Kamakhya Temple

Kamakhya Temple is one amongst the holiest shrines throughout India. Perched on Nilanchal Hill in Kamrup district of Assam, Kamakhya Mandir is easily accessible at a stretch of 8 kms from Guwahati. The temple commemorates Hindu Goddess Sati in her aspect of Kamakhya Devi. Goddess Kamakhya is also known as Sodashi in the local region.

Kamakhya Temple is regarded as one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. As per the legends, during the time of self-sacrifice, the genital organ (yoni) of Sati fell at this spot. Kamakhya Mandir is a natural cave with a spring. In order to reach the temple, one has to take a flight of steps that goes down into a dark and strange shrine. There is no concrete form of goddess inside the temple.

In the shrine, Kamakhya Devi, in the form of genital organ (yoni), presides as a big crevice in the bedrock. The Goddess is covered naturally by a rivulet of water gushing upward from an underground spring. The crevice is usually covered with sari, flowers and vermilion powder (Sindoor). The temple had been an ancient sacrificial site and till date, sacrifices are offered here. Every morning, group of devotees come to sacrifice goats.

The temple is very much ancient in its origin, yet it was restructured in 1665, when it was attacked by the Muslim invaders. The effort of this reconstruction was made by King Nar Narayan of Cooch, Bihar. The spire of this temple is shaped like a beehive. Besides Kamakhya Devi, there are images of Ganesha, Chamundeswari and various dancing sculptures. In the temple, an image of the King and related inscriptions are visible.

Essentially, the Goddess 'Kamakhya' is believed to be the granter of desires. In traditional terms, Assam is known as 'Kamarupa Desa', a place that is associated with Tantric practices and worship of Shakti. In Kalika Purana (an ancient scripture), Kamakhya is referred as the goddess who fulfills all desires, the bride of Lord Shiva and the benefactor of salvation.

During the occasion of Navratri (Sep-Oct), a three day festival attracts thousands of pilgrims. This festival is known as Ambuvaci (Ameti), which is unique with its own significance. For the duration of this fertility festival, the Goddess is said to undergo her menstrual period. At this point of time, the temple is closed for three days and before closing, white sheets are draped inside the temple.

When the temple is opened after three days, the sheets are found red in color. On the fourth day, great festivity is observed. Devotees from far and near, come to visit this temple at this juncture of the festival. The red sheets are torn into pieces and distributed amongst the devotees. Kamakhya Temple is a prominent pilgrimage site that attracts thousands of visitors throughout the year.

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Rangia

Rangia (also spelt Rangiya) (Assamese:ৰিঙয়া) is a town and a municipal board in Kamrup district (rural) in the Indian state of Assam. It is the regional divisional headquarters of the North East Frontier Railway. It's situated just 52 kilometers away from the state headquarter Guwahati.

The word Rangia come from two Assamese word ran and dia, which together means 'to give fight'. Rangia (Rangiya) is part of Mangaldoi (Lok Sabha constituency)

Place around Rangia:

• Loch (9.5km)
• Bāihāta (18.3km)
• Dhamdhama (27.4km)
• Nalbāri (28.4km)
• Nāokāta (28.8km)
• Chāngsāri (29.4km)
• Maroa (29.4km)
• Tāmulpur (31.7km)
• Pathārughāt (32km)
• Dumnichauki (32.7km)
• Hājo (35.8km)
• Khoirābāri (37.3km)
• Barjhar (37.9km)
• Nalbāri (44.3km)
• Kurua (44.9km)

Streams near Rangia:

• Nona Nadī (17.1km)
• Puthimari Nadī (25.8km)
• Pāglādiya Nad (27.3km) Cross into Bhutan
• Nanai Nadī (30.2km)
• Bar Nadī (30.2km)

Rail/Road station:

• Ghagra (13.7km)
• Tangla (47.5km)
• Pānikhāiti (51.8km)

Airport close to Rangia
Guwahati International Airport, Gauhati, India (55.4km)

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The Assam State Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden

The Assam Sate Zoo is located at around 5 kilometers from Guwahati Railway Station in the city of Guwahati in the land of rich culture, Assam. It is also called The Assam State Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden. Spread over an area of 130 hectares, while the botanical garden covers an area of around 82 hectares.

