The Mahavidyas at Kamarupa Dynamics of T

The Mahavidyas at Kamarupa:
Dynamics of Transformation in Hinduism 1
Patrida Dold
Univemty of Alberta
Kamarupa, a temple and pilgrimage site near Gauhati, Assam,

remains to this day one of the most widely known pilgrimage sites of
Hindu goddess (Shakta) traditions. It is often described as the most
important of all the Shakta pithas or "seats of the goddess." The site
is frequendy described as hotbed of black magic, of tantric practice
characterized as the use of sex, alcohol, and blood sacrifice to gain
personal power, and of human sacrifice.2 Much of this nefarious
reputation can be attributed to various outsiders each with their own
religious, political and social agendas. Some of the site's infamy was
no doubt promoted by locals, perhaps especially kings and their
priests, to instill fear in political or religious rivals or to attract
pilgrims.3
However, the site's reputation does not give a complete or accurate

picture. Data from the site itself and also from Sanskrit texts that
were composed there and/or have detailed knowledge of the
geography of the site as well as detailed injunctions for religious
practice at Kamarupa, go far beyond the stereotypic and
sensationalistic characterizations. For example, the Kalika Purana —
which, like the Yogini Tantra, has extremely close connections to the
site -- gives elaborate visualization exercizes for a variety of deities
including the various forms of the goddess at Kamarupa. It
prescribes ritual procedures typical for Tantra: the use of formulae
for recitation including mantras, geometric diagrams of deities
(yantrd), gestures to install deities in and around the body (nyasa) and
talismans {kavacd), and so on. It also prescribes ritual procedures that
do not belong specifically to Tantra: offerings of flowers, water, etc.,
to a physical or visualized image of a deity and offerings made into
fire {homà). Yet, the Kalika Purana echoes and contributes to the site's
infamous reputation with its descriptions of blood sacrifice, including
human, and of transgressive tantric practices such as the ritual use of
90 Religious Studies and Theology
alcohol and sex. Similarly, the Yogini Tantra advocates a wide variety
of ritual procedures, some obviously tantric, some clearly
transgressive, and some not essentially or specifically tantric.
This paper examines two forms of data on Kamarupa that challenge

the dark, often overwhelmingly nefarious reputation of this site.
First, the paper presents data from the site itself. Secondly, it
discusses passages from a relatively late Sanskrit text, the
Mahabhagavata Purana, a Shakta text datable to approximately 1600
that reads Kamarupa largely within the context of bhakti and dharma.
Largely, that is, within mainstream, orthodox, non-controversial
Hinduism. Both forms of data accord a prominent place to a group
of ten goddesses collectively known as the Mahavidyas, "the Great
Knowledges." The Mahavidyas and specific rituals for them are
better known to Tantras than they are to other genres of Indian
religious text. Yet, contemporary practice at Kamarupa and also the
Mahabhagavata, locate the Mahavidyas at Kamarupa through their
version of the Sanskritic and puranic narrative of Sati.
The religious history of the site certainly included belief and practice
of local indigenous peoples, Hindu and Buddhist Tantra, as well as
other forms of Hinduism such as Vedic orthodoxy, bhakti, and the
orthopraxy of dharma. That is, texts about Kamarupa reflect
interaction between the "great" pan-Indian, Sanskritic and brahmin
dominated orthodoxy and the "little" local traditions. Though the
boundaries and precise nature of the little and great traditions are
highly debatable, it is clear that there were and are attempts on the
part of the great tradition to Sanskritize local belief and practice; to
incorporate and reinterpret local traditions with an authoritative, self-
identified orthodoxy. But the so-called little traditions are more than
mere passive objects of such manipulations. They also appropriate
transformed elements of what they perceive to be the orthodoxy. As
well, local traditions themselves forged links to pan-Indian religious
structures — to texts, to Sanskrit as a sacred language, to priestly or
brahmanic status — to legitimate themselves and to claim a place in a
larger tradition perceived to carry authority and power.
Dold: The Mahavidyas at Kamarupa 91
This paper explores such dynamics both at the site itself and in the
depiction of Kamarupa in the Mahabhagavata Purana* This text's
depiction of Kamarupa, as noted above, emphasizes aspects of
mainstream Hindu orthodoxy and orthopraxy in advocating dharma
and bhakti. As will be shown, the text adopts this orthodox stance
through its retelling of sacred narratives from the Sanskrit corpus.
Still, it retains something of the more tantric or transgressive
character of the site largely through its treatment of the ten
Mahavidyas, and ritual forms for worshipping them. That is, the text
achieves a blend of orthodox, transgressive and local traditions by
locating the Mahavidyas at Kamarupa.
According to David Kinsley, one major source of information on the

Mahavidyas, as a specific group of ten goddesses, are pamphlets,
paintings, and contemporary lithographs from temples across north
India. A second major source of detailed information on this group
are tantric digests, compilations from earlier works, datable to the
16th through 18th centuries.5 The ten Mahavidyas are also known to
a few relatively late Puranas6 though individual goddesses of the
group are known to many sources, Buddhist as well as Hindu. In
many Tantras, ten or more "mahavidyas" ate described as mantras, or
vidyas, of goddesses or, they are both goddess and her mantra. In
fact, both the Kalika Purana and theYogini Tantra know individual
goddesses that according to other sources belong to the group of ten,
but neither text knows a specific group of goddesses as "the ten
Mahavidyas." Both texts speak of vidyas, mahavidyas, and even
upavidyas ("minor" vidyas) as goddess mantras.7 The two texts present
kavacas that also include names of individual "Mahavidyas" without
identifying them as such.8 Both texts prescribe certain rituals for
protection from enemies. The Yogini Tantra, for example, describes
the "six acts" (shat karma) that protect through acts of aggression
against or control over enemies and the goddesses to whom such
rituals are directed include some that typically appear in lists of the
ten Mahavidyas.9
lists of the ten Mahavidyas in the Mahabhagavata and other texts vary
slightly but generally follow what would become (and remain to this
day) a common list for this group: Kali, Tara, Tripurasundari

(Shodashi), Bhuvaneshvari, Chinnamasta, Kamala, Matangi,
Bagalamukhi, Dhumavati and Bhairavi.10
The iconography of several of these Mahavidyas transgresses

orthodox standards for purity and morality and such transgressive
characteristics reflect the tantric character of the Mahavidyas. Tara
and Kali are often depicted naked, both wear a garland of severed
heads, wield knives or swords, and stand on a prone Shiva whose
eyes are closed. Chinnamasta is also often depicted naked and stands
upon one or two prone figures. Her image also has strong
representations of bloodshed and death: Chinnamasta, literally "she
whose head is cut o f f stands holding her own decapitated head.
Three streams of blood spurt out from her neck, one streams into
Chinnamasta's mouth, and the other two each into the mouth of the
two naked females (devotees?) standing at either side. Dhumavati is
a widow, often accompanied by a crow and wearing white.
However, other goddesses of the group have auspicious associations.

Kamala, "she of the lotus," is often depicted in ways typical for
Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of prosperity and the devoted
(orthodox) wife of Vishnu. So Kamala, wearing a full sari and
ornaments, sits on a lotus, is anointed with water by elephants
standing behind and to her left and right, pours down coins from one
hand while she hold a lotus in another. Matangi, though she has low-
caste connections according to some representations, is often
represented as Sarasvati, the goddess of culture and learning in that
she holds a vina across her lap.
These Mahavidyas are among the deities presendy enshrined at

