GUWAHATI, June 26 - The five-day annual Ambubachi Mela ended today as the doors of the Kamakhya temple were reopened for the devotees after a gap of four days. Lakhs of devotees, including Governor Jagdish Mukhi and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, paid their obeisance to the Mother Goddess on the occasion.
Ambubachi holds a special significance in the religious as well as administrative calendar of the State, when the capital city plays host to nearly 35-45 lakh people every year. Apart from the local visitors, the pilgrims, tourists, Shakti worshippers and heads of various religious institutions from across the country participate in the five-day festival.
The Chief Minister was among the first visitors today after the reopening of doors. The Governor along with his wife also visited the temple. Later, talking to the mediapersons, he said that he was happy to be a part of the Ambubachi festival and wished for peace and prosperity of Assam.
A number of senior officials of various departments of the State also visited the temple today and thanked the devotees for cooperating with the administration to manage the entire affair smoothly.
Apart from the fair and festivities, Ambubachi has a spiritual significance among the believers, who consider it an auspicious time to connect with the divine power through meditation. Anandji Maharaj comes every year to Guwahati from Rajasthan for meditation and stays at the house of a local panda (priest).
"Over the years, the management and cleanliness of the temple and its surroundings have improved a lot. It's a small place, yet miraculously hosts lakhs of devotees. Along with the administration we visitors also have a role to play to maintain its clean and green surroundings," he said.
A number of local NGOs came out for assisting the administration as well as offering free services to the devotees. Niska (Honesty) president Samit Choudhury distributed free medicines, food, clothes and water among them.
As part of the rituals, the temple was opened at sunrise, and special bathing and puja were held inside the main temple. As Ambubachi festival symbolizes the annual menstruation cycle of the Mother Goddess, the anga vastra or the rakta vastra kept inside the sanctum sanctorum is distributed as prasad among the believers. During Ambubachi, even the other temples of the State refrain from holding pujas and other religious events.
Nibritti, the purifying ritual inside the temple, was held at 7.51.58 am today, after which the doors of Kamakhya and other temples were opened.
Even as the festival came to an end today, a good number of devotees would stay back here for a couple of days more visiting other temples and places of interest in Guwahati. The Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) has also registered nearly one lakh devotees coming from outside the State. The data would be compiled and analysed for a targeted policy to promote religious tourism of Assam in other states of the country.
