Category Archives: Temple

Vishnupad mandir – temple at Gaya

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The Gaya town is an important entity for Hindu religion followers. This is because of the fact that here Hindus worship their forefathers. But this town has great significance because Lord Buddha attained enlightenment here.  But few people know that this place has a great temple of Lord Vishnu, where the foot of the lord is seen. This place has a story behind where Lord Vishnu helped mankind. Another great temple in Gaya is Mangla Gauri temple.

 

Vishnupad Mandir (Temple)

This temple is in the town of gaya, bihar, dedicated to Lord Vishnu. There is an interesting story behind this temple. Once a demon known as Gayasura, did a heavy penance and sought a boon that whoever sees him should attain salvation (Moksham). Since salvation is achieved through being extreme orthodox and too good (committing no known or unknown mistakes) in one’s lifetime, people started obtaining it easily. Unable to withstand this, Lord Vishnu asked Gayasura to go under the earth and he put his right foot on demon’s head. After pushing Gayasura below the surface of earth, Lord Vishnu’s foot print remained on the rock which is seen even today.

Though the origins of the temple are unknown, Ahilya Bai Holkar, the ruler of Indore, had rebuilt the present octagonal shrine with Lord Vishnu’s footprints at the centre in 1787. The 40 cm long footprint of Lord Vishnu is imprinted in solid rock and surrounded by a silver plated basin.

Vishnupad Mandir at Gaya

Vishnupad Mandir at Gaya

 This temple is situated in a huge complex along with about 24 other temples. The main temple is 30 metres tall and has a mandap attached to it. The temple has the footprints of Vishnu in an octagonal enclosure. The footprint has a silver umbrella above it. The temple is built of large gray granite blocks jointed with iron clamps. The octagonal shrine faces east. Its pyramidal tower rises up a 100 feet.

Lord Vishnu's feet imprint

Lord Vishnu’s feet imprint

This place is also believed to be the one under which the Lord Buddha meditated for six years.

Gaya is situated about 92 kms. south of Patna and 15 kms. north of Bodh Gaya. Gaya is one of the most important pilgrimage places for the Hindus and Buddhists as at bodh gaya, Bhagwan Buddha has attained enlightenment.

Mahavir mandir (temple) at Patna

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Mahavir Mandir or Hanuman temple

One of the most famous Hanuman temple in country. The unique fact is that this temple houses two statues of Hanuman, one is believed to protect the good souls (paritranay sudhunay) and the other to eliminate the bad ones ( Vinashayati cha dushkritam).

Mahavir idols

Mahavir idols

Historically, this temple belonged to ramanand sect but from 1900, it was in the control of gosain sanyasis. in 1948, Patna high court declared it as  a public temple.

The current beautiful and grand temple was constructed in mid 1980s under the patronage of Kishore Kunal. This temple is very close to patna railway station.

Mahavir temple at night, Patna

Mahavir temple at night, Patna

This temple has three floors, ground, first and second. The ground floor contains the idols of Hanuman jee.

First floor

First floor has Lord Rama’s temple. Shri Krishna’s delivering Shrimadbhagwadgita to Arjuna is also portrayed here. Goddess Durga is also present on this floor. Lord Shiva, Parvati and Nandi are also present here. Shiva linga is also available to enable Rudrabhishek.

The floating Ram-setu Shila is also placed on this floor only. It has been kept in a glass container and is revered by the people. The volume of this stone is 13,000 mm, while the weight is approx. 15kgs.

On the first floor, while crossing Dhyanmandap, to the left  Lord Ganesha and Lord Buddha are available and further on, Lord satyanarayan, Lord Rama accompanied by Mother Sita and Goddess Sarasvati seem to cast a benevolent look on the devotees. In front of this façade of deities, below the Pipal tree, is the temple of Shani-maharaj. This temple, designed in the style of cave architecture, looks beautiful.

