Kamakhya Temple

• Bhutan King recently visited famed Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati.

ABOUT KAMAKHYA TEMPLE

• It is situated on the Nilachal Hill in western part of Guwahati city in Assam.
• It is one of the oldest of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India.
• It is one of the most revered centres of Tantric practices.
• According to the legends, it was built by the demon king Narakasura but records are available only from 1565 when Koch king Naranarayana rebuilt the temple.
• Being the centre for Tantra worship this temple attracts thousands of tantra devotees in an annual festival known as the Ambubachi Mela.
  • Ambubachi Mela is held every year to commemorate the yearly menstruation of Goddess Kamakhya.
• Architecture
  • It had been modelled out of a combination of two different styles, namely, the traditional nagara or North Indian and saracenic or Mughal.
  • Thus, being an unusual combination which came into its existence on this famous sakti shrine of India, it has been named as the Nilachala Style of Architecture.