The Kamakhya Temple is situated in the heart of Nilachal hill, which falls on the western part of Guwahati, the Capital city of Assam, North East India. The Kamakhya temple is a famous shrine with the renowned Goddess of Desire, Maa Kamakhya also known as Kameswari as the prime deity. This Maa Kamakhya Devalaya is worshipped by several devotees as it is known to be the oldest and the most sacred of the 51 Shakti Peetha on Earth. Maa Kamakhya as the centrepiece of the most widely practised, powerful Tantrik Shaktism cult in India.
Keeping aside the main Kamakhya temple, there are 10 incarnations of the presiding deity (Dasamahavidya) namely Kamakhya (Tripura Sundari, along with Kamala and Matangi), Bhuvaneshvari, Kali, Bagalamukhi, Tara, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, along with temples of Lord Shiva namely, Siddhesvara, Kedareswara, Kameswara, Aghora, Amratokeswara, and Kautilinga around the Nilachal hill which is fondly known as the Kamakhya Temple Complex.
History of the Temple
The history of the Kamakhya Devalaya is mixed and connected with legends and oral history; these sources of history reflect different time periods. In several ancient literatures, Kamakhya has been mentioned, for instance, Devi Purana, Devi Bhagawat, Yogini Tantra, Kalika Purana, Hevajra and more. According to the traits and rituals, it is believed that pre-aryan or tribal to be the origin of the Kamakhya temple. But according to various religious literatures it is believed that the original Kamakhya temple was built by Kamdev who regained his beauty in the temple. The temple was built with the help of Bishwakarma and is believed to be much bigger than what is currently present. The structure of the temple is a beautiful sculptural and architectural wonder. Due to some unavailable reasons, the top portion of the temple got completely destroyed. For a period of time, the temple lost its value and importance due to the increase of Shaivism among the rulers and the subject known as Pragjyotisha Kingdom. The Maa Kamakhya Temple’s origin is considered to be Pre-Aryan.
As per the historical perspective, the temple is assumed to have been in prominence during the reign of King Naraka who is considered to be the earliest paramount ruler of the Brahmaputra Valley. But among the successors of Naraka, no written or evidential reference of patronage towards the temple is to be found and its history became obscure till the rise of the Koch Kingdom during the mid 16th century AD.
Temple Address: Kamakhya, Guwahati, Assam 781010.
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