Talk:Kamakhya

Latest comment: 2 years ago by Chaipau in topic Kamakhya iconography

Updating this page soon

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UPDATE: I've nearly completed this update, two years(!) later. Photos forthcoming. Please leave the image intact - it's considered public domain in India.

Girlchick (talk) 02:26, 16 November 2009 (UTC)Reply

I am in the process of completely revamping this page, because it contains a lot of incorrect/incomplete information. It deserves a full-length article as perhaps the most important Shakta Tantric center in India (and possibly the world), and I have a lot of my own photos to supplement. The problem is that there is somewhat of a dearth of reliable source materials to substantiate the article - but I have a few that should help. I hope to be able to do this soon.

Girlchick 03:36, 7 November 2007 (UTC)Reply

Claim about incorrect information regarding Sati

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This assertion has been corrected in the revamping of the article, with citation.

Girlchick (talk) 02:27, 16 November 2009 (UTC)Reply

"Please correct it -

I strongly decline the claim that has been made above- "(This incident gave rise to the custom of [Sati (practice)] in India)" is completely wrong. The custom of sati was in India during muslim rule or british rule. A widow who sacrificed her life on the funeral fire of their husband is called sati. When goddess sati burnt herself in the fire at her father Daksha Prajapati's abode, she was not widow. This custom came in to existence during the period of muslim rule in India when the winning army (muslims) were raping hindu women. To avoid this, women started burning themselves when their husbands died in battle field. With time, the custom deteriorated and took a form of compulsion. The real meaning of ‘Sati’ word is ‘truthful’. Goddess sati was truthful to her husband Shiva, and to protest his dishonour by her own father, she burnt herself. Since during muslim rule, hindu women started burning themselves as a symbol of their truthfulness to their husbands, they were also called Sati." —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 138.38.27.138 (talkcontribs) 19:05, 14 June 2007 (UTC).Reply

Look at Sati (practice) for a description. Also, burning of women during a military seize is called Jauhar, not Sati; and it included burning not just women but also children, old men as well as treasures, before the menfolk go out to die in an impossible last battle. Chaipau 16:27, 7 November 2007 (UTC)Reply

Kamakhya iconography

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There exists a standard iconographic representation of Kamakhya - in the Calanta portion of the Kamakhya Temple (Kamakhya_Temple#cite_note-18). Use this instead of self-created and spurious images. Chaipau (talk) 10:49, 22 November 2021 (UTC)Reply

Various scriptures provide a dhyana mantra of a Hindu deity. Kalika Purana, which centres on Kamakhya, explains her iconography. Any image close to the description is a good representation of the goddess. --Redtigerxyz Talk 16:58, 27 November 2021 (UTC)Reply
If a traditional image exists, we should use it. But if an image does not exist we cannot use it here we should not use it here. If an iconographic image is described in the 10th century Kalika Purana and there exists no image then we should understand that even with a description for more than a thousand years no one has created an image. This is all the more reason not to create one for Wikipedia. Chaipau (talk) 01:40, 28 November 2021 (UTC)Reply