After the end of the four-day Ambubachi Festival, the doors of Kamakhya Temple in finally opened up for the devotees on 26th June. It is believed that the Goddess of the temple undergoes her annual menstrual cycle during these four days.
The Kamakhya Temple is situated in Guwahati, Assam. It is one of the oldest of the 51 Shakti Peethas. This temple is the centre of Kulachara Tantra Marga and the site of the famous Ambubachi Festival, which celebrates the menstruation of the Goddess. This Ambubachi festival is an yearly occurrence celebrated in monsoon, which happens to fall during the Assamese month Ahaar. ‘Ambubachi’ means spoken with water and it’s believed that the rain expected during this season make the earth fertile and ready for procreation. People are not allowed to worship these three days of the festival. Even the agricultural works like ploughing, sowing and transplanting crops are also forbidden. Devotees avoid eating cooked food. Used utensils and clothes are washed and purified with sprinkled water on the fourth day.
It is believed that the nurturing and feminine energies of the goddess are imparted into the devotees in these four days. Devotees are not allowed to offer their puja on these three days. At the end of the third day, the pind of the temple is bathed for the purification of the goddess after the menstrual cycle. After this puja, the doors of the temple open for the public. Thousands of devotees and monks from several parts of the country who have visited the temple in the last four days waited in long lines since morning to worship the goddess.
This year Ambubachi Mela commenced on 23rd June and went on for four days. Due to Covid pandemic the Ambubachi mela did not occur after 2019. The gate was locked and people were not allowed in the temple due to Pandemic. With Assam lifting all limitations, this year devotees were allowed to participate in the festival after two years. Among the devotees that visited the mela were Governor of Assam, Jagdish Mukhi and his wife. He later tweeted about praying the welfare of the people of the state.
According to the officials, it has been known that the temple has stopped making VIP passes for the time being so that every devotee can pay visit to the Kamakhya Temple.
Ambubachi festival is the most important religious event of the temple and every year more than 25 lakh people from India and abroad come visit the temple during this festival.
By-
Aritri Ghosh
Amity University, Kolakaa
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