Second Floor

On the second floor,this  floor is mainly used for ritual purposes. Sanskar mandap is located at this floor only. Chanting of mantras, japa, recitals of Holy Scriptures, Satyanarayan katha and various other rituals are practiced and performed here. The floor also has the pictographic representation of the scenes from the Ramayana.

Shri Krishna janmabhoomi mandir (temple) at Mathura

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Shri Krishna janmabhoomi temple

The city of Mathura contains the famous Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple.  This temple is the birthplace of  Lord Krishna, who is believed to be the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.  This temple is actually  a prison cell belonging to Kansa, who was the uncle of Krishna and King of Mathura.

Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple at Mathura

Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple at Mathura

Janmbhoomi Temple that is currently managed by the followers of the Vallabhacharya sect is the most visited temple in Mathura. Located in the eastern part of Mathura, not far from the Yamuna River, the temple is architecturally very interesting.

According to historians, the prison cell, popularly known as ‘Garbha Griha’, in the temple premise is the exact place where lord Krishna was born. The stone walled cell is reminiscent of the cruelty of King Kansa. Many statues and sculptures of the bygone era were found on excavating the site. During the excavation work various things were recovered that confirm this story. The articles that were recovered include utensils, some old figurines, and a rock platform that were commonly seen in the prisons of that period. These articles are displayed in a museum. Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple shares a common wall with a mosque, due to which there is heavy security in the temple. The present temple was built in the 20th century. A stone slab is present in the temple that symbolizes the original site where Lord Krishna was born.

Main gate (entrance) of Krishna Janmabhoomi

Main gate (entrance) of Krishna Janmabhoomi

The city of Mathura

Being the birth place of Lord Krishna, Mathura is one of the most sacred destinations of India. As the legend goes, Mathura was founded in the Treta era by Shatrughna, the younger brother of Lord Rama and later was under the royalty of King Kamsa, the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna.

Shatrughna killed the demon Lavanasura who has tormented everyone.  Lavanasura was the son of Madhu, the pious demon-king after whom the city of Mathura was named.  Madhu’s wife and Lavanusara’s mother was Kumbhini, a sister of Ravan. Lavanasura was the holder of the divine Trishula (Trident) of Lord Shiva, and nobody was able to kill him or prevent him from committing sinful activities.

According to Hindu mythology, Kamsa heard a divine prophecy saying that he would be killed by his sister Devki’s eighth son Krishna. Hence, he imprisoned Devki and her husband Vasudeva and kept on killing their children one after another. But when Lord Krishna was born, miraculously all guards went to sleep, prison gates opened and Vasudeva carried his son to Gokul crossing the wild river Yamuna in the mid night. The divine prophecy came true and Krishna killed tyrant Kamsa and ruled Mathura for a long time. Vrindavan is the place where Lord Krishna spent his childhood leaving a number of myths and legends of love and friendship behind.

Reading suggestion: Shri Krishna’s birth and Janmashtmi festival.

 

Akshardham temple- A fabulous creation

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Akshardham Mandir


Swaminarayan Temple Akshardham, is the world’s biggest and the most beautiful creation I have ever seen. This is situated in Delhi, India. A fabulous temple which is built with a combination of marble stone, sand stone and wood. This temple is spread over ground covering 86,342 square feet. It is 356 feet long, 316 feet wide and 141 feet high.

Akshardham Temple

Akshardham Temple (Mandir)

 

The Akshrdham temple is built to ancient standard without using any steel and as such is designed to last 1000 years. The intricate nature of carving both inside and outside is stunning. This building was inspired and moderated by Pramukh Swami maharaj, the spiritual head of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha.

