Kamakhya Temple Info

Maa Kamakhya or Maa Kameshwari is believed to be the goddess of desire. The Kamakhya temple is a
world-famous place of reverence situated in Assam and is among one of the 108 Shakti peeths. This
temple is an important pilgrimage centre for tantric worshippers and Hindus. This shrine is located on
the Nilanchal hill next to the Brahmaputra River in Guwahati.

Architecture :
The former temple was destroyed by Kala Pahar, which was later reconstructed in 1565 by Chilarai,
who was the reigning king of the Koch dynasty. This temple is dedicated to different forms of Mother
Shakti, namely Sundari, Tripura, Tara, Bhuvaneshvari, Bagalamukhi and Chinnamasta. 

The temple with a hemispherical dome on a cruciform base. The temple consists of four chambers:
Garbhagriha and three madapas locally called Calanta , Pancharatna and Natamandira aligned from
east to west.
There are 3 gates to enter inside the temple :
1. Gate 1 ➝ North gate , known as shakti samriddhi dvara

2. Gate 2 ➝ East gate , known as Moksha dvara

3. Gate 3 ➝ Anpurna dvara , from where food if offered to goddess

(this will also be shown on the model manually)

Entrance - In order to enter the temple, one must first cleanse their feet in the tank located in front of the
north gate. After that, they proceed to Lord Ganesh's shrine before finally entering the interior of the
temple. (explained through photograph of the same on the wall behind)

Garbha Griha - The inner sanctum , the garbhagriha , is blow ground level. It doesn't consist of any idol
but a flat rock in form of vagina or yoni is worshipped.
The garbha griha is a small, dark and reached by narrow stone steps. Inside the cave there is a sheet of
stone that sloped downwards from both sides meeting in a yoni like depression some 10 inches deep.
(model will be made of the same using clay) This hollow is constantly filled with water from as
underground perennial spring.
It is the vulva-shaped depression that is worshipped as the goddess Kamakhaya herself and is
considered as the most important pitha of the Devi.

Calanta - The temple consists of three additional chambers. The first to the west is the Calanta , a
square chamber of type atchala. The entrance to the temple is generally via its northern door that is of
Ahom type dochala. It houses a small movable idol of Goddess a later addition. The walls of this
chamber contain sculpted images of Naranarayana , related inscriptions and other gods. (images will be
present on the wall behind) It leads into the garbhagriha via descending steps.

Pancharatna - This is located to the west of Calanta. It is large and rectangular with a flat roof and five
smaller shikharas if the same style as the main shikhara. The middle shikhara is sligtly bigger than the
other four.

Natamandir - The natamandir extends to the west of the pancharatna with an apsidal end and riged roof
of the Ranghar type Ahom style. Its inside walls bear inscriptions from Rajeswar Singha and Gaurinath
Singh which indicate the period when this structure was built.

Story of Temple:
According to ancient scriptures, the Devi Shakti fought with her husband, Lord Shiva, and attended her
father’s great Yagya without Shiva’s approval. It is a custom to pay respect to lord Shiva before the start
of Yagya but lord Shiva was not invited and Shakti’s Father, Daksha refused to pay respect to him.
Unable to bear the insult, Devi Shakti committed suicide by burning herself in the fire of Yagya. Furious,
Lord Shiva placed Devi Shakti’s body on his shoulder and began his Tandava, the dance of destruction.
Lord Vishnu who wanted to stop Shiva from destroying everything cut Devi Sakthi’s body with his
Sudarshan Chakra. The 108 body parts of the goddess fell on the earth and the places where the parts
fell are called as the Shakthi Peeths. It is believed that the Kamakhya temple is set in the place where
Shakti’s womb and yoni fell.

Story of incomplete stairs:

Kamakhya Devi once told Naraka that she would marry him only if he was able to build stairs from
Nilanchal mountain to the temple in one night. Naraka agreed to the goddess and started making stairs.
Devi felt that Naraka would complete this task, so she devised an idea. She changed a crow into a
chicken and asked to bang it before dawn. Naraka felt that he had not fulfilled the condition, but when
he came to know about the reality, he ran to kill that chicken and killed it. That’s why the stairs of this
temple are still incomplete. The temple of Kamakhya Devi, one of the Siddha Shaktipeeths, is also
famous for sacrificing animals, while female animals are not sacrificed in this temple, only male animals
are sacrificed.

Ambubachi Festival:
Menstruation is the identity of a woman, it gives her full femininity. But in our society, women are
considered impure during Menstruation. When she falls under the monthly cycle, she is not allowed to
participate in any sacred work, she is prohibited to visit any religious place. But the irony is that on one
hand where our society considers the menstruating woman to be impure, considers Kamakhya to be the
holiest goddess during menstruation.
Kamakhya Devi is also called ‘Bleeding Goddess', the belief behind this is that it is the only form of the
Goddess which comes in the cycle of menstruation every year. Devotees of Kamakhya Devi believe that
every year in the month of June, Kamakhya Devi undergoes menstruation and the bleeding turns the
colour of the entire Brahmaputra river red. During this time the temple is closed for three days but the
‘Ambubachi festival’ is celebrated around the temple. During this time, Tantric, Aghori Sadhus and
Priests come to attend this fair along with tourists from India and abroad. Tantric worshipers, sadhus
and energy seekers try to attain siddhis by sitting in various caves of Nilanchal Mountain. Devotees and
locals believe that during the Ambuvachi festival the doors of Kamakhya Devi’s sanctum
sanctorum close automatically and it is considered prohibited to see her. Menstrual women and their
blood have special importance in Tantra practices, so this festival or the time of Kamakhya Devi’s
menstruation is the golden period for Tantra seekers, black magic doers, and Aghoris. Before the
beginning of this festival, a vagina-shaped rock-cut is worn in white clothes, which are completely
drenched with blood. After the festival is over, these clothes are distributed by the priests to the
devotees. Menstrual women and their blood have special importance in Tantra practices, so this festival
or the time of Kamakhya Devi’s menstruation is the golden period for Tantra seekers, black magic
doers, and Aghoris. Before the beginning of this festival, a vagina-shaped rock-cut is worn in white
clothes, which are completely drenched with blood. After the festival is over, these clothes are
distributed by the priests to the devotees.

Mystery behind the river turning red:

The second reason may be that the shrine of Kamakhya is situated in mountains, which have a large
deposit of Cinnabar (mercury sulfide) which gives it red colour.
The rock pieces gathered from the Kamakhya Temple, are usually sold in the name of Kamiya Sindoor.
It is often claimed that this vermilion has the immense ability to control the minds of people, so it is also
called the Vashikaran Sindoor. The Sindhoor is utilised for making spiritual items that are believed to
offer several benefits. Though these reasons are sufficient to explain the reason behind the presence of
red rocks in the region. But why the Brahmaputra River turns red only for three days in the month of
June, is still beyond explanation.