Historical monuments provide a peep into our history and remind us of the glorious and wonderful days of the past. Recently, I had the fortune of visiting the famous Kamakhya temple at Guwahati. It is reckoned as the most famous historical site of the entire Northeast. It is not only a historical site of high significance but also an important religious and tourist spot of Assam.
Kamakhya hillock and its temple are closely associated with the Ahom Kings of Assam. Their chief deity seemed to have been venerated there. All chronicles of Ahom mention Kamakhya temple as a sacred spot. They patronised the temple and guarded it as a sacred spot.
The Khasis of Meghalaya also seemed to have been associated with the hillock and the temple. During the period of their migration to the present location, they seemed to have stayed some time around the Kamakhya hillock.
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We visited the temple sometime in the month of October, 2001 as a part of history study tour. Soon after reaching Guwahati from Tezpur, we were taken directly to the site of the temple by our history teacher. The place is only about five miles away from the main city, situated on a high hillock overlooking the entire city.
However, the road to the temple was winding and full of zigzag bends and sharp pin turns. In fact, the ascent to the temple by vehicle or by foot is a wonderful experience. Our bus took almost half- an hour to inch its way to the top.
From the top of the hillock one gets a splendid view of the entire city of Guwahati as well as of the mighty Brahmaputra River. The view is really enchanting and unforgettable.
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On reaching the temple campus we were led straight into the temple. There was a pond in front of the temple wherein some people were seen taking a dip. On reaching the temple doorway we put away our sandals and shoes as per the custom, and then, entered the temple with the feeling of veneration and sacredness.
There were numerous people inside the temple who were chanting hymns and offering pujas. The entire interior was finely carved and had lots of sculptures all around. There were numerous deities put up on slightly raised platforms, which were always served by some priests.
The visitors had to put in some cash in front of these deities. We were told to walk in silence, which we did watching everything with awe and admiration. It was my first visit to the temple. The temple had certain sanctity about the place.
We could see that only a part of the temple could be visited by the public. We were told that in certain time of the year, the entire temple would be opened for certain categories of priests belonging to the Hindu tantric cult. Having completed our visit to the temple, we came down to the commercial centre and bought some mementos in memory of our visit to this holy and historical spot. The visit was indeed enriching, educative and memorable.