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Glossary Kamakhya Temple
Kamakhya Temple
The
Kamakhya Temple, which is situated high aloft a hill called Neelachal
Parbat or Kamagiri in the city of Guwahati is one of its several religious
landmarks, which speaks volumes about the rich historical treasure
over which the state of Assam is seated. This sacred temple in the
heart of the capital city of Assam holds more than it meets the eye
of the onlooker. The Kamakhya Temple had been built in reverence to
Goddess Kamakhya or Sati, who was one of the numerous incarnations
of Goddess Durga or Goddess Shakti.
The temple is situated a few kilometers away from the Guwahati
Railway Station, and is open for visitors throughout the year. There
is a legend attached to the history of the temple, which goes way
back to the mythological age. According to the legend, Sati the
wife of Lord Shiva (one of the holy Trinities in Hindu mythology)
took her life at a ‘Yagna’ ceremony that had been organized
by her father Daksha, because she could not bear the insults hurled
at her husband by her father. On hearing the news of his wife’s
death, Shiva, the destroyer of all that was evil flew into a rage
and punished Daksha by replacing his head with that of a goat. Torn
between misery and blind fury, Shiva picked up the corpse of his
beloved wife Sati and performed a dance of destruction called the
‘Tandava’. The intensity of the destroyer’s fury
was so overwhelming that it took several Gods to pacify his anger.
In the midst of this struggle, Sati’s corpse accidentally
got cut into 51 parts by the disc in the hands of Lord Vishnu (also
one of the Trinities in Hindu mythology), and her female genitalia
or ‘Yoni’ fell on the spot where the Kamakhya temple
stands today, forming one of the many Shakti ‘Peethas’
embellishing the rest of her body parts.
King Nara Narayana of Cooch Behar rebuilt the temple in 1665 after
it had suffered destruction at the hands of foreign invaders. The
temple consists of seven oval spires, each topped by three golden
pitchers, and the entrance spirals down to a curvy path of some
distance, which specially links the main road to the temple. Some
of the sculptured panels of the temple carry depictions of Gods
and Goddesses of Hindu pantheon carved in a delightful pattern.
Tortoises, monkeys, and large number of pigeons have made the temple
their home, and loiter around the premise, being fed by the temple
authorities and the visitors. The cryptic, as well as the peaceful
ambience of the temple combine together to soothe the nerves of
visitors, and take their minds to flights of inner salvation, and
this is the very reason that people come here for.
With all its enigmatic splendor and picturesque locale, the Kamakhya
Temple is one of the most astounding structures, not only in Assam,
but also in the whole of India.
