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Kamakhya Temple

71 reference entries captured from the article’s notes and bibliography.

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  1. 1. 1 "Along with the inscriptional and literary evidence, the archaeological remains of the Kamakhya temple, which stands on top of the Nilacala, testify that the Mlecchas gave a significant impetus to construct or reconstruct the Kamakhya temple." (Shin 2010Cite error: The named reference "shin2010-mlecchas" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

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  2. 2. ↑"it is certain that in the pit at the back of the main shrine of the temple of Kamakhya we can see the remains of at least three different periods of construction, ranging in dates from the eighth to the seventeenth century A.D." (Banerji 1925, p.101)

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  3. 3. ↑"Seated on top of Nilacala hill on the banks of the Brahmaputra river in the state of Assam, Northeast India, Kamakhya temple is one of the oldest and most revered centres of Tantric practice in South Asia." (Urban 2019

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  4. 4. ↑"Today, Kamakhya remains both a vibrant centre of Tantric practice as the seat of a living lineage of the Kulacara Tantra Marga and a popular pilgrimage destination as the locus of major festivals such as Ambuvacī Mela." (Urban 2019

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  5. 5. 1(Shin 2010

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  6. 6. 1(Sarma 1988

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  7. 7. ↑(Urban 2008, p.500)

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  8. 8. ↑The four oldest of the sakta pithas are Kamarupa in the northeast, Uddiyana in the north (in the Swat Valley of modern Pakistan), Purnagiri in the south (precise location unknown) and Jalandhara (near Kangra in Himachal Pradesh)" (Urban 2019

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  9. 9. ↑" As Ramos persuasively argues in her study of the sakta pithas, the once obscure and remote region of Assam became increasingly important to many Indians (particularly Bengalis) during the nineteenth century amidst the politics of British colonial rule." (Urban 2019

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  10. 10. ↑(Shin 2010

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  11. 11. ↑"Long after the collapse of the Pala dynasty, Kamakhya continued to be closely tied to kingship and territory. The temple was rediscovered in the sixteenth century by the Koch king Visva Singha (1515–40) and then rebuilt in its present form by his son Naranarayana (1540–86). Later, the most powerful of the Ahom kings, such as Rudra Singha (1697–1714) and Siva Singha (1714 _ –44), continued to patronise Sakta Tantra as the 'cult of strength'" (Urban 2019

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  12. 12. ↑"The story of Naraka is far more elaborate in KP in which his relationship with the goddess Kamakhya is heavily emphasized... Here the goddess is not merely a local goddess but a representative deity of the region and kingdom of Kamarupa..." (Shin 2010

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  13. 13. ↑Shin (2010, p.3)

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  14. 14. ↑"The group of Mahavidyas,

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  15. 15. ↑(Shin 2010, p.4)

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  16. 16. ↑Shin (2010, p.4)

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  17. 17. ↑Kashyap, Samudra Gupta (14 July 2015), _As SC directs the return of old order at Kamakhya, looking back, and ahead_

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  18. 18. ↑(Sarma 1983, p.47)

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  19. 19. ↑(Banerji 1925, p.101)

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  20. 20. ↑"Kamakhya temple". Archived from the original on 18 March 2006. Retrieved 12 September 2006.

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  21. 21. ↑(Banerji 1925, p.100)

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  22. 22. ↑(Sarma 1988, p.124)

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  23. 23. ↑(Shin 2010, p.5)

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  24. 24. ↑"ASI, Kolkata Circle".

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  25. 25. ↑"There is a mobile (_calanta_) image of Kamakhya at the outskirt of the cave", (Goswami 1998

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  26. 26. ↑. Retrieved 12 September 2006.