Kamarupa. Indeed, the importance of the Mahabhagavata Purana and
the reason for my focus on it here is not only that it illustrates
interactions between the great and little traditions. One can easily
find other examples of such interaction in Hinduism. Rather, the
Mahabhagavata Purana appears to be the only (pre-modern) Sanskrit
text to locate the Mahavidyas at the site through a version of the
narrative of Sati that explains, among other things, the origin of
Kamarupa. Not only are the Mahavidyas presendy enshrined at the

site, but the Mahabhagavata9s version of the Sati story is known there
as well. Contemporary local tradition and the Mahabhagavata overlap.
The first section of this paper is a description of the site and its
temples based on my own observations at the site in April of 1992,
lithographs and a temple pamphlet from the site, and interviews I had
with an anonymous devotee and also with Mr. J. P. Sharma, president
of the Kamakhya Temple Trust Board at Kamarupa.
In 1991-92 I was studying in Bañaras as a doctoral research fellow of

the Shasta Indo-Canadian Institute. During that time, Assam was a
restricted zone and non-Indians were not permitted to travel there.
Because of these restrictions, I had not planned to visit Kamarupa at
all. I was able to do so only through a series of coincidences
including the knowledge of and respect for Sanskrit on the part of
the Superintendent of Police of Gauhati.
Though this is a digression, the entire story is a good example of the

enduring power of the "great" Sanskritic tradition. I had learned that
a group of scholars from Bañares Hindu University was traveling to
Gauhati for a conference. Two other non-Indian students, Marilyn
Kanta and Fernando Cardoso, and I were invited to join the group.
The Bañaras Hindu University group cancelled its plans, but we three
non-Indians took the twenty-eight hour train ride to Gauhati on our
own. We had been advised by the police in Bañaras to register with
the Gauhati police upon arrival. The officer to whom we presented
ourselves immediately informed us that we had no legitimate
permission to be in Assam and, given local political tensions, the
Gauhati police force would not assume responsibility for our safety
by allowing us to stay. We would have to leave Assam by the next
available transport.
We pled our case and he finally relented by arranging for us to appeal

to the Superintendent. The three of us were led into a large office
with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Brahmaputra river.
The Superintendent was at his desk, addressing, in Assamese, a group
of perhaps twelve officers. Eventually, and with the officers still in

the room, he turned to me and asked the purpose of our visit. I
explained that I wished to visit Kamarupa as part of my research on a
Sanskrit text about the site. "Ah Sanskrit!' he exclaimed, "Just this
morning I was reading the Jajur [Yajur]11 Veda" and so he began a
discourse on Sanskrit; its famous grammarian Panini, its antiquity, its
status as the mother of all languages, its relationship to Indian
vernaculars and their relationships to each other. At various points
he would interrupt himself, gesture to the police officers still sitting
before him, and say, "You probably know nothing about this but. .."
and would resume his talk. After delivering this impressive and
enthusiastic speech, he granted us permission to stay and wished us
well in our research. Even so, we were only allowed to stay in
Gauhati for one week and so only able to visit the temple site briefly.
On our first visit we were approached by a man who described

himself as a devotee of the goddess, "a bhakta of the mother" he said.
He helped arrange for us to meet and interview the then President of
the Kamakhya Temple Trust Board, J. P. Sharma. The duties of the
President of the Temple Board are administrative and are distinct
from the duties of the temple priests, the religious officials.
Mr. Sharma, a brahmin of the Kashyapa^/ra12 whose ancestors came

from Kanauj, generously agreed to met with the three of us in one of
the administrative buildings near the main temple. During a morning
interview, Mr. Sharma first expressed considerable irritation over
Westerners' distorted and unfairly negative reports about India and
its culture using Katherine Mayo's Mother India13 as an example. He
then spoke in some detail about Hinduism, Shaktism and the site. In
Sharma's view, Tantra described a path to liberation whereas typical
gestures of bhakti had worldly goals. More specifically, he expressed
higher regard for tantric practice than for puja with murtis. This, he
said, was for "lower people who make offerings, request things from
goddess, rely on another to get what they want." Tantric practice was
better for it required self-reliance, only one's own heroic effort could
enable one to "become god:" "so 'ham, tat tvam asi."14 For Shaktism,
the highest being is female, Shakti, the source of all. This Shakti as
the source, Sharma explained, is present in human being as kundalini

in the "root" cakra, the muladhara. In Mr. Sharma's words, the "goal
of Tantra is enlightenment by raising kundalini to sahasra cakra from
muladhara" The quest for enlightenment, the quest to realize one's
identity with the ultimate being, was connected to those aspects of
Tantra that transgress orthodox or mainstream mores. Mr. Sharma
said, "Tantra says you must rise above all so indulge in what is
forbidden, become sated with it so you want no more. To do certain
things you use appropriate materials — for Tantra you need to use
forbidden things like wine."
Sharma's understanding of Tantra as a path to enlightenment and

identity with the ultimate as Shakti is not unusual. Many Tantras
agree and also agree that these goals are the most worthy pursuits for
human beings. Further, it is not unusual for Tantras to incorporate
transgressive practices in the path to enlightenment.15 What is
striking about Sharma's account of Tantra is that he implies a clear
subordination of worldly bhakti to Tantra and emphasized Tantra as a
path exclusively aimed at enlightenment and liberation. Further, in
light of his understandably strong objections to Westerners'
distortions of India, it is surprising that he discussed trangressive
tantric practice at all with a Western women he had just met. On the
other hand, he made it clear there were things not to be disclosed,
such as the bija mantras he said were recited in the temple (see below)
and no doubt there was more that was either to be kept secret or that
he did not feel appropriate to communicate to me.
According to Mr. Sharma, Kamarupa was the best place to worship

Shakti, the source of all creation, because this was the only place
where the yoni or "female organ" was worshipped. This
understanding was also reflected in the words of the anonymous
bhakta who said that the yoni at Kamarupa was the source of all: "We
are all born from thejoni here."
In presenting the history of the site, Mr. Sharma referred to accounts,

specifically the story of Naraka, a son of Krishna, who constructed
four stone staircases on Nilachal and the story of "Rama of the axe"
(Parashurama) who came to Kamakhya (i.e., Kamarupa), bathed in

the lake and then the axe with which he had killed his mother and
which had then become stuck to his hand, fell off. Similar accounts
that describe connections between these same figures and the site are
known to the Kalika Purana and the Yogini Tantra. But, Sharma not
only referred to such traditional Hindu accounts. He also said that all
tribal peoples had been worshippers of Kamakhya as were all the
Koch and Ahom kings of the kingdom of Kamarupa. Prior to
Independence, only members of royal families were permitted to
worship inside the main temple, Sharma said. The present forms of
worship were established by Bengali Parvatya Gosains who were
brought from Bengal to Kamarupa by the Ahom kings, according to
Mr. Sharma. Many of these details have historical verification.
Various historical sources including inscriptions at Kamarupa attest

to the Shakta affiliations of certain Koch and Ahom kings who ruled
in the region beginning in the early sixteenth century. Nar Narayan, a
Koch king who successfully defended the region from Muslim forces
as well as indigenous political rivals, sponsored the construction of
the main temple in 1565. Two Ahom kings, Rudra and Shiva Singh,
who also batded Muslim, Hindu and other indigenous political rivals,
sponsored various constructions and improvements at the site from
the repair of the Mahavidya shrines to the construction of the
Natamandir. The Ahom kings reigned during the period that saw the
rise of a Neo-Vaishnava movement. Led by Shankaradeva (d. 1569?),
this movement rejected non-Vaishnava belief and rejected
"unorthodox" practice including blood sacrifice. According to Ahom
chronicles and neo-Vaisnava texts, there was considerable conflict
between Shaktas and Vaishnavas during the 16th and 17th
centuries.16
Historical sources also indicate that certain of these kings brought

priests from Bengal to preside at the site. It might be that these
priests brought the Mahavidyas to Kamarupa, in a sense. To explain:
individual goddesses of this group are known to the Kalika Purana
and the Yogini Tantra. Specific ritual, the "six acts," which elsewhere
are typical for the Mahavidyas are also known to these two texts.
Both of these texts display vast knowledge and close familiarity with
Kamarupa but they do not speak of the group, the ten Mahavidyas
and so, obviously, cannot and do not locate the Mahavidyas at
Kamarupa. However, the Mahavidyas are known as a group in
Bengal and also in various locations across the northern and
northeastern regions of the subcontinent by the time the Kalika
Purana (12th to 14th centuries) and Yogini Tantra (16th century) were
composed. The Mahabhagavata, which must be almost contemporary
with or slightly later than the Yogini Tantra, displays less knowledge of
the physical site and geography of the region around Kamarupa than
either the Kalika Purana or theYogini Tantra, but it assumes the ten
Mahavidyas are a group and are enshrined as a group at Kamarupa.
This suggests that the Mahabhagavata along with the tradition of the
ten Mahavidyas came to Kamarupa, from outside, and perhaps from
Bengal. If so, then at least some part of the "dark magic" (i.e., the
"six acts" as rituals of the Mahavidyas) in the nefarious reputation of
Kamarupa was brought into the region from elsewhere.
More precisely, the evidence suggests that Bengali priests brought to

Kamarupa had a role in systematizing and legitimizing worship of the
ten Mahavidyas through rituals such as the "six acts." That kings
would instigate this process is plausible: such a move would lend
priesdy and ritual authority to Shakta belief and practice at the site
and thereby enhance the king's authority. It would enhance a king's
reputation as protector of the realm who takes all available steps to
prevent attack. It would enhance the reputation of Kamarupa as a
place of power where one could enjoy the protection of an
impressive group of goddesses and also take aggressive action against
enemies through the "six acts." The authority of the king and his
priests would in turn enhanced by the "great" Sanskritic tradition.
And the Mahabhagavata provides Sanskritic legitimation for the
Mahavidyas at Kamarupa.
The Site:
Kamarupa is located outside Gauhati on the southern bank of the

