The Ambubachi Mela () is an annual Hindu mela (gathering) held at

Kamakhya Temple The Kamakhya Temple at Nilachal hills in Guwahati, Assam is one of the oldest and most revered centres of Tantra, Tantric practices. The temple is the center of the ''Kulachara Tantra Marga'' and the site of the Ambubachi Mela, an annual fes ...

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. This yearly mela is celebrated during the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season that happens to fall during the Assamese month '' Ahaar'', around the middle of June when sun transit to the zodiac of

Mithuna Maithuna (Devanagari: मैथुन) is a Sanskrit term for sexual intercourse within Tantric sex, or alternatively to the specific lack of sexual fluids generated, while mithuna is a couple participating in such a ritual. It is the most import ...

, when the

Brahmaputra river The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

is in spate. During this time Brahmaputra River near the temple turns Red for three days. Ambubachi Mela is the celebration of the yearly

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of hor ...

course of goddess

Kamakhya Kamakhya, a mother goddess, is a Shakta Tantric deity; considered to be the embodiment of ''Kama (desire)'', she is regarded as the goddess of sex. Her abodeKamakhya Temple is located in the Kamarupa region of Assam, India."Seated on top of ...

. It is believed that the presiding goddess of the temple, Devi Kamakhya, the Mother

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

, goes through her annual cycle of

during this time stretch. It is also believed that during the monsoon rains, the creative and nurturing power of the 'menses' of Mother Earth becomes accessible to devotees at this site during the mela. There is no idol of the presiding deity but she is worshipped in the form of a

yoni ''Yoni'' (; sometimes also ), sometimes called ''pindika'', is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu goddess Shakti. It is usually shown with ''linga'' – its masculine counterpart. Together, they symbolize the merging of microc ...

-like stone instead over which a natural spring flows.

Tantric fertility festival

This mela is also known as Ameti or Tantric fertility festival since it is closely associated with Tantric

cult prevalent in eastern parts of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Even some Tantric Babas make their public appearances only during these four days. The rest of the year, they remain in seclusion. Some Babas are seen displaying their psychic powers like putting their heads in a pit and stand upright on it, standing on one leg for hours at a stretch.

The mela

The temple remains closed for three days during the mela for it is believed that Goddess

rests for three days like the traditional women's menstrual seclusion. During these three days some restrictions are observed by the devotees like not cooking, not performing puja or reading holy books, no farming etc. After three days, the Goddess is bathed and other rituals are performed to ensure that Goddess Kamakhya retrieves her purity. Then the doors of the temple are reopened and

prasad 200px, Prasad thaal offered to Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad ">Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad">Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad Prasada (, Sanskrit: प्रसाद, ), Prasadam or Prasad is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most o ...

is distributed. On the fourth day the devotees are allowed to enter the temple and worship devi Kamakhya.

The prasad

The

is distributed in two forms – Angodak and Angabastra. Angodak literally means the fluid part of the body - water from the spring and Angabastra literally means the cloth covering the body - a piece of the red cloth used to cover the yoni rock fissure during the days of menstruation.

Pilgrims

Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya Temple by Vikramjit Kakati

Every year lakhs of pilgrims, starting from ''

Sadhu ''Sadhu'' ( sa, साधु, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female)), also spelled ''saddhu'', is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. Th ...

''s to householders, from all over India, come to Guwahati to observe this festival. They include ''

Sanyasin ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' A ...

''s, black clad Aghoras, the ''Khade-baba''s, the ''

Baul The Baul ( bn, বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism, Vaishnavism and Tantra from Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitut ...

'' or singing minstrels of West Bengal, intellectual and folk ''Tantrik''s, ''

''s and ''

Sadhvi ''Sadhu'' ( sa, साधु, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female)), also spelled ''saddhu'', is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. The ...

''s with long matted hair etc. Even foreigners from abroad come to seek blessings of mother Kamakhya.

References

External links