Wall design - external

Wall design – external

The ornate external wall. In the last 800 years this is the only and largest, intricately carved wall (mandovar) in India with dimensions of 611ft x 31ft. It comprises 200 sculptured stone figures of India’s great rishis, sadhus, devotees, acharyas and divine incarnations.
This temple consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes, 20 quadrangled shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone elephants) and 20,000 murtis and statues of India’s great sadhus, devotees, acharyas and divine personalities.
The Gajendra Pith is a unique, captivating feature of Swaminarayan Akshardham mandir. It pays tribute to elephants, symbolizing the entire animal kingdom. Sculptured according to the ancient shilpa shastras of India it is ornately carved in pinkstone, stretching for 1,070 ft and featuring stories and legends of elephants with nature, man and God. Every panel reflects the messages of social harmony, peace and spiritual faith. The Gajendra Pith, weighing 3,000 tons, has 148 full-sized elephants, 42 birds and animals, 125 human sculptures and decorative stone back drops of trees, creepers and royal palaces.

 

This is the circumambulatory path (parikrama), in the temple is made of red stone from Rajasthan, consisting of 1,152 pillars, 145 windows and 154 samvaran shikhars; amounting to a total of 53,956 stones. It surrounds Akshardham like a beautiful decorative garland. Every window and gallery in the lower parikrama provides different views and insights to Akshardham mandir. You can hear the soothing sound of water issuing from the 108 Gaumukhs. The soft chanting of the holy names of God permeates the parikrama, giving an experience of peace and divinity. The two-tiered parikrama is the first of its kind in India which is present at Akshardham.

There are 108 gaumukh at Akshardham from which you can hear soothing sound of water while moving in circumambulatory path(parikrama).
This is view of garden. This is a special lotus of auspicious sentiments. , every petal inspires with messages from internationally renowned personages about faith in God and faith in man. Lush lawns, gardens and exquisite bronze statues of India’s child gems, valorous warriors, national figures and great women personalities inspire visitors with values and national pride.
This is Yagnapurush Kund which is a fascinating combination of a Vedic yagna kund and a musical fountain. It is the world’s largest yagna kund measuring 300′ X 300′ with 2,870 steps and 108 small shrines. In its center lies an 8-petaled lotus shaped yagna kund designed according to the Jayaakhya Samhita of the Panchratra scripture. Its perfect geometric forms testify to ancient India’s advanced knowledge in mathematics and geometry which is follwed at Akshardham.
At night the center comes to life with a colorful musical water fountain that echoes the Vedic sentiments of India.
In the inner sanctum lies the 11 feet high beautiful and divine murti of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and the murtis of Guru Parampara, namely, Aksharbrahma Gunatitanand Swami, Bhagatji Maharaj, Shastriji Maharaj, Yogiji Maharaj and Pramukh Swami Maharaj; where every sincere prayer is answered. One can also have the darshan of the deities of Sanatan Dharma: Shri Sita-Ram, Shri Radha-Krishna, Shri Lakshmi-Narayan, Shri Shiv-Parvati, avatars and twenty-four Chaturvyuh or Keshav murtis of God.
Akshardham Temple at night
The magnificent beauty of temple at night. This temple building covers 32 acres area, 11,000 people worked on its construction and it was completed in just 5 years. It receives 100,000 visitors a week and 850 volunteers work their daily. The Akshardham temple is surely a gem of its times.
 

Jyotirlinga Somnath temple

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Somnath Mandir (temple)

Somnath is the foremost of 12 jyotirlinga located in Prabhas patan in Saurashtra in Gujrat. In this temple there is a small cave in which a lamp burns continuously.

somnath

 Pic. Somnath in Gujrat

Legend

Moon God Chandra being vary of his beauty was cursed by his father in law Daksha to wane. When he begged forgiveness Daksha said only Lord Shiva could free him from curse. Moon God came to Somnath and prayed to Lord Shiva for 4,000 years. Lord Shiva said he could not fully absolve him of the curse instead, he would wane in 15 days, but would grow again.

History and details of current temple

It is said that Somnath temple was first built with gold by Moon God, with silver by Ravana, with sandalwood by Lord krishna and with stone by Bhimdev.

This temple is the symbol of resilience as this has been destroyed by several muslim invaders. Ghazni, Alauddin Khilji and Aurengzeb among few of them. Current (seventh) temple is an effort of Sardar vallabhbhai Patel and KM Munshi, ministers of independent india.