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  27. 27. 1"The date of the (Natyamandira) is not known; but it possible pertains to the period of the two inscriptions pinned to the inner wall of its wall: one of Rajesshvarasimha, 1681 Saka/1759 AD and the other to Gaurinathasimha, 1704 Saka/1782 AD." (Neog 1980

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  28. 28. 1"(The Nrityamandira's) outer surfaces are decorated with figures in high relief as in a gallery. They include a wide range of subjects ranging from gods and goddesses to Ganas, Betalas and other demigods. The walls have niches with cusped arches to hold these pieces in rows separated by pilasters at regular intervals." (Das Gupta 1959

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  29. 29. ↑"Many historians have suggested that Kamakhya herself may have originally been a tribal goddess and that Nilachal hill may have been a sacrificial site for nearby peoples such as the Koch and the Rabhas. Some trace the name itself to the Khasi goddess _Ka Meikha_ or 'old cousin mother'." (Urban 2009

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  30. 30. ↑"To this day, in fact, many Khasi and Garo folk tales claim that Kamakhya was originally a site of their own deities." (Urban 2009

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  31. 31. ↑"The _Kalika Purana_ records that the goddess Kamakhya was already there in Kamarupa even during the time of the Kiratas and immediately before Naraka started to reside there. After the Kiratas were driven out, Naraka himself became a devotee of Kamakhya, at the instance of his father Vishnu. This shows that Kamakhya was originally a tribal mother goddess. It is not unlikely that the Khasi and the Garos who are not far off from the site of Kamakhya were the original worshipers of the goddess." (Sharma 1990

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  32. 32. ↑(Shin 2010

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  33. 33. ↑"The cult of goddess Kamakhya seems to have remained beyond the brahmanical ambit till the end of the seventh century. The ruling family of Kamarupa during the Bhauma-Varmans dynasty did not pay any attention to her." (Shin 2010, p.7)

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  34. 34. ↑(Urban 2009

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  35. 35. ↑"The first epigraphic references to the goddess Kamakhya are found in the Tezpur plates and the Parbatiya plates of Vanamaladeva in the mid-ninth century." (Shin 2010, p.7)

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  36. 36. ↑(Urban 2009, p.37)

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  37. 37. ↑"This disposition of the plinth reminds oe of what has been known as the Malava expression of the _nagara_ temple style." (Saraswati 1990

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  38. 38. ↑Karrani's expedition against the Koch kingdom under the command of Kalapahar took place in 1568, after Chilarai had the temple rebuilt in 1565. Kalapahar was in seize of the Koch capital when he was recalled to put down a rebellion in Orissa—and there is no evidence that he ventured further east to the Guwahati region. Therefore, Kalapahar, Karrani's general, was not the person who destroyed the Kamakhya temple. (Nath 1989, pp.68–71)

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  39. 39. ↑(Sarkar 1992. It is said that Viswa Simha revived worship at Kamakhya. According to an inscription in the temple, his son Chilarai built the temple during the reign of Naranarayana, the king of Koch Bihar and the son of Viswa Simha, in the year 1565.

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  40. 40. ↑(Sarma 1988

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  41. 41. ↑(Sarma 1981

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  42. 42. ↑"This temple was built on the ruins of another structure erected by king Sukladhvaja or Naranarayana, the first king and founder of the Koch dynasty of Cooch Bihar, whose inscription is still carefully preserved inside the _mandapa_." (Banerji 1925, p.100)

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  43. 43. ↑The temple of the goddess Kali or Kamakhya on the top of the hill was built during the domination of the Ahoms." (Banerji 1925, p.100)

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  44. 44. ↑Encyclopaedia Indica - Volume 2 - 1981 -Page 562 Statues of King Nara Narayan and his brother, general Chilarai were also enshrined on an inside wall of the temple.

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  45. 45. ↑Tattvālokaḥ - Volume 29 - 2006 - p. 18 It was rebuilt by the Koch king, Nara Narayan. Statues of the king and his brother Sukladev and an inscription about them are found in the temple

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  46. 46. ↑(Sarma 1983, p.39)

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  47. 47. ↑"One of (Rajeshwar Singha's) notable achievements is the successful erection of the _natamandapa_ of the Kamakhya temple..." (Sarma 1981

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  48. 48. ↑Gait, Edward _A History of Assam_, 1905, pp. 172–73

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  49. 49. ↑Satish Bhattacharyya in the Publishers' Note, Kakati 1989.