Among the chief attraction of the city of Guwahati, State Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden of Assam is one of them and it attracts huge number of visitors from both national and international. The Assam State Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden had approximated an average of 5 lakh visitors in a year. It is evident that the zoo is one of the most frequented tourists destinations in Guwahati in the state of Assam.

Established in the year 1982, this botanical garden has gathered a various varieties of rare species of Orchids from the northeastern state of India and were place in the Orchid house of this beautiful botanical garden of Assam State Zoo. The garden is beautifully decorated with trees of various types that abound in plenty. The garden has planted palm, conifers, broad-leafed plants,fox-tailed Orchids, variety of herbs and shrubs.

A FLORAL TREASURE
* Native species : 345
* Exotic species : 280
* Orchid species : 40
* Bamboo species : 10
* Palm species : 12

The zoo is supervised by the office of the divisional forest officer. The zoo has a huge collection of reptiles, mammals and aves.

THE HIGHLIGHTS
* Animal Exhibits
* Museum
* Reptile House
* Botanical Garden
* Herbarium Collection
* Natural Forest


ANIMAL EXHIBITS : A SUMMARY
* About 600 animals, birds and reptiles
* Around 84 species
* Many rare and endangered species
* Several indigenous species endemic to North-East India

OTHER ATTRACTIONS
* Animal adoption
* Animal tales
* Energy high
* Jogger’s trail
* Jumbo Ride
* Towering Heights

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IT Park in Guwahati

The government of Assam proposes to develop IT Park in Guwahati - the abode of Goddess Kamakhya, measuring in a area about 100 acres located near Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode for infrastructure development, marketing, setting up of mechanism for operations and maintenance of the IT Park project.

It will be the commercial bridge between Southeast Asian countries and the rest of India. The city has graduated to a business hub and a center of higher education.

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Guwahati: Comercial city of North Eastern part of India

Guwahati (Assamese: গুৱাহাটী, previously spelled Gauhati) is a major city in the north eastern part of India, often considered as the gateway to the North-East Region(NER) of the country and is the largest city within the region. Dispur, the capital City of Assam,is located within the city.

Guwahati is one of the most rapidly growing cities in India. According to a survey done by a UK media outlet, Guwahati is among the 100 fastest growing cities of the world, and is the 5th fastest growing among Indian cities.

The city sits between the southern bank of the Brahmaputra river and the foothills of the Shillong plateau. The city is gradually being expanded to the northern bank of the Brahmaputra (North Guwahati). It is a major commercial and educational center of eastern India and is home to world class institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. The city is also a major center for cultural activities and sports in the North Eastern Region and for the administrative and political activities of Assam. The city is also an important hub for transportation in the North East Region.

As a river port, Guwahati has traditionally been an important administrative and trading center. The name Guwahati is derived from two Assamese words: 'guwa' (areca nut) and 'haat'(market place). The name used to be spelled as Gowhatty (pre-colonial and colonial),standardized to Gauhati (colonial-British), which was then changed to the present form in the late 1980s to conform to the local pronunciation.

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Kamakhya Temple near Guwahati in Assam

The Kamakhya Temple in Assam is one of the most venerated Shakti shrines in India, and is regarded as one of the Shakti Peethams associated with the legend of Shiva and Daksha Yagna.

Kamakhya is located on a hill - Neelachala Parvat or Kamagiri near the city of Guwahati in Assam. Shakti, residing on the Kamagiri hill is known as Kamakhya, the granter of desires. Assam traditionally has been known as the Kamarupa Desa and has been associated with Tantric practices and Shakti worship.