Brahmaputra river, on a hill called Nilachal, "the dark hill" so named
no doubt because of the large, dark, almost black boulders exposed

all over the hill. The darkness and size of these boulders sets the hill
apart from others in the area, and especially from areas under
cultivation where the red, iron rich soil is exposed. In a few places,
white-washed bas-reliefs of gods — one a flute-playing Krishna right
beside a Ganesha) further accentuate the darkness of the stone. The
visual effect is striking and impressive.
The main temple of the goddess Kamakhya is located 525 feet up the
hill. It has two major sections, the more easterly houses the
garbhagriha in which the Mahavidyas Shorashi (Shorashi), Matangi and
Kamala, are represented by stone yonis.17 Non-Hindus are not
allowed entry. Shodashi, or as she is called locally, Shorashi, "She
who is sixteen" is Kamakhya, according to Mr. Sharma who
emphasized the importance of worshipping the goddess as a kumari, á
virgin, "not married" and "not a modier," an "unsullied" girl of a
maximum age of sixteen. For him, the presence of the goddess as
Shorashi at Kamarupa was an important reason for the great power
and fame of the site. He said that Kumari Puja, worshipping kumaris
with flowers and sweets, was the most important ritual to do at
Kamarupa and added that the temple sponsors Kumari Puja during
the nine day festivals held in honor of the goddess in both spring and
fall (navaratri).
To the west of the main section is a large wing (the natamandii) which
contains a number of anthropomorphic images of goddesses. Non-
Hindus are allowed entry here. like the main temple — which was
continually surrounded by a line of worshippers waiting to enter —
this natamandir was busy. I observed people engaged in puja and
recitation of texts. When I asked Mr. Sharma about the texts being
read, he told me they were secret nama-stotras (hymns of the names of
a deity) and in some cases equally secret bija-mantras ("seed"
mantras), equivalent in themselves to an entire stotra. Mr. Sharma
said that certain texts, the Candi (Devi Mahatmya ) especially, were
recited during spring and autumn navaratra, but along with the
Dembhagavata and the Kalika Purana, could also be recited at any time.
Mr. Sharma was not at all familiar with a Shakta Mahabhagavata

Purana}*
Further west and physically separate from the main temple, is a

sacrificial hall. Goats and chickens were available for purchase at the
site. No one seemed at all concerned that we were observing,
photographing and videotaping the hall. (Yet, a priest performing a
ritual in the Bhairavi shrine gestured to me to stop taking notes.) Mr.
Sharma had identified animal sacrifice as an important distinction
between Shakta and Vaishnava traditions. Vaishnavas, he said, "only
worship Vishnu as Krishna and so on and do not [here he made a
chopping gesture with his hand] to goats and so on."
Also on Nilachal, in an apparendy random pattern, are numerous

small temples dedicated to various goddesses, the remaining seven
Mahavidyas and others (Banadurga, Jaydurga and Lalitakanta) to
various forms of Shiva (Tokoreshwar, Kameshwar, Siddheshwar,
Kautilinga and Kedareshwar) and one to Kamaleshwar Bishnu (i.e.,
Vishnu).19 Some of the Mahavidya temples are paired with a Shaiva
temple, others are not. Some are modern structures, but in some
cases, e.g., the Buvaneshvari temple on top of the hill, the shikhara is
the same beehive style as that of the main temple. Inside the
Bhairavi temple are bas-relief images of nine of Mahavidyas near the
ceiling on three walls, with the tenth, Bhairavi herself, represented in
a murti on the floor. This murti was completely covered with flowers
and other offerings when I visited the temple. To the right of the
murti, there was a Shri Yantra drawn on the floor, and to the left, a
fire pit (homa kund). This arrangement suggests a connection between
Bhairavi (and perhaps also the rest of the Mahavidyas), tantric
traditions represented by the yantra, and Vedic tradition, represented
by the fire pit.20
Mr. Sharma stated that anthropomorphic images were located only

on the outside of the temples and indeed I did not see any
anthropomorphic murtis in the inner chambers of the small
Mahavidya temples. I went inside all except the Dhumavati and
Bagala temples. Some of these smaller shrines showed no sign of
recent ritual activity. From my observations, which were all made

during late morning to late afternoon, worshippers at the site were
much more focused on the main temple complex than on the smaller
shrines.
In many of the temples, the inner chamber, or garbhagriha, is a cave

below ground level. These caves are small, and dark, lit only by a dipa
or two21 and are reached by descending narrow stone staircases. In
each cave is a stone platform upon which is a raised mound covered
with flowers and other offerings. A few of the temples (e.g., the
Bhairavi temple) sit beside ponds. In the garbhagriha of some of the
shrines there are natural underground springs or pools. I found one
site where an underground spring is partially surrounded by a stone
wall (perhaps the remains of a small shrine), with a stone stairway
leading down to the spring and I saw a woman and a few young men
retrieving water from it. Mr. Sharma said that the yoni of Kamakhya
in the main temple used to be moistened continuously by the natural
spring there but that spring, like others on the hill, had gone dry as a
result of road construction.
Most of the shrines to the Mahavidyas are located to the east and
south of the main temple and most are at the same elevation as the
main temple or slighdy lower. The Bhuvaneshvari shrine is higher
than the main temple for it sits on the highest point of Nilachal.
Given the random distribution of the temples on the hill, it is likely
that the presence of water high up on the hill determined the sites for
some of the temples.
D. C. Sircar argues that certain sites came to be identified as pithas

because features of the landscape such as pools and caves were
perceived zsyonis, symbols of birth or rebirth. It is indeed plausible
that the natural pools, underground springs and caves on Nilachal
were viewed originally as wombs, symbols of rebirth or more
generally, as sources of life.22 Both Mr. Sharma and the anonymous
bhakta attributed the importance of the yoni at the site and the
creative power of either the yoni itself or of Shakti, the goddess.
At present, the three murtis of the main temple and the murtis in six of
the smaller Mahavidya shrines is a stone yoni, according to Mr.
Sharma. The presence of these yoni murtis and the underground
springs which keep them moist create the impression of a living and
life giving presence at the site. The site itself is called Kamakhya (in
the feminine form) in temple pamphlets, on lithographs, and on a
sign part way up the hill that reads "Kamakhya Park." The site is the
goddess, as it were.23
Belief in the goddess's living presence is graphically reflected in

another way as well. During monsoon, the red, iron-rich soil seeps
into the Brahmaputra turning its waters red.24 Because the murtis in
many of the shrines on Nilachal are stoneyonis continually moistened
by underground springs, the flow of red water during monsoon is
understood by some to represent the goddess's menstrual flow and is
received by worshippers as prasad, just as fruit, flowers and other
offering of puja can be received by a worshipper as the deities
blessing or grace. An annual festival called Ambubachi held in June
marks the annual menstruation of the goddess. For the five days of
Ambubachi, the temple is closed. Tens of thousands of pilgrims are
said to visit the temple as it reopens.25
The use of red water symbolizing menstrual blood as prasad and the
closure of the temple during the goddess's annual menstruation
provide one example of the interplay at Kamarupa between a
transgressive tantric orientation and orthodox standards of purity.
Ritual use of menstrual blood and other fluids deemed impure
according to mainstream orthodox standards is an example of
trangressive tantric practice. That "menstrual blood" is received as
prasad is therefore transgressive. However, that the temple is closed
during the goddess's annual menstruation, affirms orthodox
standards of purity in that it isolates the menstruating female.
The color red itself has similarly ambivalent implications. Its

association with bloodshed and death associates it with impurity.
Trangressive tantra is transgressive in part because instead of
distancing its adepts from death and impurity, it encourages them to
contact or confront it. Red is evident at the site most viscerally, in

the blood of sacrificed animals, (which I saw only in the sacrificial
hall beside the main temple). Red paint was in use in various ways as
well: At the entrance to several of the small Mahavidya temples,
there is a sacrificial post. These posts and some anthropomorphic
images on the outsides of temples are painted red. On columns at
the entrances to small shrines along the path up the hill, red paint had
been splashed. There is a four-armed, red Tara image in an anteroom
of the Tara temple. Tara sits on a prone, corpse-like Shiva, and to
the left of the image is a linga.
In all these examples, the color red is associated with bloodshed and
death but is placed in a manner that at least allows for contact and so
is potentially transgressive. But, the color red is also used at the site
in ways that express its auspicious, life-giving meanings.
On the outside of the main temple, there is a bas-relief of a Ganesha.

