Tamreswari temple (also Dikkaravasini) was a historical temple for the tribal goddess called Kecaikhati,"[I]n the eastern most boundary of Assam (near Sadiya) we find the pitha of a very interesting goddess. She is popularly known as Kechai-khati, the eater of raw flesh. The Kalika Purana, a 10th century work written in Kamarupa mentions her as Tamreswari, referred also as Dikkaravasini." situated about 18 km away from Sadiya in Tinsukia district, Assam, India. Francis Hamilton listed Dikkarvasini at Sadiya among the three especially notable temples of Assam, together with those at Nilachal and Koliabar. The shrine was held in particular reverence by the hill peoples of the eastern region and was aptly called the "Eastern Kamakhya." The temple was in the custody of non-Brahmin tribal priests called Deoris (formerly a priestly class of Chutias)."In the case of Tamresvari Temple, the goddess was served by the Deoris, the representatives of the priestly class among the Chutiyas. They were permitted to continue their religious service to her including human sacrifice even after their subjugation by the Ahoms in 1523." L. W. Shakespear, summarising the earlier observations of S. F. Hannay, wrote that in ancient times the shrine and the once-populous country around it were connected with western Assam by a great raised roadway running from Kamatapur through Narayanpur towards the extreme east of Assam, and presumably also with the ancient cities around Sadiya described by Hannay.
Some remains suggest that a Chutia king built a brick-cum-stone boundary wall in the year 1442."As mentioned earlier, Mukta-dharmanarayana, who constructed the wall of Tamresvari (alias Kecaikhati, Dikkaravasini) Temple or the temple itself in AD 1442""The Pãyã-Tãmresvari (Dikkaravãsiní) temple inscription announces that King Dharmanãrãyana raised in 1364 Šaka [1442 AD] a wall (prãkãra) around the temple of Dikkaravãsiní, popularly known as Tãmresvari." There were four different kinds of Deori priest who looked after the temple. The Bar Bharali and the Saru Bharali collected dues of the temple and provides animals for sacrifice. The Bar Deori (Deori Dema) and the Saru Deori (Deori Surba) performs the sacrifice and sung hymns."There were four different kinds of priests of whom each was attached to a particular division (khel), viz., the Bar Deori (Deori Dema) and the Saru Deori (Deori Surba); the Bar Bharali and the Saru Bharali. It was the duty of the two Bharalis to collect the dues of the temple and to provide animals for sacrifice. The two Deoris performed the sacrifice; they alone entered the temple and sung hymns, which were scarcely understood by the common people." The temple was dedicated to Kechaikhati/Pishasi (kechai means raw and khati means eat), a powerful tribal deity or the Buddhist deity Tara,"In her fearsome self this deity bears so many resemblances to the fierce manifestation of Buddhist Tara that many scholars have suggested a Buddhist origin for her" commonly found among different Bodo-Kachar groups. The worship of the goddess even after coming under Hindu influence was performed according to her old tribal customs."(S)he [Kesai Khati] was incorporated into the Sanskritized cosmos of goddess tradition and as her tribal attributes were so strong to be denounced as non-Brahminical, her worship continued according to old customs." The temple was located on the right (western) bank of the river Paya and ruins of the Paya–Haju Shiva Linga Temple still exist, opposite to it, on the left (eastern) bank.
Under Ahom rule, the cult of Tamreswari retained a close association with kingship and the welfare of the state. The four chief Deoris annually attended the Ahom court to obtain the king's sanction for human sacrifice and were accorded exceptional ceremonial respect. As per Buranjis, following the Ahom conquest of Sadiya in 1524, Suhungmung offered the golden belt (Kakali) of the deceased Chutia queen Sadhani at this temple. According to some Buranji traditions, when Pratap Singha lay dying in 1641, people reportedly offered sacrifices of one hundred men to the Ai ("Mother Goddess") of Sadiya in an attempt to prolong his life; Shin identifies this deity as probably Kecaikhati of the Tamreswari Temple. The temple was abandoned during the reign of Gaurinath Singha (1780 - 1795), when the Ahom kingdom was attacked by the Konbaung dynasty of Burma.:"(D)uring the reign of king Gaurinath Singh (1780 - 1795), when the Chutiya a priests harried by the Burmese invaders abandoned their ancient possessions in the vicinity of the temple. According to the Deori priests, the downfall of the Ahoms was largely due to the neglect of this religious rite"
Stone inscription
The stone inscription found in the temple reads:
The inscription describes that the walls of the temple have been built using bricks (Ichtaka) and other materials(Adi) by the son Mukta Dharmanarayan of the old Chutia king (name not specified) in the Saka year 1364 (1442 AD).
The name Tamresari There were two giant elephant sculptures with silver tusks at the main door. The walls were made without any mortar. The temple roof was made of copper, that's why it is called Tamreswari. The whole temple was surrounded with brick walls and on the western wall there was a place for human sacrifice.
Goddess
The Kalika Purana places the Kamarupa pitha of Dikkaravasini to the east of the river Vrsodaka and near the river Sitaganga, also called Svarnadi. Scholars identify the Vrsodaka with the Dibang River, a tributary of the Lohit, and Dikkaravasini with the Tamreswari temple at Sadiya. The Sitaganga has also been tentatively identified by some writers with the Diphu River west of Tamreswari, interpreting the name as referring to a “white river”.
