The Kamakhya Devi Temple is famous for its association with occult rituals and blood sacrifices offered to Goddess Kali. I had visited this temple a few years ago when I was in Guwahati and decided to go again for another visit. Nothing much had changed, though there were a lot of new shops that had opened up. One has to climb a slope to reach the temple, and as usual, there was a lot of security around.

The inner sanctum houses the fierce statue of Kali, the Mother Goddess. Legend has it that the waters of the Brahmaputra River turn red with the menstrual blood of the goddess — a sign that some great calamity is about to befall the land and the city.

Pink Goat of Kamakhya

I climbed slowly up the steps of the temple. I had to deposit my shoes, and when I took them off, I realized I was wearing different-colored socks on each foot. This really made me look eccentric and odd, as I had a white sock on one foot and a green sock on the other. One of my dear friends even remarked that it looked like I had lost my flip-flops! The mix-up with my socks was quite hilarious.

But what truly caught my attention when I entered the temple was a white goat. The goat had been colored pink by vermilion that had been applied to mark it. There was a little child standing near the goat, and I couldn’t resist taking a picture. The pink color was abir or sindoor, and the entire image carried a deep significance.

At Kamakhya, animals — especially goats — are sometimes offered symbolically to the Goddess or marked as blessed after being accepted as offerings. The color indicates that they have already been offered and should not be taken again. The markings serve as ritual symbols, meaning that the goat has been brought under the protection and acknowledgment of the Devi — a sign of consecration.

The Symbolic Meaning in Kamakhya Tradition

Kamakhya is one of the Tantric Shakti Peeths, where the yoni, or source of feminine energy, is worshipped — not an idol. Here, life force is central.

In Tantra, the goat symbolizes raw energy — animal instinct, desire, and vitality. Offering the goat is symbolic of offering human ego, fear, and lower impulses to the Goddess. The idea is not one of violence but of transformation of energy — the principle being that whatever binds you, you offer to Shakti so she can free you.

There are generally three types of goats associated with the rituals.

• The indoor-marked goat is blessed but not necessarily sacrificed.
• The black male goat is traditionally used for sacrifice.
• The others are simply brought for blessings.

In modern times, many goat offerings are purely symbolic. The animal is fed and then released, especially when devotees request a non-blood offering. So the pink goat in the picture I saw may not have been intended for sacrifice at all — it may have been ritually blessed.

The goat in the picture was sitting calmly, sunbathing, completely unaware of its fate. It had been touched by mantra, marked with sindoor, and surrounded by devotees. Such animals often become relaxed in the ritual environment, as they are believed to be under Devi’s protection.

The pink goat thus becomes a consecrated offering to the Divine Feminine energy — a symbol of life offered back to the source of life.