It is painted a deep red top to bottom and has numerous coins stuck
to its surface. On a gateway on one of paths is a bas-relief of an adult
female nursing a baby, also rendered red. This image was the only
obvious representation of biological motherhood that I saw.
While red has clear associations with bloodshed and death, and it
clearly has such associations at Kamarupa, red also symbolizes
fertility, auspiciousness, and life generating passion. Red is a
traditional color for a bride's sari, for example. Red powder in the
part of a woman's hair is a sign of her married and therefore
auspicious status. Red is the color of rajas, the hot, active, passionate
quality ofprakriti. At Kamarupa, with its yoni murtis and its menarchal
goddess, red might well symbolize fertility, creativity, and
auspiciousness. The red Ganesha on the outside of the main temple
certainly represents prosperity since it is covered with coins and
because Ganesha, as the god who removes obstacles, is often
worshipped at the beginning of any undertaking — worldly or spiritual
— to ensure its success.
The color red and indeed the presiding goddess at Kamarupa also
have strong associations to kama, as a life generating passion very
much like eros. Names of the goddess include Kamakhya, "she who
is called passion (kama)," and Kamarupini or Kamarupa, she who
assumes the form of kama, or who takes whatever form she desires.26
The narrative of Sati, a narrative told in the Mahabharata and in
several Puranas, is a story of both death and passion. It certainly has
those themes when it is told as a myth of origin of thepithas including
Kamarupa. I return to this theme below in the discussion of the
Mahabhagavata1 s version of the story.
The Narrative of Sati
When I asked Mr. Sharma about the presence of the Mahavidyas at

the site, he responded with a brief version of the narrative of Sati,
whom he identified with Kamakhya: "Sati's father Dakkha, an ashura
king, calls zjagña [sacrifice]. He wants to insult Shiva. Shiva refuses
permission for Sati to go to thejagña. She is furious, becomes the
Mahavidyas, scares Shiva who must yield. At jagna, she kills herself
byjoga."
Mr. Sharma was not the only individual to allude to this incident in
the Sati story. I asked the anonymous bhakta about the site and its
goddesses. "The goddess is power" he said and alluded to the
narrative of Sati to explain this and the power of the site. He told me
that Shiva insulted Sati by saying, "You are just my wife" so "she
shows power as Kali and Mahavidyas."27
Neither gave the end of the story, which, in brief outline from late
puranic versions is as follows. After Sati dies at Daksha's sacrifice
whether by yoga or by throwing herself in the fire, Shiva arrives and
wreaks havoc. In most versions of the story, Shiva himself or his
troops, destroy the sacrifice and kill Daksha. Then, in some later
versions of the story, Shiva takes up the corpse of Sati and grieves.
In his grief, he "dances" across the world, which trembles and seems
on the verge of destruction. The other gods realize they must stop
Shiva and they accomplish this by removing the corpse from him.
Piece by piece the body falls from Shiva's grasp and wherever the
pieces idl,pithas are created.
The connection between the narrative of Sati, the Mahavidyas, and

the temples at Nilachal is also reflected in contemporary lithographs
sold at Kamarupa. There are lithographs that show Shiva carrying
Sati's corpse as he moves toward Nilachal, with the gods watching
from the sky. The main temple of Nilachal and the shrines of
Mahavidyas and other deities are depicted on the hill in the center of
the lithograph and they are identified in a key provided at the bottom.
This scene is surrounded, by images of various temples located near
but not on Nilachal. Another lithograph I purchased at the site
depicts Shiva and Sati in the central panel and they appear to be
arguing; Sati's face is contorted in anger and Shiva is turning away
from her as if to flee. Images of the ten Mahavidyas surround this
central panel.28 Thus, this lithograph depicts the climactic scene,
described by Mr. Sharma and the anonymous bhakta, in which Sati
causes Shiva to flee and becomes the Mahavidyas, and this scene is
one of the distinctive features of the Mahabhagavata's narrative of Sati.
Indeed, it represents a climactic moment in that narrative. This
brings me to the second half of the paper and to the Mahabhagavata,
its narrative of Sati and its depiction of the Mahavidyas at Kamarupa.
The Mahabhagavata Purana on Kamarupa and the Mahavidyas
As a Shakta text, the Mahabhagavata understands the supreme deity to

be Shakti, the goddess. The Mahabhagavata expresses this position
largely through the narratives it tells. like many Puranas, the
Mahabhagavata retells with variations narratives widely known in
Hinduism and inserts, as it were, it's supreme divine being into those
narratives.
According to the Mahabhagavata, the goddess takes birth in full and

partial incarnations. The text's narratives describe this goddess's
births as Sati, Parvati, Ganga and others. The goddess agrees to be
born in these forms in response to worship from her devotees,
including the god Shiva, her greatest devotee. As well, she appears to
her devotees and worshippers in a variety of forms each of which is

called by a number of different names. These narrative details alone
point to a prominent theme of this text: the theme of bhakti or
devotion. As the source of and the power behind all other deities,
male and female, this goddess and her various forms are the most
appropriate foci for devotional sentiment and the ultimate objects for
meditation and other forms of worship. Again and again throughout
the first half of the text especially, the parents and the husband of the
goddess in her various embodiments express their longing for close
relationship with her, their delight and bliss while in her presence,
and their grief and suffering when separated from her.
Another noteworthy example of the text's emphasis on bhakti and

indeed its intent to promote bhakti to the goddess, is the text's
Bhagavati Gita. This is a Shakta version of the Bhagavad Gita, in which
the goddess, embodied as Parvati, discourses with Himalaya, her
father and devotee (MbhP 15-19). Just as Krishna discourses with
and shows his divine form to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, so in the
Bhagavati Gita, the goddess answers her father's questions on human
existence, bhakti, and liberation and in response to his bhakti, reveals
to him three of her divine forms.
The Mahabhagavata9s version of the story of Sati also emphasizes

bhakti: the goddess becomes embodied as Sati, daughter of Daksha
and wife of Shiva in response to their devotion which, at least
inititially, they express when faced with the goddess in the form of
Kali (MbhP 3.46-47 and 4.10-12). In Shiva's case, he alone of the
gods is able to maintain his meditative concentration when the
goddess, referred to here as Mahavidya (3.35), appears before him
with "a form so horrifying it shook the universe" (3.41). Sati reveals
herself as Kali to test her devotee's insight into and acceptance of her
nature or to remind them of her status as supreme deity.29 In one
such instance, she goes on to reveal herself as the ten Mahavidyas
(8.57-63).
As the narrative unfolds, both Daksha and Shiva are punished for
offenses they commit against Sati — they fail "Kali's test" ~ and their
punishment is to be deprived of her presence. Daksha's devotional

relationship with the goddess is never fully restored. Shiva endures a
lengthy separation from the goddess and grieves the loss of his wife
Sati. His penance for offending the goddess includes carrying the
corpse of Sati30 until its pieces fall to the earth, transform into stone
yonis, and create thepithas (MbhP 11.1-2,18, 36-51, & 106-118).
As the goddess's husband, Shiva is completely overwhelmed by the

joys of living with the goddess. Overcome with passion, Shiva
arranges complete privacy in his mountain home for the two
newlyweds (MbhP 7.1-4). He caresses her lotus-like face, he gives
her flower garlands he has made and then "just watches her intendy"
(7.6-7). Shiva enjoys himself with her as he pleases, day and night, in
caves, forest groves, beside a pond (7.5, 7-8). Ever looking at her,
never separated from her, he spends tens of thousands of years,
oblivious to the passage of time (7.9-11).
But Shiva also experiences the bliss of the goddess's presence while
he carries the corpse (MbhP 11.60-67 & 96-97), when he joins the
goddess at each of the pithas in the form of a linga or, as at
Kamarupa, as the mountain that supports the yoni (11.113-116). As
his reward for completing his penance and to keep her promise to be
his wife, when the goddess takes birth as Ganga and Parvati, he
enjoys the bliss of the goddess's presence as her devotee and husband
(12.18-22, 13.34-36 and 23.8-11). When Shiva first encounters
Parvati, he asks her to reveal herself as Kali (23.15-16). Ecstatic
when she does so, Shiva lies down at her feet (23.17-28), sings a
hymn of one thousand names of the goddess (23.28-180) and
requests the boon of always being under her feet whenever she
appears in the world (23.184-187). Shiva, thus, is the goddess's
greatest devotee and bhakti is clearly a strong component of the
Shaktism of this text.
As in other Shakta versions of the story, the story of Sati in the

Mahabhagavata explains the origin of the Shakta pithas, the greatest of
which is Kamarupa because, as the Mahabhagavata puts it, the goddess
herself is personally and fully present there (MbhP 12.30-31) in the
form of the yoni (76.19-20) and with the other Mahavidyas (77.2-3).
Indeed the pitha is the goddess herself (12.10-11). Thus all devotees'
and (tantric) adepts' goals — freedom from sin, liberation from
rebirth, fearlessness, worldly power, power over even the gods,
powers (siddhis) like the ability to fly, darshana of the goddess or the
direct experience of her, the state of a Bhairava or a Rudra — will be
fulfilled there (76.13-25) just as they were when sought by gods and
sages who came to the site (76.6-12).
Chapter twelve of the Mahabhagavata1 s Sati story, called the

