Kamakhya Temple-one of the oldest temple with mysterious stories
Kamakhya temple is one of the best spiritual tourist destinations for those who wish to explore different and mysterious places around the globe. The temple was established thousands of years ago. And it is situated on the beautiful hills of Nilachal just a few miles away from the stunning city of Guwahati in Assam.
Located amidst the river Brahmaputra, it gives an oozing environment throughout the year.
This is a place that shocks and makes it go bizarre with its secrets, interesting backstory, and strange rituals. Topics like mensuration that are not much talked about in the country, is an important aspect of the temple. Things that are fading from most of the places around the globe with witchcraft are still actively practiced here. All these things make Kamakhya Temple a place that surprises many and fascinates even more. Every year, lots of tourists, even foreigners, visit the temple.
Origin
But what is the origin of this temple? I dug into it a little more and found the inception of this popular holy place. Long back, goddess Sati insisted on being a part of a Yajna organized by her father, King Daksh. However, Lord Shiva was against this notion of Devi Sati as her father did not invite both of them for the same. Further, even when lord shiva was not agreed but Goddess Sati went to the yajna. There her father insulted her and her husband, Lord Shiva. Sati became disheartened and angry by listening to the insults about her husband. She went ahead to sit on the havankund and burn herself.
When Lord Shiva heard about the incident, his anger knew no limits. He picked up Sati’s body in his hand and started performing Tandava. Everyone got frightened looking at this destructive psyche of Lord Shiva. Finally, Lord Vishnu, with his Sudarshan Chakra, shed the body of Sati. He did so to break Lord Shiva’s moh from Devi Sati.
It is believed that Sati’s different body parts landed on other lands, which were 108 pieces. These places are called Shakti Peethas. All these peeths are located at different places like the Amarnath, Bahula, Avanti, and nilachal hills of Assam.
This was the origin of the widely famous Kamakhya temple. It is believed that Goddess Sati’s womb and genitals or yoni are docked on the very land of the hills of Nilachal. The name Kamakhya Temple is that this place was not as famous as it is right now. It was not known to anyone before Kamadeva went there to get rid of the curse of Lord Brahma. kamadeva, also known as the lord of beauty, worshipped this peetha and succeeded in getting his beauty back. This was when the name of the place was accepted as Kamarupa Temple of Kamakhya Temple.
History
The history of this place seems to be another exciting chapter. According to the sources, the first dynasty of the kamakhya temple was Vermans. It was the 9th century that witnessed the ancient discovery of the sacred place. On vanamala varmadeva’s plates. Research says that the temple’s structure has aspects indicating it as a place from the eighth or ninth century. Kamarupa has also given us many Buddhists and scholars from the tenth century.
The architecture of the place shows pieces of evidence of it being from the Mlechchha dynasty. Although the temple has been dismantled and renovated multiple times, the actual temple was of Nagara type. The initial temple is believed to be made by Chilarai. After the incursion of Hussein Shah the Mughal sultan, he allegedly tarnished the temple. Although this was not the end of renovation for the Kamakhya temple, the place was again refurbished by the rulers of the Ahom kingdom.
The Ahom kingdom too conquered the temple under the supervision of king Jayadvaj in the battle of Itakhul. In the year 1681, the Ahoms uninterrupted the temple, and then the Shaivite continued to endorse the Kamakhya temple by building and renovating it. The devastation that Hussein Shah caused led to struggles of restoring the initial architecture of an ancient artisan Shikhara Meghakudam who hailed from Kochin, built masonry, and finally built the established dome. This art got famous and was popularly called the Nilachal type. It became very prominent with the Ahoms.
Rudra Singh who was the king from 1696 to 1714 persuaded a renowned mahant of shaivite to take care of the temple which was ultimately done by his son Siba Singh who was the king from 1714 to 1744. He kept his word, and he and his heirs were popularly known as Parbatiya Gosains. The Mahant, known as Parbatiya Gosains, took care of the temple in the tenth century. Even today, the priests residing in the temple are primarily proponents of the Parbatiya Gosain. The reason for their name being Parbatiya Gosain is that they hailed from the hills of Nilachal.
Tantrism remained an eye-catching slide of history at the time of the rule of the king Indra pala, dharma pala, or the whole pala kingdom. In general, in the tenth century, tantra and tantrism were very popular. Kamakhya temple was an essential destination for those who practiced sacrifices, witchcraft, and voodoo.
Stories
The Kamakhya temple carries many personal and mysterious stories associated with it that make people curious. Beliefs are that this is the place where Lord Shiva and Goddess Sati’s incredible and legendary love story started. This is also the place where Sati used to flee in secrecy for her relationship with lord shiva.
Devi kamakhya is believed to be the ultimate power. It is the vital point of the universe. The place is filled with tourists all year long, with sages, scholars, priests, disciples. There are beliefs that tantra yog omits Devi kamakhya and considers it a form of goddess kali and accentuates the unique symbol of yoni or female genitals.
There is a site in the temple called Garvgrih, and there are no statues of any god. There is only a structure of female genitals, covered with flowers and a red piece of cloth, people come here and worship the same.
Rituals
A prevalent ritual of kamrupa is Kalavahana pooja, a pooja that targets all the different parts of the body. In this pooja, the doer is a woman, and the beneficiary of the pooja is also a woman. In this, the women are worshipped as goddesses. The woman’s feet are rubbed with kumkum and haldi and practice a sacred bath. It generally solves problems like ego, suppression, and lack of love and peace in life.
As per research, the Kama Rupa is also an important site for sacrificing animals and birds.
From sparrows, goats to Buffalo, these are widely sacrificed in the temple.
Now, another thing that amused people the most was the connection of the place with the Menstruation. Devi kamakhya is believed to bleed every month for three days; that is when she menstruates. On these three days, no worship takes place. No sacred happenings take place, and the site is closed for those three days. After these three days are over, the place is reopened in a very grand manner. The priest laid down a white cloth on the yoni for these three days, and after the menstruation period is over, the piece of cloth becomes red. This cloth is given to the disciples
The most important ceremony of the Kamakhya temple is Ambubachi, Ambubachi is a big fest held in the kamakhya temple. People in a tremendous amount come to visit the temple at the time of Ambubachi every year. It takes place in the month of Asaad or June, for three days when Devi kamakhya menstruates and bleeds.
People believe Kamakhya Devi to have an extreme amount of power that makes the River Brahmaputra red. This period of three days when Devi kamakhya menstruates, and the Brahmaputra gives a red form that is called Ambubachi.
Visitors are not allowed to go inside the temple or read any holy book or practice any sacred ritual at that time. People widely celebrate festivals like Manasa Pooja and Durga pooja in the temple, and disciples visit here every year on these occasions. Lots of People also visit the place during the five days of Navratri.
In Short :
There are so many reasons that fascinate people about the mysterious and unusual happenings in the kamakhya temple. A country that sighs off from the topic of menstruation, where periods are taboo, the Kamakhya temple is proof of the powers that a woman holds.
This place is a testimony to feminine divinity, and that’s why people consider Devi kamakhya to be the strongest in front of whom even lords bow down. Witchcraft is also one such exciting thing. This place has been famous for mysticism for decades.