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  50. 50. ↑Kakati suspects that _Kama_ of _Kamakhya_ is of extra-Aryan origin, and cites correspondence with Austric formations: _Kamoi_, _Kamoit_, _Komin_, _Kamet_ etc. (Kakati 1989, p.38)

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  51. 51. ↑Kakati 1989, p9: Yogini Tantra (2/9/13) _siddhesi yogini pithe dharmah kairatajah matah_.

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  52. 52. ↑(Kakati 1989, p.37)

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  53. 53. ↑"Kamakhya temple". _The All India news_. Retrieved 19 January 2024.

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  54. 54. ↑(Kakati 1989, p.45)

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  55. 55. ↑Kakati mentions that the list of animals that are fit for sacrifice as given in the _Kalika Purana_ and the _Yogini Tantra_ are made up of animals that are sacrificed by different tribal groups in the region.(Kakati 1989, p.65)

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  56. 56. ↑Kakati 1989, p34

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  57. 57. ↑Kakati, 1989, p42

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  58. 58. ↑Kakati, 1989 p35

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  59. 59. ↑"According to one widespread story, a pious brahman named Kendukalai received a vision of the goddess Kamakhya. Upon hearing of this vision, the king too wished to see the goddess and demanded that the priest help him pray until she revealed herself. The goddess, however, became so furious at his audacity that she beheaded the priest and cursed the king; thenceforth if he or any of his descendants ever visited the temple they would be doomed." (Urban 2011

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  60. 60. ↑"Ambubachi 2025: অম্বুবাচী উৎসব ২০২৫ কবে শুরু- কবে শেষ? জেনে নিন নিয়মকানুন!» Tollywood Online". 23 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.

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  61. 61. ↑"Kamakhya Temple". Retrieved 12 September 2006.

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  62. 62. ↑(Urban 2019

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  63. 63. ↑"PM to lay foundation for Maa Kamakhya Temple corridor on Saturday". _The Statesman_. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2026.

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  64. 64. ↑"'Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi': HM Amit Shah on development of temple corridors in Assam & Maharashtra". IANS. 20 June 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026.

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  65. 65. ↑"Kamakhya Access Corridor Project Work To Resume In 2-3 Months: Assam CM". _ETV Bharat_. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2026.

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  66. 66. ↑"Gauhati HC Allows Assam's Kamakhya Temple Access Corridor Project". _NewKerala_. 14 February 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026.

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  67. 67. ↑"Kamakhya corridor talks begin June 8; resolution within week: Malla Baruah". _Assam Tribune_. 7 June 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026.

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  68. 68. ↑"Nine-Languages Musical Garland and New Raga Kamakhyapriya offered to Maa Kamakhya". _News Karnataka_. 3 August 2026. Archived from the original on 3 August 2026. Retrieved 3 August 2026.

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  69. 69. ↑ವಿಶ್ವವಾಣಿ (4 August 2026). "ಕಾಮಾಖ್ಯ ದೇವಿಗೆ ಮಹೇಶ್ ಮಹದೇವ್, ಪ್ರಿಯದರ್ಶಿನಿಯಿಂದ ಒಂಬತ್ತು ಭಾಷೆಗಳ ಗೀತ ನಮನ: ನೂತನ 'ಕಾಮಾಖ್ಯಪ್ರಿಯ' ರಾಗ ಸಮರ್ಪಣೆ". _ವಿಶ್ವವಾಣಿ_ (in Kannada). Retrieved 4 August 2026.

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  70. * Nath, D. (1989), _History of the Koch Kingdom, c. 1515–1615_, Mittal Publications, ISBN8170991099

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  71. * Urban, Hugh (2009), _The Power of Tantra: Religion, Sexuality and the Politics of South Asian Studies_, Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN9780857715869

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