"Glorification (mahatmyà) of Kamarupa" is entirely focused on the site
of Kamarupa and its presiding deities. Three independent chapters at
the end of the text are also "glorifications" of the site and its
goddesses.31 High regard for Kamakhya and her residence at
Kamarupa is also expressed in two other narratives told in the
Mahabhagavata. The Pandavas and Draupadi make pilgrimage to the
site and worship Kamakhya for protection (MbhP 56). In the story
of the descent of the Ganga, this goddess takes a northward turn just
before continuing southward toward the ocean because as the Ganga
descends, she wishes to visit Kamakhya at Kamarupa (MbhP 70).
It is not unusual for a Purana to include mahatmyas or "Glorifications"

of particular places, practices, texts, etc.32 and the Mahabhagavata
contains such Glorifications of its goddess, of its Bhagavati Gita, as
well as of Kamarupa. There are at least a few Puranas that, according
to Rocher, are little more than mahatmyas of specific regions or sacred
sites. This type of mahatmya literature is part of "broader category of
local puranic texts: the sthalapuranas."35 These "legendary histories" of
sacred sites exist throughout the subcontinent in oral or written form
and often in the vernacular.34 In their glorifications of a site, these
texts draw upon local legend and religious practice as well as Sanskrit
texts including Puranas. Madeleine Biardeau has suggested that the
Sanskrit Puranas express ideal social and religious structures, whereas
mahatmyas are "plus proches de la religion concrète et de ses tensions
vécus."35 To the extent that the Mahabhagavata focuses on Kamarupa,
and exalts both the site and its deity, it resembles a sthalapurana.
While the text glorifes the site by locating its origins in Sanskrit
narratives, it also adds the Mahavidyas into the puranic narrative and
in doing so draws upon local and northeastern Shakta tradition.
According to the Mahabhagavata's creation account, the goddess

rewards Shiva for his steadfast devotion by agreeing to become fully
embodied as Sati and as Sati, to marry Shiva. However, Shiva insults
Sati during an argument over their attendance at Daksha's sacrifice.
Noting his insult, the fair-skinned Sati decides to show him her
supernatural power (prabhavd), transforms her appearance and stands
before him as Kali; naked, black, wearing a garland of skulls, her
mouth full of fangs, her body blazing "like the fires of doomsday"
(MbhP 8. 45). Seeing this goddess and hearing her "dreadful roar,"
Shiva flees, terrified (8. 46-47). Wishing to alleviate his fear, Kali tries
to stop him, "do not be afraid" she says, yet laughs "terrifyingly" (8.
55). "Being compassionate," she becomes ten goddesses each of
whom takes a position in one of the ten directions thus surrounding
Shiva who continues running but in whichever direction he flees, he
encounters one of the goddesses. At last he stops and asks for an
explanation. Kali introduces herself explaining that she is none other
than his beloved wife Sati and he should not be afraid of her or her
other forms. Indeed, she tells him, "where these ten most terrible
forms are in the ten directions, you must not be afraid."36
Then the goddess introduces the Mahavidyas to Shiva, indicating

their position relative to him:
This black one who is in front of you, she is Kali, of

terrible eyes. And she, the black colored goddess
standing above you, is the Mahavidya Tara, whose
nature is Mahakala. The goddess on your right, most
fearsome because of her headlessness, is the goddess,
the Mahavidya Chinnamasta, wise one. She who is on
your left, Shambhu, is the goddess Bhuvaneshvari.
She who is behind you is the goddess Bagala, the
slayer of enemies. She who is to the southeast of you,
bearing the form of a widow, is the goddess, the
Mahavidya Dhumavati, the Great Queen. This
goddess who is to the southwest of you is

Tripurasundari. To the northwest of you, this is the
Mahavidya Matangakanyaka. In the northeast is the
goddess, the Mahavidya, the Great Queen, Shodashi.
And I am Bhairavi, the terrible. Do not be afraid,
Shambhu. AU these forms are superior to many
[odier] forms. (MbhP 8. 65-71)
This scene of Shiva surrounded by the Mahavidyas, one in each of

the cardinal and intermediate directions and above and below him
reads like a dramatization of a kavaca, an "armor" or talisman. Kavacas
combine text and or visualization and sometimes gesture to create a
protective shield around the worshipper. Kavacas can also be
rendered physically and worn on the body or hung in the home for
protection. The Mahabhagavata itself presents a kavaca of Kamakhya
(MbhP 77). Here an obviously male worshipper requests that
particular goddesses protect various parts of his body and that each
Mahavidya occupy one of the ten directions and protect him from
there:
Now, the Kavaca

Aum! May Tara, who dwells at Kamarupa, protect me
in the east May Shodashi guard in the southeast,
Dhumavati herself, in the south. May Bhairavi guard in
the southwest, Bhuvaneshvari, in the west. May
Chinnamasta, the Great Queen, always guard in the
northwest. May the goddess, the blessed knowledge
Bagalamukhi guard me in the north. May the Great
Tripurasundari, always guard me in the northeast. May
the knowledge Matangi who dwells at Ûiepitha, protect
me from above. May Kamakhya, who is Kalika herself,
guard me on all sides, always. May she whose nature is
Brahman, the Great Knowledge who is herself made of
all knowledge, protect my head, Durga, the wife of Shri
Bhava, my forehead. May Tripura guard my pair of
arms, may Sarvani guard my nose. May Candika guard
my eyes, black Sarasvati my ears. May she, the pleasant
faced, guard my face. May Parvati protect my neck.

May the goddess, who is terrifying with her lolling
tongue, protect my tongue. May the goddess Vac guard
my mouth. May the Great Queen guard my chest.
May the great-armed goddess guard my arms, the queen
of deities, my fingers. May the terrible faced goddess
guard my back, the naked goddess, my hips. May the
Great Knowledge, 'Great Belly' always guard my belly.
May the great goddess, Ugratara protect my thighs and
calves and the Beauty of the gods (Surasundari), my
anus, testicles, and penis and navel. May Bhavani, queen
of the thirty [gods], always guard my feet and toes. May
the goddess whose seat is a corpse guard my blood,
flesh, bones, marrow, and so on. In horrible, great fear,
may the goddess, the dispeller of great fear, Mahamaya,
Kamakhya, who dwells at the pitha, guard [me]. May
the goddess Shri Kalika, who abides at the mountain
made of ashes, who rests on a seat that is a divine lion,
always guard me in all calamities. (MbhP 77. 31-43)
The chapter then states the benefits of the kavaca:
Having created protection with this, an adept

(sadhaka) would be fearless. No fear or terror
obstructing the completion of mantra practice
(mantrasiddhd) could touch that one. And freedom of
mental powers is born, wise one. Who should wear
this great kavaca on their arms, would have
unimpeded power and be proficient in all knowledge.
Everywhere he would receive the pleasant and the
auspicious day after day. And who should read,
having become solemn, this marvellous kavaca, goes
to the state of the goddess, in all truth, without a
doubt! (MbhP 77. 46-49)
Mahabhagavata chapter seventy-seven emphasizes and assumes the

presence of the Mahavidyas at Kamarupa and describes their
arrangement on Nilachal in a systematic manner that recalls both the

scene of Shiva surrounded by the Mahavidyas and the formulaic
invocations of a kacava. The chapter opens with Narada asking Shiva
which of the Mahavidyas is the chief of Kamarupa (MbhP 77. 1).
Shiva replies, "These very ten Mahavidyas dwell in that place, best of
sages, as bestowers of the fruits of recitation (jopa) and puja for the
welfare of adepts (sadakas). Kamakhya, the goddess Kalika herself,
the Eternal, is the Principal [one] and the other nine knowledges
abide at her side. Kali, whose nature is all knowledge, has the form
of Kamakhya" (77. 2-4a). After describing the form of Kali to be
used in worship, he says that she is in the center and the other
Mahavidyas surround her, one in each of nine directions:
On [her] left is Tara, the beneficent goddess. On the

right is Bhuvaneshvari. To the southeast is the
knowledge, Shodashi. In the southwest is Bhairavi
herself and Chinnamasta is in the northwest.
Bagalamukhi is behind. The knowledge Sundari is in
the northeast and above is Matanganayika. To the
south of the great pitha is the knowledge Dhumavati,
Narada, below that is the blessed Rudra, himself
consisting of the mountain [called] ¢ heap of Ashes'
[bhasmacala]." (MbhP 77. 9-11)
The arrangement of the Mahavidyas around Kali/Kamakhya and

