'The Cradle of Tantra': Modern Transformations of a Tantric Centre in Northeast India from Nationalist Symbol to Tourist Destination (original) (raw)
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In India, the system of goddess (devi) worship and pilgrimage to their seats (shaktipithas) are one among many ancient living traditions. The absolute total number of goddess places in India, which runs into thousands, too attests the importance of goddess worship contemporarily. However, the levels of importance vary as per the textually prescribed and perceived greatness and superiority. Being the ancient most it is called Adipitha ('the primordial seat') and highly revered. Among shaktipithas, Kamakhya is the most venerable. The Kamakhya Devi temple is located in the vicinity of Guwahati, on a hill called Nilachal, the provincial capital of Assam – the major northeastern state of India. The present paper seeks to explain its historico-cultural background, mythological context, origin and symbolism, the sacredscape and the main temple's architecture, ritualscape, associated festivals, and the pilgrims' motive. Kamakhya's mythological context underlines its respectable place in religio-cultural history of India. The manifested form of the Goddess contains several symbolic meanings which assert her creative image. Over the years, increased number of visiting pilgrims has led to the growth of the several sacred shrines and other profane structures in the temple complex.
Ambubachi Mela in Assam's Kamakhya Temple: A Critical Analysis
With globalization, religion is mixing up with capitalism and consumerism. Old religious observances are finding new modern uses. Ambubachi, celebration of goddess menstruation in Assam's Kamakhya temple has also undergone significant changes overtime. An analysis of the festival reveals its dichotomous nature. On the one hand, it celebrates menstruation and on the other hand, retains the tradition of menstrual seclusion even for Goddess Kamakhya. The strict rules and taboos that used to be a part of this festival have now become flexible. The temple premise during the period of Ambubachi has also turned more into a commercial site. Thus, although devotees continue to throng Kamakhya temple during Ambubachi mela, yet study reveals that the festival has certain attributes that deserve sincere academic scrutiny.
2019
This paper attempts to examine the domain of tantric sacred geography with the exploration of the religious institute of Kamakhya temple situated in Assam. Kamakhya temple stands out not only as an eminent tantric centre but also as one of the chief Shakti Pithas. Ritualization of women body in tantric tradition is not an unknown phenomenon. However, this paper will limit itself with the aspect of sacred geography and menstruation in the tantric tradition. Scared geography in tantric tradition is not bound to locations, but it could be viewed as the parts of Sati’s body which developed into various sacred Shakti Pithas. The most vital of these pithas is situated in Kamakhya. Kamakhya is adorned in the form of Sati’s yoni, which is perceived as the centre of creation. Another aspect in adoration of Sati’s yoni at Kamakhya is menstruation of the goddess. Kamakhya is one of the few Indic religious institutions where menstruation is celebrated in the form of an annual festival known as ...
Gods and goddesses in the ritual landscape of seventeenth and eighteenth- century Kanchipuram
Faced in 1688 with imminent invasion by the troops of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the festival images of the three main temples in Kaficipuram were removed from the town, with only two destined to return in the eighteenth century. This event and its consequences not only significantly changed the ritual schedules of these communities, but also had an impact on the power dynamics within and between the three temples. The flight and return of these important images provides the focus for this study of how even today devotees remember, interpret and debate through ritual the significant historical and mythological moments of this holy city's layered landscape.
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Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions, v. 20, 2018
This paper aims to show how different typologies of narration can be involved in the place-making process of a religious centre in India based on the claim of a yogi to have discovered in a jungle an ancient holy place, Garh Dhām, through his powers. As recorded by a devotee-run website, it was claimed to be the same place where King Surath met the sage Medha – as narrated in the Devī Māhātmya, a famous section of the Markaṇḍeya Purāṇa – and where the first ever Durgā Pūjā (worship) was ‘historically’ celebrated. The ‘discoverer’ is a yogi, Brahmānand Girī, who living in jungle was able to find hidden temples thanks to his austerity (tapasyā) and yogic powers (siddhis). The narration of his life story and of his powers recalls those appearing in Indian hagiographies and texts that describe siddhis. The discovery of a holy place by a yogi does not represent an isolated case since similar discoveries dot the history of Hindu religious orders. As in these latter cases, the place-making process of Garh Dhām aims to give authority and legitimacy to the foundation of a new religious centre and so to further spread the Durgā cult in the area and to attract pilgrims.
In Defense of Brothering: The "Eternal Religion" and Tourism in North India (JAAR, 2016)
This paper explores the discourse of sanātan dharm (" the eternal religion ") as it exists in the North Indian pilgrimage and tourist town of Pushkar. Despite the term's complex pedigree, it is most frequently deployed in Pushkar as a code word for universalism. I consider it a technique of "brothering," a process which suggests that through blurring distinction and drawing large enough boundaries, the other can become the self. Tourism serves as a catalyst in the creation of this discourse, manifesting in a vast repertoire of sayings and phrases that promote a type of Hindu universalism. At the same time, given its place in Pushkar's tourism economy and its nationalist history, the promise of egalitarianism can seem at times tenuous. This article discusses how issues of moneyed interest and virulent nationalism shape, and are negotiated within, discourses of the "eternal religion," while simultaneously giving serious consideration to the prospect of brothering.