The magic of Kamakhya: Experiencing Ambubachi Religious Fair of Assam.

It was almost 2 in the night. I reached Kamakhya temple. I was in Guwahati to cover Ambubachi Mela, a great religious fair of Assam. It is the most important festival of kamakhya temple of Guwahati and is held every year in the month of June. I was surprised to see the devotees. I mean it was raining the entire day and night, and devotees were sitting and waiting for their turn to enter the temple. They did not have any problem.  It was the first time when I was seeing these ritual activities. When I asked a Baba that why you are seating in this rain, go and sit somewhere else, he replied “बारिश कहाँ हो रही बेटा, मैं तो बिलकुल भी नहीं भीगा| ऊपर देखो आसमान कितना साफ़ है, ऐसा लग रहा माँ कामख्या ऊपर से आशीर्वाद दे रही हम सबको”| (Son, Look at the sky. It is clear and it’s not raining. I am not wet. It seems that Goddess Kamakhya is blessing us). I was speechless at that time. I was walking throughout there and was shocked to see that in spite of heavy rain, they were doing traditional rituals there. The Ambubachi Mela is celebrated in the capital city of Guwahati, in the northeastern state of Assam in India. The Ambubachi is a ritual of access observed with “Tantrik means”. It is believed that the presiding goddess of the temple, Devi Kamakhya, the Mother Shakti, goes through her annual cycle of menstruation during this time stretch. During the Ambubachi Mela in Guwahati, the doors of the Kamakhya Temple remain closed for three days. It is believed that the Mother Earth becomes unclean for three days. During this time any kind of farming work is not taken on. 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.

There are thousands of people who come from all over India, especially West Bengal, Bihar and Assam to witness this festival and take blessings from the goddess in form of a small bit of cloth which is believe to be wet with the menstrual fluid of Goddess Kamakhya. shaktipeeths. According to legend, when Vishnu cut Sati’s body into 51 parts, the vagina fell at this place. This is a must-do pilgrimage for the tantric cult sadhus.