This temple was destroyed in early 16th century, and then rebuilt in the 17th century by King Nara Narayana, of Cooch Bihar. Images of the builder and related inscriptions are seen in the temple.

The Kalika Purana, an ancient work in Sanskrit describes Kamakhya as the yielder of all desires, the young bride of Shiva, and the giver of salvation.

Legend has it that following the destruction of Daksha's sacrifice and the Rudra Tandava of Shiva, parts of Sati's body fell at several places throughout India, and these places are revered as Shakti peethas. The reproductive organ of Sati, (the Yoni) is said to have fallen here. Legend also has it that the supreme creative power of Bhrahma was challenged by Shakti, the mother Goddess, and that Bhrahma could thereafter create, only with the blessings of the Yoni, as the sole creative principle. After much penance, Bhrahma brought down a luminous body of light from space and placed it within the Yoni circle, which was created by the Goddess and placed at Kamarupa.

Legend Says
Another legend says that the demon Narakasura fell in love with Goddess Kamakhya once and he wanted to marry her. But as a goddess cannot marry a demon or asura, Goddess Kamakhya played a trick to save herself. She laid a condition that she would marry him only if he builds a temple for her within one night. Narakasura agreed to it and almost finished building the temple overnight. This scared Goddess Kamakhya and before the final steps of the temple were completed, a cock was sent to cry cock-a-doodle-do to announce the arrival of the morning, before it was actually dawn. This made Narakasura very angry and he killed the cock on that spot. But according to the condition Narakasura couldn't marry Goddess Kamakhya after that. It is said that the present Kamakhya temple is the same that Narakasura had made for the Goddess.

The Temple Structure
The Kamakhya Temple has a beehive like shikhara. Some of the sculptured panels seen here are of interest. There are images of Ganesha, Chamundeswari, dancing features etc. The temple is a natural cave with a spring. Down a flight of steps to the bowel of earth, is located a dark, mysterious chamber. Here, draped with a silk sari and covered with flowers, is kept the "matra yoni".

There is no image of Shakti here. Within a corner of a cave in the temple, there is a sculptured image of the Yoni of the Goddess, which is the object of reverence. A natural spring keeps the stone moist. Other temples on the Neelachala hill include those of Tara, Bhairavi, Bhuvaneswari and Ghantakarna.

Story about rebuilding of the kamakhya Temple
King Naranarayana and his younger brother Sukladhvaja, alias Cilarai, after defeating the enemies in all three sides, decided to pay a visit to goddess Kamakhya. On seeing the dilapidated condition of the temple, King Naranarayana took a vow to rebuilt it. But proud about his recent victories, Naranarayana decided in favour of postponing the work and set out against the Nawab of Gaud. In the bettle that followed, the soldiers of Naranarayana suffered a thrashing defeat and Chilarai was taken to prison. In the prison Chilarai offered sincere prayer to goddess Kamakhya and begged her pardon for not starting the renovation of her temple first.. At last the goddess took pity on him and assured him to arrange his release soon.

According to her wish, the mother of Nawab suffered a snake bite which could not be cured by doctors brought from far and wide. Ultimately it was Chilarai who could cure the old woman and earned her affection. The Nawab was moved by the gesture of chilarai and ordered his release soon. On their return, both the brothers, Naranarayana and Chilarai rebuilt the temple of Kamakhya.

Other temples on the Neelachala hill include those of Tara, Bhairavi, Bhuvaneswari and Ghantakarna.

Festivals: Durga Puja is celebrated annually during Navaratri in the month of September- October. It is a three day festival attracting several visitors. A unique festival observed here is the Ambuvaci (Ameti) fertility festival wherein it is believed that the Goddess (mother Earth) undergoes her menstrual period. During this period the temple is closed for three days and opened with great festivity on the fourth day. It is believed to be inauspicious to till the ground or to plant seeds, during this three day period.

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