Kamakhya Temple

The Kamakhya Temple at Nilachal hills in Guwahati, Assam is one of the oldest and most revered centres of Tantric practices. The temple is the center of the ''Kulachara Tantra Marga'' and the site of the Ambubachi Mela, an annual festival that celebrates the menstruation of the goddess. Structurally, the temple is dated to the 8th-9th century with many subsequent rebuildings—and the final hybrid architecture defines a local style called Nilachal. It is also one of the oldest of the 51 pithas in the Shakta tradition. An obscure place of worship for much of history it became an important pilgrimage destination, especially for those from Bengal, in the 19th century during colonial rule.

Originally an autochthonous place of worship of a local goddess where the primary worship of the aniconic ''yoni'' set in natural stone continues till today, the Kamakya Temple became identified with the state power when the Mleccha dynasty of Kamarupa patronised it first, followed by the Palas, the Koch, and the Ahoms. The Kalika Purana, written during the Pala rule, connected Naraka, the legitimizing progenitor of the Kamarupa kings, with the goddess Kamakhya representing the region and the Kamarupa kingdom.

It has been suggested that historically the worship progressed in three phases—''yoni'' under the Mlechhas, ''yogini'' under the Palas and the Mahavidyas under the Kochs. The main temple is surrounded in a complex of individual temples dedicated to the ten Mahavidyas of Saktism, namely, Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamalatmika. Among these, Tripurasundari, Matangi and Kamala reside inside the main temple whereas the other seven reside in individual temples. Temples for individual Mahavidyas together as a group, as found in the complex, is rare and uncommon.

In July 2015, the Supreme Court of India transferred the administration of the Temple from the Kamakhya Debutter Board to the Bordeuri Samaj.

Description

The current structural temple and the rock-cut sculpture strewn in the vicinity indicate that the temple has been built and renovated many times in the period 8th–9th, 11th–12th, 13th–14th centuries and even later. The current form, from the 16th century has given rise to a hybrid indigenous style that is sometimes called the '' Nilachal type'': a temple with a hemispherical dome on a cruciform base. The temple consists of four chambers: ''garbhagriha'' and three ''mandapas'' locally called ''calanta'', ''pancharatna'' and ''natamandira'' aligned from east to west.

''Shikhara'' and ''garbhagriha''

The ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' has a ''pancharatha'' plan that rests on plinth moldings that are similar to the Surya Temple at Tezpur. On top of the plinths are dados from a later period which are of the Khajuraho or the Central Indian type, consisting of sunken panels alternating with pilasters. The panels have delightful sculptured Ganesha and other Hindu gods and goddesses.
Though the lower portion is of stone, the ''shikhara'' in the shape of a polygonal beehive-like dome is made of brick, which is characteristic of temples in Kamrup. The shikhara is circled by a number of minaret inspired ''angashikaras'' of Bengal type ''charchala''. The shikhara, angashikharas and other chambers were built in the 16th century and after.

The inner sanctum within the ''shikhara'', the ''garbhagriha'', is below ground level and consists of no image but a rock fissure in the shape of a yoni (female genital):

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.

''Calanta'', ''Pancharatna'', and ''Natamandir''

The temple consists of three additional chambers. The first to the west is the ''calanta'', a square chamber of type '' atchala'' (similar to the 1659 Radha-Vinod Temple of Bishnupur). The entrance to the temple is generally via its northern door, that is of Ahom type ''dochala''. It houses a small movable idol of the Goddess, a later addition, which explains the name. The walls of this chamber contain sculpted images of Nar Narayana, related inscriptions and other gods. It leads into the ''garbhagriha'' via descending steps.

The ''pancharatna'' to the west of ''calanta'' is large and rectangular with a flat roof and five smaller ''shikharas'' of the same style as the main ''shikhara''. The middle ''shikhara'' is slightly bigger than the other four in typical pancharatna style.

The ''natamandira'' extends to the west of the ''pancharatna'' with an apsidal end and ridged roof of the Ranghar type Ahom style. Its inside walls bear inscriptions from Rajeswar Singha (1759) and Gaurinath Singha (1782), which indicate the period this structure was built."The date of the (Natyamandira) is not known; but it possible pertains to the period of the two inscriptions pinned to the inner wall of its wall: one of Rajesshvarasimha, 1681 Saka/1759 AD and the other to Gaurinathasimha, 1704 Saka/1782 AD." The outer wall has stone sculptures from an earlier period embedded in high relief.

History

Site of ''Kameikha''

Historians have suggested that the Kamakhya temple is an ancient sacrificial site for an Austroasiatic tribal goddess, ''Kameikha'' (literally: ''old-cousin-mother''), of the Khasi and Garo peoples; supported by the folk lores 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).

