Maa Kamakhya or Kameswari is the renowned Goddess of Desire whose famous shrine is located in the heart of Nilachala Hill situated in the western part of Guwahati, the Capital City of the state of Asom in North East India. Maa Kamakhya Devalaya is considered most sacred and oldest of the 51 Shakti Peethas on earth. It is the centrepiece of widely practiced, powerful Tantrik Shaktism cult in India.
Apart from the main temple of Maa Kamakhya ,there are temples of the Dasamahavidya (ten incarnations of the deity) namely Kamakhya (i.e. Tripura Sundari, alongwith Matangi and Kamala), Kali, Tara, Bhuvaneshvari, Bagalamukhi, Chinnamasta, Bhairavi, Dhumavati, and five temples of Lord Shiva namely Kameswara, Siddheswara, Kedareswara, Amratokeswara, Aghora and Kautilinga around the Nilachala Hill which is also called as Kamakhya Temple Complex.
Guwahati is an ancient city and it is mentioned as Pragjyotishpur in many ancient literature and manuscripts. This capital city of the state of Assam is dotted with a number of ancient temples. The most famous among these is the Kamakhya Temple. The Hill of Nilachala, mentioned as Nilakuta, Nilgiri, Kamagiri in ancient texts and also popularly known as the Kamakhya Dham, where the famous temple of Mother Goddess Kamakhya is situated in the western part of the Guwahati (91042/ East – 26010/ North) the gateway to the North East India and capital city of Assam.
The Nilachala is comprised of three parts (i.e. the Brahma Hill, Vishnu Hill and Shiva Hill). This temple town is approximately 600 feet above the plains. The Bhubaneswari Temple is located at the highest point from where one is able to enjoy the panoramic view of the Guwahati City. The mighty Brahmaputra mentioned as Louhitya in epics and Puranas is flowing on the northern side of the Hill. The Nilachala Hill houses some other temples such as the Banadurga temple, the Jaya Durga temple, the Lalita Kanta temple, the Smasanakali temple, the Gadadhar temple, the Ghantakarna temple, the Trinath temple, the Sankheswari temple, the temples of Dwarpala Ganesha, the Hanuman temple, the Pandunath temple (located in Baraha Hill) etc.