The presiding goddess of the Tamreswari temple is referred to in different sources as Kechai Khaiti, Tamreswari and Dikkaravasini. Kasinath Tamuli Phukan's Assam Buranji, first published in 1844 identifies Dikkaravasini with the Kesai Khati of Sadiya and describes the Saumara Pitha as extending from the Bhairabi River to Dikkaravasini. The Archaeological Survey of India identifies the temple as a shrine of Dikkaravasini; the reported inscription from the temple records the construction of a wall of Dikkaravasini by Mukta Dharmanarayana. The shrine was also known as the Kechai Khaiti Sal. The goddess has also been associated with the Dikkaravasini of the Kalika Purana. The Kalika Purana refers to Tamreswari as Dikkaravasini, and describes her as manifesting in two forms: a fierce form called Ugratara or Tikshna-kanta, and a gentler form called Sri or Lalita-kanta.The Kalika Purana, a 10th century work written in Kamarupa mentions her as Tamreswari, referred also as Dikkaravasini."Dikkaravasini manifested herself in two different forms – fierce and compassionate. She manifested as Ugra Tara, also called Tiksna-kanta, and Sri [or Lalita-kanta]. Dikkaravasini, in her Lalitakanta aspect identified with Mangalachandika, is two-armed, displays the varada and abhaya mudras, and is seated on a red lotus.
The Kalika Purana also records the use of silk in the worship of deities in the shrine. As per the text, while worshipping the deities at the Dikkarvasini pitha, red, yellow and white Kausheya (meaning wild silk, probably Muga) were used to drap the idols of the presiding deities of the temple.Shastri, B.N, "The Kalikapurana: Text, Introduction and English Trans. with Shloka Index", p. 1240, "The goddess in her Lalitakanta (pleasantly charming) form is known as Mangala chandi,...she wears red silk(rakta-kauseya-vasana)."Shastri, B.N, "The Kalikapurana: Text, Introduction and English Trans. with Shloka Index", p. 1243-45, "O king! Listen to the procedure of worship of Brahma with rapt attention...Red silk(rakta-kauseya-vastram) is his (Brahma's) favourite cloth, rice cooked with milk, sesames, mixed with ghee are his favourite food."Shastri, B.N, "The Kalikapurana: Text, Introduction and English Trans. with Shloka Index", p. 1259, "Vasudeva may be worshipped briefly or elaborately. Red, yellow and white silk are the favourite cloths of Vishnu..." It is known that Muga, in olden times, was available in yellow(natural), white(Mejankari muga) and often dyed red with lac.Journal Of Bihar And Orissa Research Society Vol. 3, p.212, "There was another of similar quality. It is known as the Mezankari muga, the worm feeding on the Adakari tree (Litsea citrata)."This muga constituted the dress of the higher ranks, most of which were dyed red with lac but some were white." It is now scarce."
Human sacrifice
Kechai Khaiti was worshipped by the Chutias with the assistance of their tribal priests, the Deoris. E. A. Gait described the Chutia worship of Kali-like goddesses as being performed not by Brahmanas, but by their own Deori priests, and identified Kechai Khaiti as the favourite form of the deity to whom human sacrifices were offered.
The Kalika Purana associates the worship of Dikkaravasini's fierce Tikshnakanta form with human sacrifice. It states: “O king! wine among the drinks, human sacrifice among the sacrifices are recommended as supreme”, and subsequently names sweetmeat, coconut, meat, curry and sugarcane among the offerings favoured by Tikshnakanti.
Architecture
The roof of the Tamresari temple was originally sheeted with copper as mentioned in the Changrung Phukan Buranji (1711 AD), from which the name is derived. The same Buranji also records the height of the temple at 18 feet (5.5 meters). In 1848, when Dalton visited the site, he found a stone structure, but the copper roof was already removed. Subsequently, the site was visited by various explorers and historians like T. Bloch, S.F. Hannay and D. Mitra.
S. F. Hannay's 1848 report Major S. F. Hannay described the Tamreswari or Copper Temple in his 1848 report on ancient remains near Sadiya. He identified the shrine with Buchanan's "Eastern Kamaykya" and stated that it stood on the right bank of a small stream known to the Assamese as Dol or Dewal Pani. Hannay distinguished this stream from the Dikharu (present-day Digaru river), although he noted that it received several tributaries from that river before joining the Brahmaputra. He placed the temple about 8 miles inland from Sunpura in a north-eastern direction, Sunpura itself being about 10 miles east of Kundil Mukh. By the time of his visit, the old routes to the shrine had become difficult to follow because the area was covered by dense jungle and crossed by many streams."The small romantic little stream, on the right bank of which it is built, is not the Dikharoo river however... Dol, or Déwál panee, is the name by which the temple stream is known to the Assamese."
Hannay recorded that the temple stood close to the right bank of the Dolpani stream, in the midst of a dense forest. The interior of the shrine was a square of about 8 feet, while the walls were about 4½ feet thick, except at the front where there were two recesses on each side of the doorway. The doorway was formed of three entire blocks of stone, and the outer wall enclosed a square of about 17 feet. Except for the lintel and the sides of the doorway, the four walls were plain both inside and outside. At a height of about 10 feet above the basement, Hannay observed a slightly fluted stone projection forming a cornice. Above this, he suggested, there may have been about 2 feet more of wall on which the roof rested."The dimensions of the interior is a square of 8 feet, the walls being about 4½ feet thick... The outer line of wall therefore encloses a square of about 17 feet."