Kamakhya Mandir in Guwahati


Guwahati is known for its many mandirs, and hence, it is also known as the “city of temples.” It is a popular pilgrimage site for thousands of devotees to Guwahati every year. Each mandir differs in structural beauty and history that only make them fascinating revered religious sites in Guwahati, Assam.

Kamakhya Mandir, situated on Nilachal Hill of Guwahati is an important Hindu temple dedicated to the mother goddess Kamakhya. It is the main mandir among a complex of individual mandirs dedicated to the ten Mahavidyas. It is an important pilgrimage destination for Hindus, especially for Tantric worshipers. The structure of Kamakhya Mandir is a hemispherical dome on top of a cruciform base with 4 chambers.

 The Kamakhya mandir in Guwahati has an interesting history. Assumptions are made that it was destroyed by Kalapahar, however the latest historical findings points out an earlier destruction of Kamakhya Mandir during Hussein Shah’s invasion of the Kamata kingdom then under Nilambar. The ruins of mandir was generally said to have been discovered by Vishwasingha, who revived worship at the site, but it was during the reign of his son Naranarayan that the reconstruction of Kamakhya Mandir in Guwahati finally reached completion.

In the reconstruction of Kamakhya Mandir, the materials used were from original mandirs that was lying scattered about. Banerji records that the structure of Kamakhya Mandir was further built over by the rulers of the Ahom kingdom. A devout Hindu, Rudra Singha as he grew older he decided to formally embrace the religion and become an orthodox Hindu. But he could not bear the thought of humbling himself in front of a Brahmin who was his subject. So he sent envoys to Bengal and summoned Krishnaram Bhattacharyya, a famous mahant of Shakta sect. Legend suggests that the mahant was unwilling to come but consented on being promised to be given the care of Kamakhya Mandir to him. Though the king did not take sharan, he satisfied the mahant by ordering his sons and the Brahmins to accept him as their spiritual guru. When Rudra Singha died, his eldest son Siba Singha became the king and handed over the management of mandir along with large areas of land to Mahant Krishnaram Bhattacharyya.

Read full article at: https://tourgenie.com/travel-diaries/travel-blogs/kamakhya-mandir-in-guwahati

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