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The temple of Ugra Tara in Uzan Bazaar in the eastern part of
Guwahati is an important Sakta shrine.
Ugra Tara is generally identified with "Tiksna-Kanta", "Eka-Jata",
etc., of the Buddhist pantheon. As the Yogini Tantra puts it: "Tara
is the same as Kali, the embodiment of supreme love. So also is
Kamakhya. By thinking
of them as different from Kali one would go to hell." Thus the Yogini
Tantra gives an identical origin to Tara, Kamakhya and Kali.
The Legend
Ugra Tara was worshipped according to 'Vamacara' rites. This was because
of a curse given to her by sage Vasistha (also spelt as Basistha). The
story goes that Yama lodged a complaint with Brahma saying that all those
who lived in Kamarupa (also spelt as "Kararup") went to heaven
because of the sacredness of the place and nobody went to his realm.
Brahma, in turn, carried this complaint to Vishnu and together they met
Shiva and told him about the horrid state of affairs in the land of
Kamarupa.
Shiva agreed to look into the matter and there after ordered the hosts
and goddess Ugra Tara to drive away all the people of Kamarupa. In the
course of this drive, they laid their hands on sage Vasistha who was
meditating Shiva on the Sandhyacala
Vasistha grew furious and pronounced a terrible curse on Ugra Tara and
her associates. The curse had immediate effect. Vedic rites were given up
completely. Worship of gods and goddesses including that of Shiva 'was
conducted according, to Vamacara rites. Animals were slaughtered both at
the altars of Shiva and Tara temples. In fact, Kalika Purana gives an
elaborate account of sacrifice on a large scale of animals and human
beings.
The Animal Sacrifice Rituals
The sacrificial animals included Birds, Tortoises, Alligators, Fish, nine
species of wild animals, Buffaloes, Bulls, he-Goats, Wild Boars,
Rhinoceros, Antelopes, Iguanas, Reindeer, Lions, Tigers. To this list
Yogini Tantra add Monkeys. It was also the practice to offer blood drawn
from one's own body. But ordinarily females of all animals are exempted
from sacrifice.
The present temple of Ugra Tara was built by King Shiva Singh in 1725 AD
who had excavated a tank three years earlier. The tank is situated to the
east, of the temple and is known as "Jorepukhuri". The tank
still exists, though the upper portion of the temple was destroyed by the
great earthquake. This was however rebuilt by a private citizen.