The seventh existing temple is built in the Kailas Mahameru Prasad style.  The temple is consisting of Garbhgruh, Sabhamandap and Nrityamandap with a 150 feet high Shikhar. The Kalash at the top of the Shikhar weighs 10 tons and the Dhwajdand is 27 feet tall and 1 foot in circumference. The Abadhit Samudra Marg, Tirsthambh (Arrow) indicates the unobstructed sea route to the South Pole. The nearest land towards South Pole is about 9936 km. away. This is a wonderful indicator of the ancient Indian wisdom of geography and strategic location of the Jyotirling. The temple renovated by Maharani Ahalyabai is adjacent to the main temple complex.

Somnath Mandir - Jyotirlinga

Somnath Mandir – Jyotirlinga

Parshurama and Pandavas

Here is the Parshuram Tapobhumi, where Bhagvan Parshuramji carried out penance and he was relieved from the sin of Kshatriya killings. The Pandavas have said to have visited this place and taken holy bath in the Jalprabhas and built five Shiv temples.

Patan Devi temple – Sati Shakti Peeth

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Sati – Shakti Peeth temple at Patna

Shakti Peeths have been formed when Devi Sati’s body parts fell on earth. Bhagwan Vishnu’s cut the body of Sati into pieces with sudarshan chakra when Lord Shiva was angry and dancing while carrying her. There are total 51 places where Sati’s body parts have fallen, though there is some dispute on the numbers. Patna or Patliputra is one of those places where Sati’s body parts have fallen.
Bari Patan devi

Bari Patan devi


Devi Sati’s right thigh fell in the city of Patna. This place is known as Patan Devi. It is also believed that Patna is named after Patan devi.

The places where parts of Sati have fallen are known as Shakti Peeths. City of Patna used to be known by the name “Magadha” in earlier times. Devi’s right thigh fell here and the idols are Devi as Sarvanandkari and Shiva as Vyomkesha.

There are chhoti(small) Patan devi and bari (big) Patan devi temples.

Bari Patan Devi

The temple of  Bari Patan Devi, Patna faces North, towards the Ganges river. The statues of the temple is in black stone. At the entrance of the temple there is a portico of dimension 1.5′ x 15′. After that there is a room of about 8′ x 8′ for gods namely, Mahakali, Maha Lakshmi  and  Maha Saraswati and Bhairav. All the idols are kept on simhasans (thrones) of about 4 square in cross section and have a height of about 7 feet. The goddesses are attired in sarees.

Idols of Maha Kali, Maha Laxmi and Maha Sarawati

Idols of Maha Kali, Maha Laxmi and Maha Sarawati

In Hindu mythology, these Goddesses protected Putraka, who was the founder of Pataliputra. A strange stone image has been found in a tank near the Bari Patan Devi Temple, Patna. That image has been kept in the eastern veranda of the main temple where this stone is being worshiped regularly.

Devotees can go to the temple at any time of the day. The temple does not distinguish between any caste or creed and hence is open for all religions and castes. Tuesday is a special day for the devotees and a large number of worshipers visit the temple. Promises are being made before the Goddess and on the fulfillment of the wishes devotees offer gifts and sarees in the temple.

Lord Hanumana at Patan Devi

Lord Hanumana at Patan Devi

Chhoti Patan Devi

This temple is situated in the Chowk area of Patna City. Once was considered as the main presiding deity of Patna. Over the years it has slipped to the second position of eminence, after the Bari Patan Devi temple, as city’s presiding deity, with epithet ‘Chhoti’ (smaller) to the more popular one, the Bari (bigger) Patan Devi. But according to a  historian, this very temple (Chhoti Patendevi) which held the primary position as the city’s presiding deity during 18th and early 19th century.

The temple houses a host of intact and severed Brahmanical images, including, Ganesh, Vishnu and Surya. Beyond the temple, but within its precincts, lie in open fragments of door jumbs/lintels and yet other set of images. Of these, an impressive, but broken sun-image is the most prominent. According to many historians, it is very likely that some early medieval temple was built here.

