Kamakhya Temple

Kamakhya Temple atop Nilachal Hill in Guwahati is one of the most powerful Shakti Peethas in India and a major centre of tantric worship. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Kamakhya, who represents the creative power of the universe in her form as a goddess of desire and fertility. Unlike most temples, the main sanctum contains no idol; instead, a natural cleft in a rock, kept moist by an underground spring, is worshipped as the yoni (womb) of the goddess, making it one of the most distinctive forms of deity worship in Hinduism. The temple is believed to be the spot where the reproductive organ of Goddess Sati fell when Lord Shiva carried her body and it was dismembered by Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra. The annual Ambubachi Mela, held in June, is one of the largest tantric gatherings in the world, drawing hundreds of thousands of sadhus, ascetics, and devotees who believe the earth becomes especially fertile and powerful during this period. The current temple structure, with its distinctive beehive-shaped shikhara, was rebuilt in the 16th century by the Koch king Naranarayan after an earlier structure was destroyed.