Kamakhya Temple reopens for devotees after the culmination of the Ambubachi Mela

The world-famous shrine dedicated to Maa Kamakhya in Assam's Guwahati reopened for devotees after remaining closed from June 22 to June 26 for the annual Ambubachi Mela. Interestingly, the Ambubachi Mela is one of the prime attractions of the temple shrine that houses the Yoni of Goddess Sati and is, therefore, one of the most revered Shakti Peetha sites.

The three-day fair takes place in the Assamese month of Ahaar, attracting people from across the globe.

Professor Jagdish Mukhi, the governor of Assam, visited the shrine along with the first lady to seek the blessings of the Mother Goddess. The governor wrote:

"I along with the First Lady offered our prayers & obeisance to Maa #Kamakhya at the culmination of pious #AmbubachiMela. We prayed for the contentment & welfare of people of the State. May the divine blessings of Maa bring peace, prosperity & happiness in everyone's life (sic)."

Interestingly, according to traditional beliefs, the temple remains closed during the Ambubachi Mela for the devotees for three days because the Goddess undergoes her annual menstrual cycle. And it is believed that the Goddess's nurturing and feminine energies naturally get transmitted to the devotees. However, devotees do not do their customary puja during these three days, but at the end of the third day, the pind or the yoni-like structure is given ritual bathing. This is done for the purification of the Goddess after her menstrual cycle. The cleansing ritual is followed by a customary puja, and subsequently, the temple doors are reopened. Upon the temple's reopening, two kinds of prasad get distributed - Angodak and Angabastra.

Angodak is water from the stream, and it represents the body fluid. And the Angabastra is the cloth offered to the deity.

The Kamakhya temple is located on the Nilachal hills in western Guwahati, a city on the banks of the Brahmaputra. The temple houses the Garbha Griha (sanctum sanctorum) and three other chambers, namely Calantha, Pancha Ratna and Natya or Nritya Mandir. The exterior walls of the shrine have intricately carved figurines of Gods and Goddesses, and these sculptures add to the architectural beauty of the temple complex.