Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis c12.136

c12.136

The following account of Kāmākhyā and her shrine is essentially that given by Eliot,³ but with some additional notes. The chief sanctuary of Śāktism is at Kāmākhyā (or Kāmākṣā) on a hill which stands on the banks of the Brāhmapūtra, about two miles below Gāuhāti, in the Kāmarūp District of Assam. The place is mentioned in the *Padma Purāṇa*. The Kāmarūpa kingdom was of some antiquity,⁴ being mentioned in the *Mahābhārata*. Copper plates of these kings, dated in the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries are known. The hill on which the shrine stands, also known as Kāmagiri and as Nīlācal, marks the spot where the organs of generation of Sati fell when her body was dismembered by Viṣṇu. It is, therefore, one of the famous pīṭhas. Besides, this is supposed to be in the country where Kāma, who had been reduced to ashes by the fierce glance of Śiva, recovered his natural form (Kāmarūpa).¹ The temples at this place have been rebuilt several times; and, in the eighteenth century, were munificently endowed by an Ahom king, and placed under the management of a Brāhman from Nadia in Bengal, with reversion to his descendants who bear the title of Pārbatiya Gosāins. Considerable estates are still assigned to their upkeep. There are ten shrines on the hill, dedicated to various forms of the Śakti. The situation is magnificent, commanding an extensive prospect over the Brāhmapūtra and the plains on either bank, but none of the buildings are of much architectural merit. The largest and best is that dedicated to Kāmākhyā herself, the goddess of sexual desire. It is of the style usual in Northern India, an unlighted shrine surmounted by a dome, and approached by a rather ample vestibule, which is also imperfectly lighted. An inscription has been preserved recording the restoration of the temple about 1550, but only the present basement dates from that time, most of the structure being recent. Europeans may not enter the shrine, but an image of the goddess may be seen from the side door. In the depths of the shrine is said to be a cleft in the rock, adored as the yoni of Śakti. In front of the temple are two posts to which each day at noon a goat is tied, and decapitated. Below the principal shrine is a temple of Bhāiravi. The spot attracts a considerable number of pilgrims from Bengal, and a wealthy devotee once built a villa on the hill and paid visits to it for the purpose of taking part in the rites. The most esteemed scriptures of the sect are *Yoni Tantra*, *Mahānirvāṇa Tantra*, and the *Kālika Purāṇa*. Kāmākhyā is worshipped both by love and by sacrifice. The rites of the five M's² are frequently performed here. The horrible side of worship is attested by the fact that Aghoris are often found in the temple. Furthermore, Kāmākhyā requires sacrifices of blood. Human sacrifices were offered to her down to quite recent times. In 1832 Government put a stop to the practice.¹ It is not denied that such sacrifices would be offered there now if the law allowed. She requires the sacrifice of a man without blemish.² At the dedication of the temple in 1565 the heads of 140 men were offered to her on salvers made of copper.³ There used to be a class of persons called Bhogīs⁴ who were voluntary victims to the goddess. From the time that they announced that the goddess had called them they were treated as privileged characters and could do whatever they desired. Every woman was at their command. But they were put to death and offered at the annual festival. The Kālika Purāṇa devotes a chapter to rules covering the performance of the human sacrifice.⁵ It