6 Lesser-Known Facts About Kamakhya Devi Temple

Kamakhya Temple is a Shaktipeeth belonging to Goddess Kamakhya (the tantric form of Goddess Durga). It acts as a magnet for tourists, pilgrims and tantric sages from every corner of the country and world. When it comes to enlisting tourism or religious places in the NE, Assam's Kamakhya temple ranks first on the list. The temple is one of the most revered spiritual destinations.

Here are some lesser-known facts about the Kamakhya temple:

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1. Kamakhya is one of the oldest shakti temples

There is not much historical record telling when and how the temple came into being. Inscriptions of King Samudragupta at Allahabad bear the earliest references to this temple.

2. Kamakhya symbolizes procreation

The temple as per mythology symbolizes the power of procreation that every woman has. It is said that Sati's yoni or 'vagina' and 'womb' fell on this area when Lord Vishnu disintegrated Sati's body with his Sudarshan chakra in order to pacify the enraged Lord Shiva. These two parts of the Goddess stand as a symbolic representation of the power to create a new life that every woman possesses. Also, mythology tells that this is the place where the goddess used to have her intimate encounters with Lord Shiva and that too signals the start of a new life

3. The modern temple was built by a king

The current temple of Kamakhya was set up by the Coochbehar king, Naranarayan in the year 1665; i.e. 17^th century. During the 16^th century, the temple got destroyed followed by its re-building by the king

4. Garbha Griha of Kamakhya temple has no deity

The Garbha Griha of the temple is a cave with no idol or image of a deity; instead, there's a yoni-shaped sculpture engraved on a rock and it's looked upon with great reverence by the devotees. A natural underground spring moistens the stone all the time.

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5. Geological formations within the temple

The temple's innermost shrine has bedrock with a cleft shaped like 'yoni'. Through that cleft, an underground, natural spring flows out. Though this is a geological phenomenon yet is very much symbolic

6. Several pujas are performed at Kamakhya

Those include pujas like Vasanti puja, Durgadeul, Madandeul, Pohan Biya, Durga Puja, Ambubachi puja, Manasa puja.