Patna is also famous for other holy places and places of historical importance. Temple of Sikh’s tenth Guru Gobind Singh Ji is also in patna. Golghar is another tourist attraction. Mahavir Mandir just near to Patna railway station is also a must to visit place.
Earlier, Patna was also called Azimabad, as derived from the name of Ajima Sahab. Lots of people suffering from small pox and chicken pox come here for cure. Vijayadashami is the most important festival celebrated here.


Golghar - Patna
Golghar – Patna
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Arasuri temple – Sati Shakti Peeth (Ambaji)

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Ambaji mata temple is one among the 52 Shakti Peeth of India. This temple is stands at a distance of approximately 65 kilometers from Palanpur and 45 kilometers from Mount Abu and 20 kilometers from Abu Road near the Gujarat and Rajasthan border.

After Devi Sati gave her life, Shiva became angry and did Tandava. Lord Vishnu used Sudarshan chakra. This divided Devi Sati body into various parts. These parts fell at different places in India, which became Shakti Peeths.

This sati shakti peeth is  the  Centre of Cosmic Power of India and it is the original holy place of Mata Ambaji, where the piece of the heart of the dead body of Devi Sati fell at the top of the gabber holy hill.  The original seat of Ambaji mata is on gabbar hilltop in the town. The temple is  known as Arasuri Ambaji mata temple.

In the holy temple of “Arasuri Ambaji”, there is no image or statue of goddess. Worship of the holy “Shree Visa Yantra” is performed here.  No one can see the yantra with naked eye. The photography of the yantra is is not allowed. The worship of this Shree Yantra is done only after tying a bandage on the eyes. A triangular Yantra, inscribed with figures and the syllable Shree in the center, represents the deity.

There is a  legend in the Ramayana which says about the importance of this temple. Lord Rama and Laxman came to Ashram of Shrungi Rushi in search of Sitaji. They were told to appease Devi Ambaji at Gabbar. Lord Rama did so and Jagat Mata Shakti (The Mother of Energy of the whole Universe) Devi Ambaji gave him an miraculous arrow. With the help of this weapon “Ajay”,  Rama conquered and killed his enemy Ravan in the war.

Lord Krishna’s mundan at this temple

As per a legend,  hairs of holy child Lord Krishna were also removed here on this Gabbar hill , as a holy ritual ceremony of hair removing Mundan. in presence of his foster parents Nand and Yashoda, who had worshiped Devi Ambaji and Lord Shiva, during the period of Dwapar yug or Mahabharat.

Tripura Sundari temple- Shakti peeth

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Tripura Sundari temple is one among the 52 Shakti peethas in India. It is situated in ancient Udaipur, about 55 kms from Agartala. The temple was constructed in 1501 A.D. by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya. Temple consist a square type sanctum with a conical dome. This temple is one among the Sati Shakti Peeths. Sati’s right foot have fallen here. This temple houses two identical images of thedeity. The temple premise resembles a tortoise, so this temple is also called as Kurma Pitha. The idol of Maa Kali is worshipped in this temple.

The idol of Maa Kali is worshiped at the temple of Tripura Sundari in the form of ‘Soroshi‘. Inside the temple there are two identical idols of same deity made of kasti stone which is reddish black in colour. They are known as Tripura Sundari and Chhotima In Tripura. The idol of Tripura Sundari is 5 feet high, and idol of Chhotima is 2 feet high. It is believed that the idol was Chhotima was carried by king in battlefield.

This temple is also known as Kurma Pitha because it the temple premises resembles kurma i.e. tortoise. In the eastern side of the temple there is a famous Kalyan Sagar, where people feed fishes and tortoise.
 

Legend

The legend behind the construction of this mandir is that the king Dhanyamanikya got this message to install the goddess Tripura Sundari. Intially, the king was hesitant but this dream repeated to him again and he decided to install the goddess here. In the eastern side, there is the famous ‘Kalyan Sagar’ lake where fishes and tortoises of huge size are found and devotees feed them with “Muri” (puffed rice) and biscuits. No fishing is permitted in the Kalyan Sagar.

