Ambubachi Mela in Guwahati

The Ambubachi Mela is celebrated in the Kamakhya Temple located in the capital city of Guwahati, in the northeastern state of Assam in India. The Ambubachi Mela is the most important festival of the Kamakhya Temple. The Ambubachi is a ritual of asceses observed with “Tantrik means”. It is believed that the goddess of the temple, Maa Kamakhya, the Mother Shakti (Power), goes through her annual cycle of menstruation during this time period.

During the Ambubachi Mela in Guwahati, the doors of the Kamakhya Temple remain closed for three days. According to tradition, Goddess Kamakhya is impure during these three days as she is believed to be menstruating and is not worshipped. Besides, it is also believed that Mother Earth is also like a fertile woman, cultivable for crops and as such embodies the very essence of motherhood which manifests in the observance of Ambubachi indicating its importance in ancient agricultural concept. Daily worships and other religious performances are also stopped during the Ambubachi Mela of Guwahati in Assam. After the completion of three days, the doors of the Kamakhya Temple are reopened. But the doors of the temple are reopened only after Devi Kamakhya is bathed and the other rituals are executed. It is then believed that the Mother Earth has retrieved her purity. This is purely a ritual of the Tantrik cult.

The Ambubachi Mela in Guwahati is held at the Kamakhya Temple, after being closed for the mentioned three days. On the fourth day, the devotees of the Goddess are allowed to enter the temple for worshipping Devi Kamakhya. More than lakh of pilgrims and sadhus from all over the country and even abroad have flocked to the temple to mark the annual festival. The winding road to the temple atop the Nilachal hills has been turned into makeshift camps with hutments constructed by various organisations to house the devotees. The Kamakhya Ambubachi Mela Parichalana Samiti made arrangements for the devotees in association with the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, district administration, Public Works Department, Assam State Electricty Board, Health Department and several NGOs.

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