Kamarupa Yatra, is a 10th-century Sanskrit treatise penned in Kamrup (Kamarupa), based on Kalika Purana,Yogini Tantra and Kularnava, deals with the mode of worship of Kamakhya. It records the origin of the name "Pragjyotisha" and "Kamarupa" (Kamrup).
Attributed to an anonymous author or a regional tantric scholar-adept, the text belongs to the Śākta-Tantric literary tradition and draws extensively from earlier authoritative works, including the Kālika Purāṇa, Yoginī Tantra, and Kularṇava Tantra. It serves both as a liturgical manual (paddhati) and a regional sacred geography (tīrtha-māhātmya), prescribing detailed modes of worship, pilgrimage protocols, and esoteric rites associated with the Kamakhya shrine.
The work is structured in the form of a yātrā (pilgrimage itinerary), guiding devotees through the sacred landscape of Kamarupa, which it portrays as a supreme śakti-pīṭha—one of the foremost seats of divine feminine energy. It elaborates on the mythological, cosmological, and tantric significance of the site, particularly the legend of Sati’s yoni (genital organ) falling at the Nilachala hill, thereby sanctifying the region as the locus of primordial creative power (yoni-maṇḍala).
A notable contribution of the Kamarupa Yatra is its etymological and mythological explication of the region’s twin names: Pragjyotisha and Kamarupa. According to the text:
- Pragjyotisha (Sanskrit: प्राग्ज्योतिष, "where the light first appears") is derived from the astral and solar symbolism of the region. It refers to the easternmost location where the first rays of the sun illuminate the earth, aligning with Vedic and Puranic descriptions of Kamarupa as the gateway to the dawn. The name also carries esoteric connotations, linking the site to the awakening of inner spiritual light (jyotiḥ) through tantric sādhana.
- Kamarupa (Sanskrit: कामरूप, "form of desire") originates from the divine love-play between Kama (the god of desire) and his consort Rati. The text narrates that after Kama was incinerated by Shiva’s third eye, he was reborn in this land through the grace of Kamakhya, who restored his form (rūpa). Thus, the region embodies the transformation of desire into spiritual liberation, a central theme in Śākta and Kaula tantrism.
The Kamarupa Yatra integrates these etymologies into a broader tantric cosmology, presenting Kamarupa as a macrocosmic replica of the human subtle body (piṇḍa), where the Kamakhya temple corresponds to the mūlādhāra and svādhiṣṭhāna chakras, and the surrounding hills represent higher energy centers. It prescribes specific nyāsa (ritual placement of deities on the body), pūjā-vidhi (worship procedures), and mantra-sādhana tailored to the site’s unique spiritual potency.
Though surviving only in fragmentary manuscripts preserved in Kamrupi and Newar collections, the Kamarupa Yatra remains a foundational text in the living tradition of Kamakhya worship. It influenced later works such as the Yoginī Tantra (16th century) and continues to inform contemporary tantric practice at the temple, particularly during the annual Ambubachi Mela, when the goddess is believed to undergo menstruation—a ritual reenactment of the themes of fertility, renewal, and transcendent desire articulated in the text.
Scholars regard the Kamarupa Yatra as evidence of a sophisticated regional tantric synthesis that predates the more systematized Kaula schools of Bengal and Kashmir, highlighting Kamrup’s historical role as a cradle of Śākta esotericism.
Sources
- Das, Nava Kishor (1989), Ethnic Identity, Ethnicity, and Social Stratification in North-east India, Inter-India Publications, ISBN:9788121002189, 8121002184, p.34
- Deka, Phani (2007), The Great Indian Corridor in the East, Mittal Publications, ISBN:9788183241793, 8183241794, p.39
- Pathak, Guptajit (2008), Assam's history and its graphics, Mittal Publications, ISBN:9788183242516, 8183242510, p.47
- Indian Anthropological Society (1994), Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society - Volumes 29-30, The Society, p.4
- North-east India Ethno-cultural Perspectives and Process (1998), Indian Anthropological Society, ISBN:9788185525020, 8185525021, p.4
