry.
He ( Shiva ) took Sati's body on his shoulders and began to perform atrocities. Vishnu tried to pacify Shiva, but failed. Later, he divided Sati's body into 51 pieces with his Sudarshan Chakra. The places where each part fell were known as Shakti Peethas. Kamakhya, also referred to as Kubjika Pitha is the place where the Iyani-mudra (female genitals or valva) of Sati fell. Kamadeva, the god of love, did not know until he sought it out to free himself from the curse of Brahma. After worshiping on this Peetha, he regained his Rupa (beauty) here. Since Kamadeva regained Rupa here, the whole place is called Kamarupa (Kamarupa) and the deity is known to be worshiped by Kamakhya or Kama.
Kamadeva Legend - According to folklore, when Kamadeva- Rati husband was burnt to ashes by fire and the third eye of Lord Shiva was taken out. Kamadeva wife Rati pleaded in front of Lord Shiva and told him that this was not Kamadeva fault as he was asked by the gods to do so and asked him to please revive Kamadeva. As the embodiment of love itself, Lord Shiva happily agreed to do so and gave life to Kamadeva. However, Cupid's former beauty had disappeared. Both Rati and Kamadeva then began to pray again to Lord Shiva to bring Kamadeva back to his original self. The Lord then advised Kamadeva to find the sacred Yoni Mudra on Mount Nilachala and worship the Goddess there, only then he would be able to regain his beauty. After many years of meditation, Kamadeva finally succeeded in obtaining the blessings of the goddess and also regained his lost beauty. A grateful Kamadeva then built a beautiful temple on Yoni Mudra with the help of Visakha. Later, the area became known as Kamarupa as Kamadeva regained his beauty or form here.
The Kalika Purana is one of the most sacred texts for the community, written around the 9th century, which provides a mythological story about the origin of the temple. It mentioned that in ancient Kamarupa, Nilachal is the place where Lord Shiva and Shakti satisfied their carnal desires i.e. Kama. The Kalika Purana contains many details about the Kamakhya Temple.
Kalika is a mythological Naraka whose father was Lord Vishnu and mother Dharitri with the Kamakhya Temple. After spending his childhood in Mithila, Naraka was believed to have come to Pragajayatisha in the order of his father, Lord Vishnu. Naraka defeated the Kiratas, who were believed to be the earliest worshipers of Goddess Kamakhya; under the leadership of their king, Ghatak. Although Naraka was initially a follower of Goddess Kamakhya, he later developed negative qualities under the influence of Banasura, king of Sonitpur. Naraka was said to have prevented sage Vasishta from visiting the gods, for which Vasishta cursed both the goddess and Naraka. When the atrocities committed by Narak increased so much, Lord Vishnu had to intervene and kill him.
The Yogini Tantra, another ancient literature believed to have been written around the sixteenth century, mentions Goddess Kamakhya. In the Yogini Tantra, the legend about the origin of Kamakhya as a symbol of fertility. The episode described in the Yogini Tantra is as follows.
After creating the universe, Lord Brahma, became arrogant due to his supreme creative power. This prompted Goddess Sanatani Kali to teach her a lesson. She created a demon named Kesi from the body of Brahma. As soon as he was born, the demon ran towards Brahma to swallow him. Brahma fled in the presence of Vishnu. Brahma soon realized his sin and approached the goddess for help along with Vishnu. The goddess then came to his rescue and killed the demon. The goddess then asked Brahma and Vishnu to create a mountain over the dead body of the demon Keshi; There will be grass for the cows and she also told them that Kamarupa is the holiest place on earth. Brahma and Vishnu were asked to meditate prayers in front of Yonimanda (female genitalia) who appeared later. The place was called Nilakuta Parvat or Nilachal.
There is another story about the origin of the temple which is related to the Koch king Vishwa Singh. During the quarrel with the Madhavas, Vishwa Singha and his brother Shiv Singh lost their way and reached the top of the Nilachal Hills. They met an old woman who showed them the pithasthana of Goddess Kamakhya and requested them to build a temple there with gold. The king prayed and promised that he would certainly do this if his wish was granted. Accordingly, after his wish was fulfilled, King Vishwa Singh tried to build a brick temple but it did not work. The goddess then appeared in his dream and reminded him about her promise to build a temple with only gold. The king pleaded with the goddess mentioning his inability to do so, and the goddess then advised him to keep at least a small amount of gold along with the bricks. This was followed by the construction of the temple which was later destroyed. The exact cause is unknown. Some say it was destroyed by a Muslim invader called Kalapahar while many scholars have related it as a result of some kind of natural disaster.
Next, the great Koch king Naranarayan who succeeded Vishwa Singh rebuilt the temple on the ruins of his brother Chilaraiag.
Finally, it can be argued that the Kalika Purna gives a vast interpretation of the Yoni Goddess, the Yogini Tantra gives a different account insisting on the creative symbolism of the Yoni. Various historical legends indicate that the worship of Kamakhya is invisible. He is a rallying point for all communities whether in the mountains, forests, villages or cities.