A famous mela or fest is organized here during Diwali.

Tarapeeth Temple – Sati Shakti Peeth ( Tarapith )

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Tarapeeth (Tarapith) – Sati Shakti Peeth

Tarapeeth or Tarapith, is one of the Shakti Peeths in India. There are a number of Shakti peeths in india, which is based on the famous incident of Devi Sati giving up her life after her husband was insulted by her father, Daksha Prajapati.
TaraMaa ofTarapith is another form of Kali. She has two hands, is garlanded with snakes, is adorned in sacred threads, and has Shiva lying in her left lap sucking her breast.  This temple is dedicated to the destructive aspect of Shiva, who takes the form of Kali. She requires sacrifice daily to satisfy her blood lust so every morning goats are sacrifices on the altar of the temple.The temple is busy throughout the year and is surrounded by poor who come to have free meal. This is one of the most sacred places where every year several millions of devotees come to offer worship. Tarapith is regarded as Mahapeeth and extremely holy place for all Hindus.
It is said that wherever you are in this beautiful world, whatever be you and your religion, the kindness and blessings of Maa Tara will reach you to fulfill your desires, if you are an honest and upright person. She will provide you relief from pain if any your heart and mind. This is the reason for which every year millions of devotees gathers at this place to offer Puja and prayer.

Tarapeeth is among 52 Shakti Peeth is situated on a hill top at a distance of 30 Kms towards north of Brahmapur on the south bank of river Rushikulya. This temple is 264 km from Kolkata, Tarapith is situated on the banks of the north flowing Dwarka River, in Birbhum, in West Bengal.

There are 999 steps on the front side of the hill leading to the temple and also a pucca road for vehicle on the backside of the hill facilitating devotees to reach at the Pitha. This is one among the ancient shakti peeth and is also called mahapeeth.
The Twin Goddesses Tara and Tarini are worshiped as manifestations of Adi Shakti. Two stones anthropomorphized by the addition of gold and silver ornaments and shaped as human faces represent the Goddesses Tara and Tarini as the deities of this temple. Between them are placed two beautiful brass heads known as their Chalanti Pratima or their living image.
Festivals that are celebrated here are:
1. Sankranti Mela : This festival is observed on each Sankranti day of the Hindu month.
2. Dola Purnima (Phalguna purnima) during February / March.
3. Chaitra Parba This festival is the most important of the festivals, celebrated at theTara Tarini Pitha. It is observed during each Tuesday of the month of Chaitra.
4. Basantika parba During the month chaitra i.e. March / April.
5. Chitalagi Amabasya (Srabana Amabasya) during July / August.
6. Gamha Purnima ( hrabana Purnima ) during July /August.
7. Saptapuri Amabasya during the month of Bhadraba during August.
8. Sasadiya parba on the month of Ashwina Mulastami to Dushara during September / October
9. Shyamalika puja: on Kartika Amabasya during Oct /Nov.

Legend of Tarapeeth

Another oral legend about the temple states that sage Vasistha practised austerities to Tara, but was unsuccessful, so on the advice of a divine voice, he went to meet the Buddha – an Avatar of god Vishnu – in Tibet. Buddha instructed Vasishtha to worship Tara by the left-handed Tantric worship using five forbidden things like wine and meat. During this time, Buddha had a vision of Tarapith as an ideal location for enshrining the image of Tara in a temple there. Buddha advised Vasishtha to go to Tarapith, the abode of Tara. At Tarapith, Vasishtha did penance by reciting Tara mantra (hymn) 300,000 times. Tara was pleased with Vasishtha’s penance and appeared before him. Vasishtha appealed to Tara to appear before him in the form of a mother suckling Shiva on her breast, the form that Buddha had seen in his divine vision. Tara then incarnated herself in that form before Vasishtha and turned into a stone image. Since then Tara is worshipped in the Tarapith temple in the form of a mother suckling Shiva on her breast