around the worshipper in the kavaca in the Mahabhagavata's seventy-
seventh chapter is not consistent with the arrangement of temples on
Nilachal nor with their arrangement around Shiva in the
Mahabhagavata^ story of Sati. Nevertheless, it is clear that the text
insists on a connection between the Mahavidyas and the actual site of
Kamarupa.
Thus far, the Mahabhagavata's representation of Kamarupa is rather

uncontroversial. There is no black magic here, no blood sacrifice,
though there is death, destruction and passion. But, we are not quite
done. One last major theme in the Mahabhagavata's treatment of the
Mahavidyas in particular is its prescription of the "six acts" among

the ritual forms to be employed in worship of these goddesses.
After the goddess introduces Shiva to the Mahavidyas, she explains

the forms and goals of their worship. First, a very general
description: "they give four kinds of reward to those who make
devout offerings" (MbhP 8.72). Four kinds of reward would likely be
the four goals of life: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha but the text
does not specify. Then follows a very specific list of the results of
Mahavidya worship directed against worshipper's enemies: The
Mahavidyas "fulfill intentions such as control, paralysis, hatred and so
on and they cause death, surrender, agitation, bewilderment, and
flight" (8. 73). The effects of worship of the Mahavidyas described
here all appear in various lists of the "six acts" or works a tantric
practitioner can direct at enemies, often by worshipping the
Mahavidyas. lists of the six acts often include six of the effects listed
here: maraña,ritualscausing the death or destruction of the enemy;
uccatana,ritualscausing an enemy to quit an occupation; fahobha,
rituals causing physical and/or emotional disturbance; mohana, rituals
causing delusion or bewilderment; dravana,ritualscausing an enemy's
flight; vashyar,ritualsenabling the worshipper to control enemies;
stambhana, rituals which stun or paralyze an enemy; and vidvesha,
rituals causing hatred among one's enemy or causing one's enemy to
hate loved ones. Lists of the six acts vary, so it is not surprising that
the Mahabhagavata names more than six.37 Nor is it surprising that
the Mahabhagavata's has illustrated the effects of the Mahavidyas in its
narrative of Sati (since, as noted above, the narrative dramatizes a
kavaca and also the arrangement of temples on Nilachal). As the
goddess reveals herself as the Mahavidyas, Shiva experiences
emotional disturbance, attempts to flee, and is finally brought under
control though he remains bewildered. However, in illustrating the
effects of the Mahavidyas, the text euphemizes them: they are not
some dark art employed aggressively, rather they are intended by the
goddess to remove fear and are an expression of her compassion.
The goddess's explanation of worship of the Mahavidyas continues:

the Mahavidyas are to be worshipped through mantra, yantra, kavaca,
and preparatory ritual (purashcaryd) - all aspects of tantric ritual - and

also through hymns (stotras),puja and homa (MbhP 8. 74-75)- which
can be but are by no means always tantric. Further, she warns, in
typical tantric fashion, that these goddesses and the procedures for
worshipping them are "to be concealed, never to be made public"
(8.74 & 83) or there will be misfortune and loss of powers (nddhi).
After presenting this injunction, the goddess goes on to insist on the
importance of worshipping all her forms according to both the Vedas
and Agamas (i.e., Tantras)38 that Shiva is to proclaim and make well
known in the world. The wise do not distinguish between the two,
but realize their unity and so practice dharma. Even the goddess
herself is unable to save anyone who neglects either Veda or Tantra
(8. 76-81).
As R. C. Hazra had indicated, the Mahabhagavata is attempting to

harmonize Tantra and Veda.39 More specifically, the text seems to be
apologetically justifying tantric worship of tantric deities by asserting
that Tantra is as indispensable as Vedic practice, by insisting on the
unity of the two and by asserting that performance of dharma results
from observance of both Veda and Tantra.
Elsewhere, the Mahabhagavata describes worship of the Mahavidyas as

bhakti and so once again tries to set them within a mainstream, non-
controversial, orthodox context. In its Bhagavati Gita, the
Mahabhagavata simply asserts that the worship of these goddesses is
compatible with bhakti to Kali, because the Mahavidyas are her
forms. Himalaya, father and devotee of the goddess, asks her which
of her forms are best for worship in one's quest for liberation. The
goddess answers that the Mahavidyas are best because they are forms
of the goddess herself. She lists them and says that supreme
devotion to them, observance of dharma, and ritual action (kriyayogà)
will ensure liberation (18. 26-28). Her final words here echo those of
Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita and again emphasize bhakti'.
"your intellect and mind focused on me, [you] will surely reach me,
without a doubt" (MbhP 18.29).40
It is probably no accident that this assertion is made within a

Vaishnava textual frame. An explicit reference is made to Vaishnavas
at the end of the goddess's instructions to Shiva on the worship of
the Mahavidyas and her assertions that there is no conflict between
Veda, Tantra, and dharma. Immediately following these claims, the
goddess says: "those Vaishnavas in the assembly of the good, who
are worshippers of these [Mahavidyas], should be very attentive, their
mind fixed on me" (MbhP 8.82). Here the text attempts to make its
Shaktism compatible with Vaishnava belief and practice and this
attempt reflects the religious history of Assam and Bengal in the 16th
and 17th centuries when neo-Vaishnava movements arose and were
critical at the very least, of non-Vaishnava worship and of blood
sacrifice. The Assamese neo-Vaishnava movement came into direct
conflict with Shaktas and the two traditions engaged in vigorous
polemic.41
Thus, the Mahabhagavata reads Kamarupa as a prime abode of its

supreme goddess along with the other Mahavidyas. The text certainly
knows of the transgressive nature of some of these goddess and of
some of the rituals, such as the "six acts," and it also associates with
them several ritual procedures common to Tantras. In its discussion
of Kamarupa and its goddesses no mention is made of sexual rituals
or of blood sacrifice. Both of these are, however, projected onto the
goddess and Shiva. The goddess dies at her father's sacrifice. Her
body, as the sacrificial offering, is distributed to the world in that its
pieces create the various pithas. Reminiscent of a tantric adept, Shiva
experiences the bliss of the goddess's presence when he dances with
her corpse. At Kamarupa in particular, but also at all the pithas,
Shiva, in the form of a Unga, is reunited with his beloved goddess, in
the form of theyoni.
But all of these elements, the Mahavidyas, tantric rituals to them, the
puranic narrative with its death imagery, and its sacrificai and erotic
undertones, are incorporated within bhakti and not only within the
Bhagavati Gita. Bhakti is a prominent theme throughout the
Mahabhagatava and it is especially strong in the story of Sati. As we
have already seen, Shiva seeks to be the husband of the goddess out
of bhakti. As her husband he dotes upon her, delights in her

presence. After Shiva offends the goddess, she imposes a penance
on him: to be separated from her and for him this separation is
agony. His agony is relieved when he is reunited with her as he
dances with her corpse, but returns when the corpse is taken from
him. He dwells blissfully with the goddess at Kamarupa and also is
ecstatic to be reunited with her in her future embodiments as Ganga,
Parvati and others.
In light of such prominence for bhakti, it is not surprising that the

text calls for bhakti toward the Mahavidyas nor that it insists on the
equivalent religious authority of both Veda and Tantra. Kamarupa,
then, remains a site for the worship of transgressive divine forms
using tantric rituals of empowerment but it is also a site where the
devotee may experience the goddess's presence, as did Shiva himself.
Conclusion
Both the Mahabhagavata and contemporary tradition at Kamarupa

weave together various strands of Hinduism. Whether on the level
of the puranc narratives of the Mahabhagavata, the stories and artwork
of individuals at the site, or the views of a single individual on local as
well as broader Hindu tradition, there is freedom to draw upon
extant authority, to transform, to adapt religion to local needs and
address local religious controversy. Both the "little" and the "great"
tradition are active participants in such processes.
Contemporary local tradition at Kamarupa clearly combines elements

of mainstream orthodox Hinduism with local and transgressive
Hinduism. The long line of worshippers waiting to perform puja and
receive prasad in the inner sanctum of the main temple, Mr. Sharma's
complaint that most people are engaged in worship of murtis for
worldly goals, the vedantic character of Mr. Sharma's Tantra, and the
living knowledge of Sanskrit narrative (and of Sanskrit itself in the
office of the Superintendent of Police!) all reflect rather mainstream
belief and practice and the continuing power and appeal of
orthodoxy. On the other hand, the practice of animal sacrifice, the
transgressive characterises of the Mahavidyas including their power

over Shiva, Mr.Sharma's inclusion of transgressive tantric practice in
the path to enlightenment, and the sacralization of menstrual blood,
all reflect unorthodox and trangressive tantric inclinations.
Meanwhile, the emphasis on the site, its stone "yonis" and its
goddesses as sources of life and power, and the sacralizing of the
landscape itself are literally local details.
The orthodox, unorthodox or transgressive and the local are not

