Kamakhya Temple — the Shakti pitha on Nilachal Hill, Guwahati
What it is
Kamakhya is the great temple of the goddess on Nilachal Hill, about 7 km and 14 minutes from the centre of Guwahati. Wikipedia describes a very old and deeply honoured seat of Tantric practice, home to the Kulachara Tantra Marga, and counts it among the four earliest of the 51 pithas of the Shakta tradition. For much of its history the temple was little known; in the 19th century it grew into a great pilgrimage, above all for people from Bengal.
Photos: Sonnonn (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
The sanctum
The inner sanctum holds no image. A small dark chamber, below ground and reached by narrow steep steps, has a hollow in the rock shaped like a yoni, kept filled by a spring below. This hollow is worshipped as the goddess Kamakhya herself. The dome over it is a brick beehive-shaped shikhara, with a stone base carved with Ganesha and other gods.
The complex
Ten shrines of the Mahavidyas stand around the main temple. They are Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari and Bhuvaneshwari, then Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta and Dhumavati, and last Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamalatmika. Wikipedia says Tripura Sundari, Matangi and Kamala are inside the main temple and the other seven have their own shrines. A group of all ten together is rare.
Festivals
The Ambubachi Mela is held here every year and draws thousands of devotees. Durga Puja at Navaratri in the autumn is a five-day festival, and Manasha Puja is another annual celebration. We give no dates.
Combine it with
The one day in Guwahati starts at Kamakhya, then crosses to Umananda Island. Read how to reach Guwahati.
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Questions people ask
What is Kamakhya Temple?
A Hindu temple on Nilachal Hill in Guwahati, dedicated to the goddess Kamakhya, and a very old, deeply honoured seat of Tantric worship. Wikipedia counts it among the oldest four of the 51 pithas of the Shakta tradition. The present temple has been rebuilt many times, from the 8th–9th century onwards.
What is inside the sanctum?
No image. The garbhagriha lies below ground level, reached by narrow stone steps, and holds a yoni-shaped hollow in the rock that an underground spring keeps filled with water. This hollow is worshipped as the goddess Kamakhya herself. Seven of the ten Mahavidya shrines stand as separate temples around it.
When is the Ambubachi Mela?
Every year. Wikipedia describes it as the yearly festival in which the goddess's menstruation is honoured, and says it draws thousands of Tantric devotees. Durga Puja at Navaratri in the autumn is a five-day festival here, and Manasha Puja is another yearly celebration. We give no dates, so check the temple's announcement before you plan.