Kamakhya temple – Sati Shakti Peeth

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Kamakhya Devi – Sati Shakti Peeth

Kamakhya Temple, Assam is one among the 52 shakti peeths of India. Kamakhya Temple is situated at the top of Ninanchal Hill ( 800 feets above sea level) in the western part of Guwahati city in Assam, India.There is no image of Shakti here. Within a corner of a cave in the temple, there is a sculptored image of the Yoni of the Goddess, which is the object of reverence. A natural spring keeps the stone moist. Other temples on the Neelachala hill include those of Tara, Bhairavi, Bhuvaneswari and Ghantakarna. This temple was destroyed in early 16th century, and then rebuilt in the 17th century by King Nara Narayana, of Cooch Bihar.

Kamakhya temple

Kamakhya temple

This current temple has a beehive-like shikhara with delightful sculptured panels and images of Ganesha and other Hindu gods and goddesses on the outside. The temple consists of three major chambers. The western chamber is large and rectangular and is not used by the general pilgrims for worship. The middle chamber is a square, with a small idol of the Goddess, a later addition. The walls of this chamber contain sculpted images of Naranarayana, related inscriptions and other gods. The middle chamber leads to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in the form of a cave, which consists of no image but a natural underground spring that flows through a yoni-shaped cleft in the bedrock.

Shakti peeth - Kamakhya

Shakti peeth – Kamakhya

Legend
Sati married Lord Shiva against the wish of her father, King Daksha. Once King Daksha was having a yagna and he didn’t invited Sati and Lord Shiva. Sati was very sad on not getting an invitation but she still went to her father’s palace. When she reached there her father insulted her and Lord Shiva. Sati was unable to bear this disrespect for her husband, so she jumped in the fire and killed herself. When Lord Shiva came to know this he was very sad, and enraged Shiva started wondering holding the dead body of Sati. He started the dance of distruction of universe. Lord Vishnu in order to save the universe and break this attachment of Lord Shiva, cut the body of Sati into pieces with his sudarshan chakra. Body parts of Sati fell at different places and these places are known as shakti peeths. In kamakhya Temple, Assam yoni of mother goddess fell.
Story about the stair case of the temple. There was a demon Naraka he fell in love with Goddess Kamakhya and wanted to marry her. Goddess put a condition that if he would be able to build a staircase from the bottom of the Nilachal hill to the temple within one night, then she would surely marry him. Naraka took it as a challenge and tried all with his might to do this marathon task. He was almost about to accomplish the job when the Devi, panic-stricken as she was to see this, played a trick on him. She strangled a cock and made it crow untimely to give the impression of dawn to Naraka. Duped by the trick even Naraka thought that it was a futile job and left it half way through. Later he chased the cock and killed it in a place which is now known as Kukurakata, situated in the district of Darrang. The incomplete staircase is known as Mekhelauja path.
Apart from the daily puja offered to the Devi, a number of special pujas are also held round the year in the Kamakhya Temple. These pujas are Durga Puja, Pohan Biya, Durgadeul, Vasanti Puja, Madandeul, Ambuvaci and Manasa Puja.
Durga Puja: This is celebrated annually during Navratri, in the month of sep. oct.
Ambuwasi Puja : this is a fertility festival, it is beleived that mother goes under menstural period and the temple remain closed for 3 days and then opened with great festivity on fourth day.
Pohan Bia : A symbolic marriage between Lord Kamesvara and Kamesvari during the month of Pausa.
Durgadeul : During the month of Phalguna, Durgadeul is observed in the kamakhya temple.
Vasanti Puja : This puja is held at the Kamakhya temple durinh the month of Chaitra.
Madandeul : This deul is observed during the month of Caitra when Lord Kamadeva or Kamesvara is offered special pujas.
Manasa Puja : Manasa puja is observed from the Sankranti of Sravana and continues upto the second day of Bhadra.