simply layered one on top of another. Rather they are woven
together. The narrative of Sati as told in the Mahabhagavata and at
the site blend tantric goddesses and rituals with great deities of the
Sanskrit puranic tradition and also with Nilachal and its stones and
caves. The goddess's menstrual blood, the iconography of the
Mahavidyas, the variety of gods and goddesses enshrined at
Kamarupa, all combine the ausipcious and inauspicious, the orthodox
and transgressive. The Mahabhagavata makes the Mahavidyas and
Kali into goddesses for the devotee and the tantric adept. It makes
its narrative of Sati a story of romance and bhakti but also eroticism,
(pseudo) human sacrifice and necrophilia.42
The nefarious Kamarupa, the site of black magic and hotbed of

secret Tantric ritual simply does not match what I observed or was
told at the site nor does it fit the Mahabhagavata's Kamarupa. To be
sure this "dark side" exists both at the site and in the Mahabhagavata
but is part of a much larger pattern in which transgressive tantra and
rituals of power transform and are transformed by mainstream,
orthodox Hindu ideals of bhakti, insight, and dharma.
Endnotes
1
Part of the research for this paper was conducted with the support
of a doctoral research fellowship from the Shastri-Indo Canadian
Institute. I presented portions of this paper as "The Mahavidyas at
Kamarupa," at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association for
Asian Studies in Ottawa in June, 1993.
2
In June of 2002, King Gyanendra and Queen Komal of Nepal visited
the site. The king's plan to offer animal sacrifice ~ "for the well-being
of the royal family of Nepal" — drew protest from animal rights groups.
And so, according to news reports, the king himself made vegetarian
offerings in the ceremonies he personally attended. The king "offered"
a buffalo, a sheep, a duck and a goat and left the site before the animals
were sacrificed by temple priests. See "Nepal King Visits Kamakhya
Temple," India Travel Times 27 June 2002, 24 April, 2004
<http://www.indktraveltimes.com/religion/king.html>. One year
later, a man was arrested at the site for attempting to sacrifice his
daughter to the goddess so that the goddess would "bestow him with
tremendous powers." Seema Hussain, "Devilish devotee: A barbaric
attempt at human sacrifice goes awry in Assam," The Week 29 June
2003, 24 April, 2004 <http://www.the-
week.com/23June29/events9.htm>. Both the royal visit and die
attempted sacrifice took place during Ambubachi, one of the largest
festivals held at the site, discussed again below. The attempted human
sacrifice generated a number a reports about local efforts to root out
those few misguided individuals still performing the practice in secret at
Kamarupa. These reports site scholars, sages, mystics, at least one
Aghori tantrika, temple priests and administrators and ordinary
devotees as opponents of the alleged practice. They also claim to have
factual evidence about the history of human sacrifice at the site. The
site's infamous reputation is clearly alive and well in the modern media
as well as in the tourist industry.
3
For a compelling interpretation of the site's controversial reputation
and of its character as a place of royal power, see Hugh B. Urban, "The
Path of Power: Impurity, Kingship, and Sacrifice in Assamese Tantra"
Journal ofthe American Academy ofReligion 69.4 (2001): 777-816.
4
Unless otherwise indicated, all references to this text are to the
Sanskrit edition by Pushpendra Kumar, The Mahabhagavata Purana (An
Anaent Treatise on Shakti Cult) (Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 1983).
Hereafter cited as MbhP. All translations from this text are my own.
For a fuller and more technical discussion of this text and a complete
translation of the narrative of Sati, see my PhD dissertation, "The
Image of Kali in the Mahabhagavata Purana" forthcoming, MacMaster
University).
5
See David Kinsley, Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten
Mahavidyas (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997) 1-3 and his
references.
6
In fact, The Mahabhagavata Purana is one of the very few Puranas to
name the goddesses collectively as the Mahavidyas. The Devibhagavata
Purana describes ten "principal shakti/9 originating from the great
goddess (7.28.46-68) and lists ten names, most of which belong to the
specific group known as the Mahavidyas, though the Devibhagavata does
not name the group as such. Swami Vijnananda, trans., The Shri Mad
Devi Bhagavatam (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1986) 690. The
Brihaddharma Purana borrows extensively from the Mahabhagavata
Purana's account of the origin of the Mahavidyas from Sati, calls them
Mahavidyas collectively, lists the shatkarma asritualsperformed to them,
but does not locate the Mahavidyas at Kamarupa explicidy. Indeed, the
text has little to say about the site at all. Shiva goes to Kamarupa after
the body of Sati has been cut away from him piece by piece, and seeing
the yoni falling as if it will descend to Patala, he becomes the mountain
that supports it and finds peace because Sati is present there
{Brihaddharma 39.44-57 and compare MbhP 11.112-116). It is where the
gods Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva go to praise the goddess so she will
appear before them {Brihaddharma 41.1-38 and compare MbhP 12.14-
25) and where Shiva remains to do tapas until he wins the goddess as his
wives when she incarnates as the two daughters of Himalaya and Mena
(Brihaddharma 41.105-108 compare MbhP 11.41-42 and 12.9-21).
Brihaddharma chapters 33-41 comprise the whole narrative of Sati.
Material concerning the Mahavidyas including their emergence from
Sati at the end of her argument with Shiva over attending Daksha's
sacrifice is at chapter 36.74-77 & 125-138 (on shatkarma). All references
to this text are from M. M. Hariprasad Shastri ed., The Brihaddharma
Puranam, rev. ed., (Varanasi: Krishnadas Academy, 1974). The
Mahabhagavata'sversion is analyzed in the last section of this essay..
7
See Yogini Tantra 1.6.50-51, 1.19.70-71. Biswanarayana Shastri,
Yogm Tantra (Delhi: Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan, 1982).
8
See Yogini Tantra 1.3.4 & 15-18. See also Kalika Purana 72.51 & 53;
75.46-51, 60 & 63, 73-79 for goddess as vidyas and in kacavas.
Biswanarayana Shastri, The Kalika Purana, vol. 3 (Delhi: Nag, 1992).

9
See Yogini Tantra 1.4.4-6 & 28-37. See also Kalika Purana 72.51 & 53;
75.46-51,60 & 63,73-79
10
For a wealth of detail on the Mahavidyas as a group and individually,
see Kinsley, Tantric Vidons.
11
In Assamese and Bengali, "y" is often pronounced "j."
12
According to traditional views, there are 49 brahmin gotras or lineages,
each originating from a sage of the distant past, such as Kashyapa.
13
(New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1927).
14
"I am that" and "You are that," are upanishadic sayings often
interpreted as assertions of the non-duality between the ultimate and
the true self of the individual.
15
Of course many Tantras go far beyond these elements in defining
themselves and certainly outsider descriptions and evaluations of Tantra
represent it quite differendy. Modern scholars of Hinduism have long
struggled to define Tantra. See for example, Sanjukta Gupta, Dirk Jan
Hoens, and Teun Goudriaan, Hindu Tantrism (Leiden, Köln: E. J. Bill,
1979) 5-19. See also Andre Padoux, "What Do We Mean by
Tantrism?" The Roots of Tantra, eds. Katherine Anne Harper and Robert
L. Brown (Albany NY: State University of New York Press, 2002) 17-
24. For an in depth discussion of the complexities of defining Tantra
and the dynamics entailed in the many representations of Tantra from
the sublime to the sensational and scandalous, see Hugh B. Urban,
Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Polines and Power in the Study of Reason (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2003). Urban provides an overview in
his introduction and conclusion. See especially 23-43 and 271-275.
16
For a detailed presentation of these kings and events in Assamese
history, see, Edward Gait, The History of Assam, 4th reprint ed.
(Gauhati: Lawyer's book Stall, 1990) 46-65 and 166-200.
17
Matangi and Kamala are sometimes explicidy identified with Sarasvati
and Lakshmi respectively. In the case of Kamala, "she of the lotus,"
this is not surprising. Matangi has various connotations in Sanskrit,
including transgressive ones that attribute low caste to her, but posters
from Kamarupa depict her with a vina, a characteristic of Sarasvati.
Indeed the Kalika Purana describes Matangi as a form of Sarasvati (64.
93-94). Subendhogopal Bagchi's description confirms the
representation of these three Mahavidyas in the main temple's

