TEMPLES IN KAMRUP DISTRICT

KAMAKHYA

Introduction

The temple of Kamakhya is situated on a hill three miles off from Gauhati, the headquarters of the Kamrup District. It is about eight hundred feet above sea level. There is a small township on the hillock consisting of some 200 families who are mostly connected with the temple. It has certain modern facilities; there is a Post Office and educational institutions upto High School standard. It is also proposed to construct a hospital there.

The fine road, which can be used for light vehicular traffic and the stone pathway, connect the foot of the hill with the top. Buses ply every 10 or 15 minutes from Gauhati to the foot of the hill from where one can go to the top by taxies that are readily available at the bus stop.

Kamakhya seems to be a new name of the goddess and she does not appear in the early literature. Dr. B. Kakuei gives evidence for thinking that the word is non- Sanskrit in origin. He has equated the word with some similar Austric formations, which mean ghost or dead body. He further suggests that Kamakhya was formerly, a goddess of ghosts and spirits, who was worshipped in a smasana or cremation ground.

Author - B.K.Barua & H.V.Sreenivasa Murthy

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About Kamakhya