Ancient

The earliest historical dynasty of Kamarupa, the Varmans (350–650), as well as Xuanzang, a 7th-century Chinese traveler ignored the Kamakhya; and it is assumed that the worship at least till that period was ''Kirata''-based beyond the brahminical ambit. The first epigraphic notice of Kamakhya is found in the 9th-century Tezpur plates of Vanamalavarmadeva of the Mlechchha dynasty. Since the archaeological evidence too points to a massive 8th-9th century temple, it can be safely assumed that the earliest temple was constructed during the Mlechchha dynasty. From the moldings of the plinth and the ''bandhana'', the original temple was clearly of Nagara type, possibly of the Malava style.

The later Palas of Kamarupa kings, from Indra Pala to Dharma Pala, were followers of the Tantrik tenet and about that period Kamakhya had become an important seat of Tantrikism. The Kalika Purana (10th century) was composed and Kamakhya soon became a renowned centre of Tantrik sacrifices, mysticism and sorcery. Mystic Buddhism, known as Vajrayana and popularly called the "Sahajia cult", too rose in prominence in
Kamarupa in the 10th century. It is found from Tibetan records that some of the eminent Buddhist professors in Tibet, of the 10th and the 11th centuries, hailed from Kamarupa.

Medieval

There is a tradition that the temple was destroyed by Kalapahar, a general of Sulaiman Karrani (1566–1572). Since the date of reconstruction (1565) precedes the possible date of destruction, and since Kalapahar is not known to have ventured so far to the east, it is now believed that the temple was destroyed not by Kalapahar but during Hussein Shah's invasion of the Kamata kingdom (1498).

The ruins of the temple was said to have been discovered by Vishwasingha (1515–1540), the founder of the Koch dynasty, who revived worship at the site; but it was during the reign of his son, Nara Narayan (1540–1587), that the temple reconstruction was completed in 1565. According to historical records and epigraphic evidence, the main temple was built under the supervision of Chilarai. The reconstruction used material from the original temples that was lying scattered about, some of which still exists today. After two failed attempts at restoring the stone ''shikhara'' Meghamukdam, a Koch artisan, decided to take recourse to brick masonry and created the current dome. Made by craftsmen and architects more familiar with Islamic architecture of Bengal, the dome became bulbous and hemispherical which was ringed by minaret-inspired ''angashikharas''. Meghamukdam's innovation—a hemispherical ''shikhara'' over a ''ratha'' base—became its own style, called Nilachal-type, and became popular with the Ahoms.

Banerji (1925) records that the Koch structure was further built over by the rulers of the Ahom kingdom. with remnants of the earlier Koch temple carefully preserved. By the end of 1658, the Ahoms under king Jayadhvaj Singha had conquered the Kamrup and after the Battle of Itakhuli (1681) the Ahoms had uninterrupted control over the temple. The kings, who were supporters of Shaivite or Shakta continued to support the temple by rebuilding and renovating it.

Rudra Singha (1696–1714) invited Krishnaram Bhattacharyya, a famous mahant of the Shakta sect who lived in Malipota, near Santipur in Nadia district, promising him the care of the Kamakhya temple to him; but it was his successor and son Siba Singha (1714–1744), on becoming the king, who fulfilled the promise. 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.

Worship

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. Tantra is basic to worship, in the precincts of this ancient temple of mother goddess Kamakhya.

The worship of all female deity in Assam symbolizes the "fusion of faiths and practices" of Aryan and non-Aryan elements in Assam. The different names associated with the goddess are names of local Aryan and non-Aryan goddesses. The Yogini Tantra mentions that the religion of the ''Yogini Pitha'' is of Kirata origin. 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. The tradition of sacrifices continue today with devotees coming every morning with animals and birds to offer to the goddess.

The goddess is worshiped according to both ''vamachara'' ("left-hand path") as well as the '' dakshinachara'' ("right-hand path") modes of worship. 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.

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 (genitals, womb) fell after Shiva tandav (dance of destruction) with the corpse of Sati. It mentions Kamakhya as one of four primary shakti peethas: the others being the Vimala Temple within the Jagannath Temple complex in Puri, Odisha; Tara Tarini) Sthana Khanda (Breasts), near Brahmapur, Odisha, and Dakhina Kalika in Kalighat, Kolkata, in the state of West Bengal, originated from the limbs of the Corpse of Mata 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 emphasizes 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.

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.

;Gallery

File:Kamakhya-adhisthana.jpg, The adhisthana of the Kamakhya Temple
File:Pegions at the Kamakhya temple.jpg, The '' adhisthana'' of the Kamakhya temple indicates that the original temple was of Nagara style
File:Kamakhya1.JPG, The ''shikhara'' made of bricks ringed by a cluster of ''angashikhara'' of Bengal ''charchala''
File:Idol at Kamakhya temple, Guwahati, Assam 02.jpg, ''Lajja Gauri'' on the northern wall of the Natmandira.

See also

* Basudev Than

Notes

References

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* Gait, Edward (1905) ''A History of Assam''
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Hindu temples in Guwahati
Shakti Peethas
Shakti temples
Tourist attractions in Guwahati
Pilgrimage in India
Hindu temples practicing animal sacrifice