On the Nilachal hill above the Brahmaputra near Guwahati, Kamakhya is revered as the supreme Shakti Peetha — the most powerful seat of the Goddess in all of Shaktism. In the tradition of the Shakti Peethas, told in the Devi Bhagavata and Kalika Puranas, when the grieving Shiva carried the body of Sati and Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra divided it, the yoni — the creative source — fell here; the Goddess is worshipped as Kamakhya, with Umananda as her Bhairava. It is counted among both the four Adi Shakti Peethas and the eighteen Maha Peethas.
The sanctum holds no image: the Goddess is worshipped as a cleft in the living rock, kept moist by an underground spring, honouring the divine feminine as the wellspring of all creation. Each monsoon the Ambubachi Mela celebrates the Mother's annual cycle, drawing vast throngs of devotees and tantric sadhus.
The Kalika Purana especially glorifies Kamarupa as the foremost abode of the Goddess, and to this day Kamakhya stands as the great heart of Shakta worship in India.
Kamakhya has no image of the Goddess. Worship is offered to a cleft in the rock, kept moist by a natural spring — and for three days each Ambubachi the temple shuts entirely.
Source: Kamakhya Debutter Board; Ambubachi Mela observance
