Secrets of Kamakhya Temple

MAA KAMAKHYA    

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Maa Kamakhya is a shakti of Shiva and she is a goddess of tantra. All tantrik in this world devotee her. She gave him power of tanatra n meditation. She is Adhi Vidhya and Mahashakti. Her temple is situated in Assam.Maa Kamakhya, temple is situated on Nilachal Hill in Guwahati, which is away from eight km west of the city. This temple honour the Mother Goddess Kamakhya, the essence of female energy. It is one of the 108 Shakti Peethas of Maa Aadishakti. Legend has it that Kamakhya came into existence when Lord Shiva was carrying the corpse of his wife Sati, and her "yoni" (female genitalia) fell to the ground at the spot where the temple now stands.

Pranam Mantra : "kamakhye kaam sampane kamesvari hari priye kaamnaam dehi me nityem kaamesvari namostute".

16 Secrets of Kamakhya Temple :

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The Kamakhya Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the mother Goddess Kamakhya, one of the oldest shakti peeths.

While there are many unheard stories about this temple, today we are going to tell you 16 secrets of this temple you would have never heard of.

Kamakhya Temple, Assam is one among the 52 shakti peeths of India. Kamakhya Temple is situated at the top of Ninanchal Hill (800 feet above sea level) in the Western part of Guwahati city. There is no image of Shakti here. Witin a corner of the cave in the temple, there is sculptored image of the yoni of the goddess, which is the object of reverence. A natural spring keeps the stone moist. Other temples on the Ninanchal Hill include those of Tara, Bhairavi, Bhuvaneshwari and Ghantakarna.

This temple was destroyed in early 16th century and then rebuilt in the 17th century by king Nara Narayana of Cooch Bihar.

The current temple has a beehive-like Shikhara with delightful sculptured panels and images of Ganesha and other Hindu Gods and Goddesses on the outside.

The temple consists of three major chambers. The western chamber is large and rectangular and is not used by general pilgrims for worship. The middle chamber is a square with a small idol of the Goddess, a later addition. The walls of this chamber contain sculpted images of Nara Narayana, related inscriptions and other Gods.

The middle chamber leads to the sanctum of the temple in the form of a cave, which consists of no image, but a natural underground spring that flows through a yoni-shaped cleft in the bedrock.

Legend :

Sati married Lord Shiva against the wish of her father, king Daksha. Once king Daksha was having a yagna, but he didn’t invite Sati and Shiva. Sati was very upset, but she still went to her father’s palace. When she reached there, her father insulted her and Shiva. Sati was unable to bear this disrespect for her husband Shiva, so she jumped in the yagna fire and killed herself.

When Lord Shiva came to know about this, he got very angry. Enraged Shiva wondered while holding the dead body of Sati in his arms. He started the dance of destruction of the universe. Lord Vishu in order to save the universe, cut the body of Sati into pieces with his Sudarshan chakra. Body parts of Sati fell at different places and these places are known as shakti peeths. In Kamakhya temple, yoni of the Goddess fell.

Story about the stair case of the temple :

There was a demon Naraka who fell in love with Goddess Kamakhya and wanted to marry her. Goddess put a condition that if he would be able to build a staircase from the bottom of the Ninanchal Hill to the temple within one night, then she would surely marry him.

Naraka took it as a challenge and tried all with his might to do this marathon task. He was almost about to accomplish the job when the Devi, panic-stricken as she was to see this, played a trick on him. She strangled a cock and made it crow untimely to give the impression of dawn to Naraka. Duped by the trick, Naraka thought it was a futile job and left it half way through. Later he chased the cock and killed it in a place which is now known as Kukurakata, situated in the district of Darrang. The incomplete staircase is known as Mekhelauja path.

Apart from the daily puja offered to the Devi, a number of special pujas are also held round the year in Kamakhya Temple. These pujas are Durga Puja, Pohan Biya, Durgadeul, Vasanti puja, Madandeul, Ambuvaci and Manasa puja.

Durga Puja: This is celebrated annually during Navratri, in the month of September-October.

Ambuwasi Puja: This is a fertility festival. It is believed that the Goddess goes under menstrual period and the temple remains closed for 3 days and then opened with great festivity on fourth day.

Pohan Biya: A symbolic marriage between Lord Kamesvara and Kamesvari during the month of Pausa

Durgadeul: During the month of Phalguna, Durgadeul is observed in Kamakhya.

Vasanti Puja: This puja is held at Kamakhya temple in the month of Chaitra.

Madandeul: This deul is observed during the month of Chaitra when Lord Kamadeva and Kamesvara is offered special puja.

Manasa Puja: Manasa Puja is observed with Sankranti or Sravana and continues up to the second day of Bhadra.

“KAMAKHYE KAMASAMPANNE KAMESWARI HARAPRIYA 

KAMANAM DEHI ME NITYAM KAMESWARI NAMO ‘STUTE.”

“KAMAKHYA BARADE DEVI NILAPARBATA BASINI 

TWAM DEVI JAGATAM-MATAR YONIMUDRE NAMO ‘STUTE.”