garbhagriha. See Subendhogopal Bagchi, Eminent Shakta Centres in Eastern
India: An Interdisciplinary Study in the Background of the Pithas ofKaägha
Vakreshvara and Kamakhya (Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1980) 150.
18
A temple pamphlet I have from the site also makes no mention of
the Mahabhagavata Purana . It refers by name to the Kalika Purana and
refers generally to Puranas and Tantras and it lists the Mahavidyas as
forms of the goddess Kamakhya. The pamphlet is an English
translation by Narendra Lai Mukherjee based on two texts, Kamakhya-
Tirtha and Kamakhya-Darshan by Sree Dharanikanta Dev Sharma, a
priest at the site. Sree Dharanikanta Dev Sharma, Panda, Bara Pujari,
The Holy Shrine of Kamakhya (Gauhati: Sree Kamal Sharma, 4th edition,
1988). The pamphlet indicates that it is available in Bengali, Hindi,
Assamese and English
19
From Mr. Sharma's handwritten list and also Dev Sharma, 31.
20
It is often impossible to draw clear lines between Hindu categories
like Tantra and Veda. For example, homa as offerings made into a fire
pit or altar are also included in tantricritualsand Tantras often describe
themselves as adaptations of Vedic truths appropriate for later times or
for individuals of particular temperament
21
There are electric lights in the garbhagriha of the main temple
according to Dev Sharma, 30.
22
Dinesh Chandra Sircar, The Shakta Pithas (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
1973), 8. The Yogni Tantra (1.15) has a myth of origin of Kamarupa in
which the goddess says Ûieyoni at Nilachal is the true source of creation
of the whole universe.
23
Kathleen Erndl reports the same phenomenon in Shakta traditions of
Northwest India. See her Victory to the Mother The Hindu Goddess of
Northwest India in Myth, Ritual and Symbol (New York, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1993) 60. The Mahabhagavata also equates the site and
the goddess (see below and MbhP 12.10-11).
24
This explanation is not accepted by all and indeed is sometimes
dismissed as pseudo-science. Some claim that temple priests pour
vermilion powder into the water and then distribute the reddened water
to worshippers. See "In Guwahati, the Goddess Has Her Periods,"
India Travel Times, 24 April, 2004
<http://www.indktraveltimes.com/legend/kamakhya.html>
25
"Amubachi mela concludes: Kamakhya opens doors for devotees,"
The Assam Chronicle 27 June 2003, 24 April 2004
<http://assamchronicle.com/modules.php?name=News&fileH-articl
e&sid+263>.
26
This last rendering of the compound is quite common though it does
not stricdy follow grammatical rules for reading compounds.
27
The temple pamphlet has an account of the Sati story but it does not
have this scene nor is there any explanation given for the presence at
the site of the Dashamahabidyas [sic] except to say they are "forms of
the goddess as she appeared in the world" whose temples were
reconstructed by Ahom rulers, and to list the seven Mahavidya shrines
that are separate from the main temple. Dev Sharma, 25 and 31-33.
28
From the top left corner are Kali, Tara, Shorashi, Bhuvaneshvari,
Chinnamasta, Kamala, Matangi, Bagala, Dhumavati and Bhairavi
29
See especially MbhP 8.45-54. For the details of this testing motif and
for more on the text's use of the image of Kali and the prominence of
bhakti in the text, see my "Kali the Terrific and Her Tests: "The Shakta
Devotionalism of the Mahabhagavata Purana" Encountering Kali: In the
Margins, At the Center, in the West, eds. Jeffrey Kripal and Rachel Fell
McDermott (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003) 39-59.
30
Actually a "double" of Sati created by the goddess and whom she
instructs to kill herself in the sacrificial fire to bring on Daksha's
punishment.
31
Mahabhagavata 76 & 77 respectively "Kamakhyamahatmyam " and
"Mahakamakhyamahatmyam? See also, Mahabhagavata 78.20-31 on the
glories of Yoni Pitha.
32
See Rocher, 70-71 including his list of Puranas that are little more
than mahatmyas of particular places (e.g., the Brahma Purana is largely a
mahatmya of Orissa).
33
Rocher, 71.
34
See Rocher, 71-72.
35
cited in Rocher, 71, n.19.
36
This last quote is not in Kumar's edition of die text but occurs in a
manuscript I have used from the collection at Bañaras Hindu
University. Mahabhagavata by Kakavir, Son ofDamodhara Batta (Bañaras
Hindu University #12/7202 C1010) folio 148.

37
See A. Bharati, The Tantric Tradition, 156, note 37 for a description of
the six acts.
38
However, Tantra and Agama are not always identified. See
Goudriaan and Gupta, Hindu Tantric and Shakta Literature, 7-8.
39
See R. C. Hazra, Studies in the Upapuranas , Vol Π (Shakta and Non-
sectarian Upapuranas) (Calcutta: Sanskrit college, 1963) 348-9.
40
Compare Bhagavad Gita 9.33-34,11.55 and 18. 65-67.
41
See for example, Maheswar Neog, Early History of the Vaishnava Faith
and Movement in Assam (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965) 80-95, 112-
122 and also Gait, 182-4.
42
Pseudo because it is a double of the goddess who kills herself at
Daksha's sacrifice and whose corpse Shiva blissfully carries. This
double is however, a complex figure in her own right. There is a
chapter focused on the double in my dissertation. Wendy Doniger
analyzes this and other Hindu doubles in Splitting the Difference:Gender
and Myth in Ancient Greece and India (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1999) 8-28.
^ s
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The Mahavidyas at Kamarupa:

Dynamics of Transformation in Hinduism 1

Kamarupa, a temple and pilgrimage site near Gauhati, Assam,

However, the site's reputation does not give a complete or accurate

This paper examines two forms of data on Kamarupa that challenge

According to David Kinsley, one major source of information on the

day) a common list for this group: Kali, Tara, Tripurasundari

The iconography of several of these Mahavidyas transgresses

However, other goddesses of the group have auspicious associations.

These Mahavidyas are among the deities presendy enshrined at

Kamarupa. Not only are the Mahavidyas presendy enshrined at the

In 1991-92 I was studying in Bañaras as a doctoral research fellow of

Though this is a digression, the entire story is a good example of the

We pled our case and he finally relented by arranging for us to appeal

of perhaps twelve officers. Eventually, and with the officers still in

On our first visit we were approached by a man who described

Mr. Sharma, a brahmin of the Kashyapa^/ra12 whose ancestors came

the source, Sharma explained, is present in human being as kundalini

Sharma's understanding of Tantra as a path to enlightenment and

According to Mr. Sharma, Kamarupa was the best place to worship

In presenting the history of the site, Mr. Sharma referred to accounts,

(Parashurama) who came to Kamakhya (i.e., Kamarupa), bathed in

Various historical sources including inscriptions at Kamarupa attest

Historical sources also indicate that certain of these kings brought

More precisely, the evidence suggests that Bengali priests brought to

Kamarupa is located outside Gauhati on the southern bank of the

no doubt because of the large, dark, almost black boulders exposed

Mr. Sharma was not at all familiar with a Shakta Mahabhagavata

Further west and physically separate from the main temple, is a

Also on Nilachal, in an apparendy random pattern, are numerous

Mr. Sharma stated that anthropomorphic images were located only

recent ritual activity. From my observations, which were all made

In many of the temples, the inner chamber, or garbhagriha, is a cave

D. C. Sircar argues that certain sites came to be identified as pithas

Belief in the goddess's living presence is graphically reflected in

The color red itself has similarly ambivalent implications. Its

contact or confront it. Red is evident at the site most viscerally, in

On the outside of the main temple, there is a bas-relief of a Ganesha.

The Narrative of Sati

When I asked Mr. Sharma about the presence of the Mahavidyas at

The connection between the narrative of Sati, the Mahavidyas, and

The Mahabhagavata Purana on Kamarupa and the Mahavidyas

As a Shakta text, the Mahabhagavata understands the supreme deity to

According to the Mahabhagavata, the goddess takes birth in full and

her devotees and worshippers in a variety of forms each of which is

Another noteworthy example of the text's emphasis on bhakti and

The Mahabhagavata9s version of the story of Sati also emphasizes

punishment is to be deprived of her presence. Daksha's devotional

As the goddess's husband, Shiva is completely overwhelmed by the

As in other Shakta versions of the story, the story of Sati in the

Chapter twelve of the Mahabhagavata1 s Sati story, called the

It is not unusual for a Purana to include mahatmyas or "Glorifications"

According to the Mahabhagavata's creation account, the goddess

Then the goddess introduces the Mahavidyas to Shiva, indicating

This black one who is in front of you, she is Kali, of

goddess who is to the southwest of you is

This scene of Shiva surrounded by the Mahavidyas, one in each of

Now, the Kavaca

faced, guard my face. May Parvati protect my neck.

The chapter then states the benefits of the kavaca:

Having created protection with this, an adept

Mahabhagavata chapter seventy-seven emphasizes and assumes the

arrangement on Nilachal in a systematic manner that recalls both the