History of Kamakhya Mundir
Kamakhya Devalaya is intermixed with oral history and legend, sometimes these chouters reflect different time periods. Kamakhya is mentioned in various ancient literatures as Goddess
The Bhagavad Gita, the Devi Purana, the Kalika Purana, the Yogini Tantra, the Hebjara Tantra, etc. The origin of the Kamakhya Temple is believed by many to be pre-Aryan or tribal in characteristics and customs. However, religious literature tells us that the original temple was built by Cupid who regained his beauty in it. Built with the help of Vishwakarma, it was believed to be a huge structure and probably much bigger than the present temple. It was full of beautiful architectural and sculptural wonders. However, for some unknown reason, the upper part of the temple was completely destroyed. For a long time, the temple lost its importance due to the rise of Shaivism among the rulers and what is known as the Pragajyotish kingdom. The origin of the Kamakhya Temple is said to be pre-Aryan.
From a historical point of view, the temple is believed to have become famous during the reign of King Naraka, who is considered to be the oldest ruler of the Brahmaputra Valley. But no written or explicit reference to patronage of the temple can be found among the successors of Narka, and its history remains insecure until the rise of the Koch kingdom in the middle of the sixteenth century.
Though there is no firm historical evidence, some researchers concluded that a beautiful stone temple of Maa Kamakhya was erected in the Nilachal Hills during the 500s. But possibly due to natural disasters, the upper part of the main temple was completely destroyed and the lower part was slowly buried.
There are two different views of the rebuilding of the Temple in the Middle Ages. The temple was rebuilt by the Koch king Vishwa Singh in 1553-5 Then, it is believed that Kalapahar, a Muslim invader of Gaur, destroyed the temple. Many scholars, however, do not entertain this theory and relate the cause to some kind of natural disaster. The great Koch king Naranarayan, who succeeded King Vishwa Singh, visited the place with his brother Chilarai, they found it in complete ruins. The temple was rebuilt in 1565 by Narayan. He also gave royal patronage to the temple.
In the early seventeenth century, the political landscape of Assam entered a new phase. During this period, the primitives established themselves as the supreme power in the Brahmaputra Valley and they began to show intense interest in temples. There are many stone inscriptions and copper plates to prove the association of the Chaudhary kings with the temple.
The great earthquake of 1897 AD caused some damage to the main temple and also deformed the domes of some other temples in Kamakhya. The royal court of Kochbihar came to the rescue and donated a large sum for repairs. The temple was also said to be repaired in various stages in the future.
The history of Maa Kamakhya Temple is full of information about the royal patronage of the temple. The names of many of its royal patrons are memorable for their contributions to this great temple.
Kamakhya Construction Works Architecture of Kamakhya Temple
The hill on which the Kamakhya Temple is located is known as Nilachal or Blue Hill. Rebuilt in 1565 A.D. using the ruins of an 11-12th century stone temple, the overall architectural shape of the present Kamakhya temple was modeled by a combination of two distinct styles, namely traditional Nagar or North Indian and Saracenic or Mughal. Hence, being an unusual combination that comes into existence in this famous Sakati temple in India, it has been named as Nilachal style of architecture. Incidentally, this temple-type became a dominant model of temple construction in later Assam through royal patronage.
The development of this new mode by offense of the orthodox Nagara tradition is attributed to the Darang-Rajabhamsavali, a compilation of the seventeenth century AD. It says that when mechanics sent from Kochbihar by the Koch king Naranarayan (AD 1540-1585) failed in several attempts to reconstruct the shikhara or domical part using original stone fragments, they finally decided to follow the Saracenic technique of a round dome and use bricks. But to give it a new look, they changed the universal shape into a sixteen-sided polygon decorated with horizon bands. However, it gave birth to a new architectural style with continued popularity in Assam.
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The Kamakhya Temple has some important uniqueness. This is the only temple in Assam with a fully developed land-plan. It consists of five chambers, namely Garbhagriha or sanctuary, Antarala or vestibule, Jagmohan or main chamber, Bhogmandir or ritual chamber and Natmandir or opera hall for performing traditional dances and music related to Sukti temple. In 1759, this final chamber was added to the temple premises by Chaudhuri Raja Rajeshwar Singh (1751-69 AD). It is important to note that the superstructure of each of the above chambers exhibits the architectural features. Although the main temple houses a modified Saracenic dome, Antarala bears a two-roof design similar to that of a traditional staircase-colored cottage; The Bhogamandir (also called Pancharatna) with five domes like the main temple and the Natmandir have an open roof with an apsidal like some of the unpleasant namgharas or prayer houses found in Assam.
It is noteworthy that these five types of superstructures have created the tops of many temples throughout Assam
She worked as a model. Therefore, the renovation of the Kamakhya Temple in 1565 created a new phase of architecture that adorned Assam with various temple forms in the late Middle Ages.
The holy city of Kamakhya has several temples dating back to historical times that carry the Dashamahavidya Pitha or Santouban or the ten aspects of Goddess Kamakhya. In addition, we find here five Shiva temples, a Vishnu temple and a few temples and shrines to some other deities, but their chikaras are done in the traditional Naraga or Rekhadeul form, or in the Nilachal style imitating the original Kamakhya temple.
