Kamakhya Impact

I have been a worshiper of the Sacred Feminine since a very long time. Since my childhood it was the female form of the deity which attracted me. The whole world is after all Her maya. It is the cosmic illusion which she creates around us. So the places of worship of the Goddess kept on attracting me. One such place was Kamakhya. The seat of tantra, one of the most powerful skati sthanas or place of abode of the Goddess. Finally the goddess blessed me and my plans to visit Kamakhya materialized.

To be honest, even I was scared when I reached Kamakhya. There were so many tantrics around. I was afraid that someone would drug me giving me some prasad and offer me in sacrifice before the Goddess. But I had deep faith in Her. I mentally prayed to Her to protect me. Kamakhya is at a distance of ten kilometres from Guahati. It is situated on the top of the Nilachal Hill. The Nilachal Hill is considered to be the lingam of the Lord Shiva. When an enraged Shiva carried the dead body of his wife all over the world, her yoni fell at Kamakhya. The Goddess is worshiped here in the form of a yoni. As stated earlier it is a centre of Tantra. You will find tantrics everywhere.

Many years ago the temple had a fleet of more than five thousand dancers. Now you can gauge how important this temple was from the number of dancers it employed. The original structure of the temple was destroyed in the year 1553 by one Kalpahar. He was a Brahmin. He had married a Muslim princess. For this reason he was defrocked of his Brahmin status. As a result the Muslim invaders destroyed the shrine. Yet you can locate the remains of the old temple. The temple was rebuilt in the seventeenth century.

You will have to pass a few altars once you enter the sanctum. Then you will have to climb down a short stairway. You enter the mysterious chamber. This chamber is a natural cave. The water of the spring in the cave falls on the main image, which is symbol of a yoni. There is no idol no statue just the shape of yoni. It is covered with silk saree and flowers. It is called the matri yoni.

As I prostrated before the shrine a strange tingling sensation passed through my body. I was unable to speak. Words were finding it difficult to find a way to my mouth. I was completely in awe of the Goddess. Such was Her impact.

Slowly I came out of the shrine. I sat in the courtyard with my legs folded. A sense of peace had enveloped me. That peace continued to be with me forever. Such was the impact of visiting Kamakhya.

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