Located atop the Nilachal hills in Guwahati Maa Kamakhya temple is famous for the Hindus. The pristine beauty of Guwahati city and its vicinity and other places including the mighty Brahmaputra can be seen from the hills. Anyone can visit the Nilachal hills to observe the beauty of Guwahati city. Anyway, the temple is an auspicious place for the Hindus as out of 51 Shakti Peethas this is one. I feel, almost all readers know about the mythological facts of 51 Shakti Peethas. In the Maa Kamakhya temple, Ambubachi mela is held every year in June and devotees not only from India but also from many countries visit during this time. It is the celebration of the yearly menstruation of Maa Kamakhya as it is believed that the private part (yoni/ genital part) of Maa was fallen there. During Ambubachi time, the doors of the temple are closed and no one can visit the inside of the temple. In this year, 2023, as per the tithi i.e. timings, the doors were closed at 2.30 AM on June 22-23 (Thursday midnight and wee hours of Friday) and entries of the temple will reopen on Monday morning (June 26, 2023). The place where the private part was fallen during the menstruation period is covered with a huge red cloth which is known as ‘Rakta Bastra’. And the devotees after completion of Ambubachi, collect a little piece of ‘Rakta Bastra’ which is considered very sacred for the Hindus. Some keep in the puja room in a small container, some keep their body in a small metallic container which is known as ‘Maduli’ etc. Anyway, devotees, irrespective of age, gender, or caste, can attend the mela, for seeking blessings from Maa Kamakhya. It is pertinent to mention that in 2019 around 25 lakh devotees visited the mela the largest in history.
I had the opportunity to visit Ambubachi mela on a few occasions at night time and observed hundreds of saints and sadhus from different parts of India including Nepal and other places attended. All were involved in spiritual activities.
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