Ambubachi Mela

News:The Annual Ambubachi Mela in Assam will not be organised this year due to Coronavirus pandemic.

Facts:

• Ambubachi Mela is held at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Assam.
• The festival is celebrated to mark the annual menstruation of the presiding Goddess Kamakhya.
• Significance:The ritualistic fair celebrating the goddess period is one of the reasons why the taboo associated with menstruation is less in Assam compared to other parts of India.
• Further,the attainment of womanhood of girls in Assam is also celebrated with a ritual called Tuloni Biya meaning small wedding.

Additional Facts:

Kamakhya Temple:

• Kamakhya is one of 51 shakti peethas or holy sites for the followers of the Shakti cult each representing a body part of the Sati, Lord Shiva’s companion.
• The temple is situated on the Nilachal Hills whose northern face slopes down to the Brahmaputra river.
• There is no idol in the temple, the goddess is worshipped in the form of a yoni-like stone over which a natural spring flows.