Kamakhya

Historians have suggested that the Kamakhya temple was likely an ancient sacrificial site for Koch and Rabha and other tribal peoples and that the name originates in the Khasi goddess, Ka Meikha (literally: old-cousin-mother); and these claims are supported by the folklores of these very peoples. The traditional accounts from Kalika Purana (10th century) and the Yogini Tantra too record that the goddess Kamakhya is of Kirata origin, and that the worship of Kamakhya predates the establishment of Kamarupa (4th century CE).

The earliest historical dynasty of Kamarupa, the Varmans (350–650), as well as Xuanzang, a 7th-century Chinese traveller, do not mention Kamakhya; and it is assumed that the worship at least till that period was Kirata-based beyond the Brahminical ambit. The Hevajra Tantra, one of the oldest Buddhist tantras probably from the 8th century, makes a reference to Kamarupa as a pitha, whereas the first epigraphic notice of the goddess Kamakhya is found in the 9th-century Tezpur plates of Vanamalavarmadeva of the Mlechchha dynasty. Art historians suggest that the archaeological remains and the lower strata of the temple indicate an older structure that could be as old as 5th- to 7th-century. The importance to Kamakhya that the Mlechchha dynasty gave it suggests that they either constructed or reconstructed it. From the mouldings of the plinth and the bandhana, the original temple was clearly of Nagara type possibly of the Malava style.

There is a tradition that the temple was destroyed by Kalapahar, a general of Sulaiman Karrani (1566–1572).

According to the Kalika Purana, Kamakhya Temple denotes the spot where Sati used to retire in secret for a carnal union with Shiva, and it was also the place where her yoni (genitals and womb) fell after Shiva's tandav (dance of destruction) with the corpse of Sati. 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. The Yogini Tantra, a latter work, ignores the origin of Kamakhya given in Kalika Purana and associates Kamakhya with the goddess Kali and emphasises the creative symbolism of the yoni. Due to a legendary curse by the Goddess, members of the Koch Bihar royal family do not visit the temple and avert their gaze when passing by.

Kamakhya, a mother goddess, is a Shakta Tantric deity; considered to be the embodiment of Kama (desire), she is regarded as the goddess of desire. Her abode–Kamakhya Temple is located in the Kamarupa region of Assam, India. Originally a Kirata goddess, Residing on Nilachal hills across the banks of the Brahmaputra River, west of Guwahati in the 10th/11th century Temple rebuilt in 1565 CE, she is worshiped in a non-iconic and un-anthropomorphic form of stone shaped like yoni fed by a perennial stream. The temple is primary amongst the 51 Shakta pithas, and is one of the most important Shakta temples.

Read more about [Kamakhya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakhya).

As a 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.

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Located in: Guwahati, Assam.