Ambubachi Mela 2023: Know the Dates, Timing, Festival, and Importance of Ambubachi Mela
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The Ambubachi Mela, also known as the Ambubasi festival, is held yearly in the Kamakhya Devi Temple in Guwahati, Assam, during the monsoon season. The Ambubachi Mela will begin on June 22 and end on June 26 in the year 2023. On June 22, 2023, the temple will reopen. On June 26th, the fair will come to a conclusion. The Ambubachi festival, also known as Kamakhya Devi Puja, is associated with the Tantric cult.
Goddess Kamakhya is said to be going through her menstrual cycle during these days, hence the temple is closed for three days. The celebration honors the balance between the reproductive female body and natural cycles.
Ambubachi Mela Date and Time 2023
Ambubachi Mela begins: 22 June 2023, Thursday
Ambubachi Fair ends: 26 June 2023, Monday
Temple closing day: 22 June 2023, Thursday
Temple Opening Day: 26 June 2023, Monday
Visiting Day: 26 June 2023 Monday
The Ambubachi Mela is an annual Hindu festival held in Guwahati, Assam, at the Kamakhya Temple. This yearly mela takes place during the monsoon season, which occurs around the middle of June in the Assamese month Ahaar, when the sun enters the zodiac of Mithuna and the Brahmaputra River reaches its greatest point. It is a festival commemorating goddess Kamakhya’s monthly menstruation cycle. During this period, it is claimed that Devi Kamakhya, the Mother Shakti, the temple’s presiding deity, goes through her annual cycle of menstruation.
Ambu Bachi Mela Celebration
During the mela, it is also believed that the creative and nurturing power of Mother Earth’s’menses’ becomes accessible to worshippers at this location during the monsoon rains. The presiding deity is worshipped in the shape of a yoni-like stone over which a natural stream flows instead of an idol.
‘Ameti’ or ‘Amoti’ is another name for ambubachi. It is Northeast India’s largest religious congregation. The words ‘Ambu’ and ‘Vasi’ or ‘Bachi’ imply water and flowing, respectively.
The celebration takes place during the monsoon season in the Assamese/ Bengali calendar month of ‘Ashara,’ beginning on the seventh day, which falls around the 21st or 22nd of June in the Gregorian calendar. It is the period when the Sun enters the first Pada of the Adra Constellation and is in the Zodiac of Mithuna (but this rarely happens).
Traditional belief holds that during this time, the Devi, who is revered as Mother Earth, enters her annual menstruation period. Ambubachi has a long history that dates back to an ancient agricultural notion that equates Mother Earth to a fruitful lady.
Importance of Ambubachi Mela
- During the Ambubachi Mela, the doors of the Goddess Kamakhya Temple remain closed for three days. At this time Goddess Kamakhya goes through the cycle of menstruation. After three days, the idol of Goddess Kamakhya is bathed and other rituals are performed.
- Then on the fourth day, devotees are allowed to enter the temple to worship Goddess Kamakhya. Tantriks come here to get their desired accomplishment, as Maa Kamakhya is the goddess of Tantra power.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the meaning of Ambubachi?
“Ambubachi” means “to speak with water,” and it also suggests that the rains expected this month will make the ground fruitful and ready for reproduction. During this time, daily worship is not permitted.
2. What happens in Ambubachi?
It is a festival commemorating goddess Kamakhya’s monthly menstruation cycle. During this period, it is claimed that Devi Kamakhya, the Mother Shakti, the temple’s presiding deity, goes through her annual cycle of menstruation.
3. Why Kamakhya Temple is closed for 3 days?
The Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati reopens three days after the Ambubachi celebration. The Ambubachi festival is held during the monsoons, and it is thought that Goddess Kamakhya goes through her menstrual cycle during this time, hence the temple is closed.
4. Does Kamakhya Devi menstruate?
Kamakhya Devi is known as the Goddess of Bleeding. The Goddess bleeds or menstruates in the month of Ashaad (June). The Brahmaputra river at Kamakhya glows red at this hour. The temple is subsequently closed for three days, during which time holy water is distributed to Kamakhya Devi’s devotees.