Kamakhya Temple: Story Of A Bleeding Devi
Kamakhya temple is a famous pilgrimage situated at Guwahati, Assam. The Kamakhya temple is dedicated to the tantric
goddesses. Apart from the deity Kamakhya Devi, compound of the temple houses 10 other avatars of Kali namely Dhumavati,
Matangi, Bagola, Tara, Kamala, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Bhuvaneshwari and Tripuara Sundari.
The Kamakhya Temple also Kamrup-Kamakhya is a Hindu temple dedicated to the mother Goddess Kamakhya. It is one of the
oldest of the 51 Shakti Pithas. Situated on the Nilachal Hill in western part of Guwahati city in Assam, India, it is the main
temple in a complex of individual temples dedicated to the
tenMahavidyas: Kali, Tara, Sodashi, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta,Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamalatmi
ka. Among these, Tripurasundari, Matangi and Kamala reside inside the main temple whereas the other seven reside in individual
temples.
Mythical History: According to the Kalika Purana, Kamakhya Temple denotes the spot where Sati used to retire in secret to
satisfy her amour with Shiva, and it was also the place where her yonifell after Shiva danced with the corpse of Sati.
The temple of Kamakhya has a very interesting story of its origin. It is one of the 108 Shakti peeths. The story of the Shakti
peeths goes like this; once Sati fought with her husband Shiva to attend her father's great yagna. At the grand yagna, Sati's father
Daksha insulted her husband. Sati was angered and in her shame, she jumped into the fire and killed herself. When Shiva came to
know that his beloved wife had committed suicide, he went insane with rage. He placed Sati's dead body on his shoulders and did
the tandav or dance of destruction.
To calm him down, Vishnu cut the dead body with his chakra. The 108 places where Sati's body parts fell are called
Shakti peeths. Kamakhya temple is special because Sati's womb and vagina fell here.
It mentions Kamakhya as one of four primary shakti peethas: the others being the Vimala Temple within the Jagannath
Temple complex in Puri, Odisha; Tara Tarini) Sthana Khanda (Breasts), near Brahmapur, Odisha, and Dakhina
Kalika in Kalighat, Kolkata, West Bengal originated from the limbs of the Corpse of Mata Sati
Origin of the deity Kamakhya
The kamakhya originated from the Sanskrit word ‘Kama’ meaning Love making. Kamadeva, the God of Love, on account of a
curse had lost his virility. He sought out the womb and the yoni of Maa Shakti and thereby he was freed from the curse. He
regained his potency and this is how the deity of ‘Kamakhya’ devi was installed and worshipped here. Some historical studies
have also pointed out that the Kamakhya temple is the place where Lord Shiva and devi Sati had their love encounters.
Some Interesting Facts
The incomplete staircase to the temple: An Asura or demon named Naraka fell in love with Goddess Kamakhya. He wanted to
marry her. Goddess Kamakhya who was not interested in Naraka put forward a condition to him that he should build a staircase
within one night from the bottom of the Nilachal hill to the temple. If the staircase was built then she would surely marry him.
Naraka accepted the condition and tried by all means to get a staircase constructed within one night. Just as it was about to get
complete, Maa Kamakhya became tense and decided to play a trick. She strangled a cock and made it to cry so that it appeared
that the night had ended. Naraka thought that he could not complete the staircase before morning and left it half-done. Even
today, the staircase is incomplete and is known as Mekhelauja path. Most of the pilgrims use this staircase to reach the temple,
though there is also a finely paved and pitched road to reach the temple by cars and buses.
The Bleeding Goddess:
Kamakhya devi is famous as the bleeding goddess. The mythical womb and vagina of Shakti are supposedly installed in the
'Garvagriha' or sanctum of the temple. In the month of Ashaad (June), the goddess bleeds or menstruates. At this time, the
Brahmaputra river near Kamakhya turns red. The temple then remains closed for 3 days and holy water is distributed among the
devotees of Kamakhya devi.
The Great Ambubachi Mela
Being the centre for Tantra worship this temple attracts thousands of tantra devotees in an annual festival known as
the Ambubachi Mela Another annual celebration is the Manasha Puja. Durga Puja is also celebrated annually at Kamakhya
during Navaratri in the autumn. The great Ambubachi mela, also known as the fertility festival, takes place in the Kamakhya
temple in the month of June . During this time, the temple remains closed for three days and it is believed that the Goddess
menstruates
.
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