With the onset of monsoons, the Kamakhya Temple, in Guwahati, the heart of Tantric tradition in India, becomes host to thousands of sadhus, sadhvis, Tantric practitioners, and devotees every year. This is the time of the famous Ambubachi Mela, a traditional fair organised annually, which forms a significant event in the social, cultural and religious life of the people in the region.
It is a festival which celebrates Shakti rites. The belief is that Kamakhya embodies the mother cult, the shakti. During the period of Ambubachi, from the seventh to the tenth day of the Hindu month of Asadha, the doors of the the shrine are closed to all as it believed that Goddess Kamakhya goes through the annual cycle of menstruation. On the twelfth day, the doors are opened ceremonially and a big fair is held at the temple premises.
Kamakhya is one of the 52 shakti peethas of the Hindu mythology.
During the Ambubachi Mela, the temple remains closed for three days — the menstruation period. Devotees neither worship nor read holy books, and farmers do not plough the land during this period.
On the fourth day, temple doors are reopened and prasad is distributed. A huge number of devotees visit to pray to Maa Kamakhya.
The Ambubachi festival is closely related to the Tantric cult and is also known as Kamkhya Devi Puja. Devotees come from far off places to meet the Tantric sadhus and seek their blessings.