Ambubachi Mela 2023: Date And Rituals

Menstruating women are impure! Have you ever encountered such foggy notions of society? Yes, all the girls have to sail in the same boat at some point in their life. They don’t work in kitchens, visit temples, or perform other spiritual rituals. We live in the twenty-first century, but orthodox notions have stuck with us. No doubt there is a lot of change in society, but there are women who suffer the same amount of discrimination when they menstruate. Where the menstrual cycle is such a taboo, it is tough to acknowledge that some parts of the country celebrate the menstrual woman. Yes, a whole festival celebrated for the same cause, the Ambubachi Mela, will happen in the Aashad month of 2023. The Ambubachi 2023 time is starting from 22nd June to 26th of June. 

To know what Ambubachi Mela is? What is the motive behind celebrating the festival? You have to read on! In this blog, we have split the beans regarding the motive and rituals of the festival. End your curiosities by reading the blog and learn the interesting facts about this amazing festival.

To learn more about such interesting festivals and rituals, connect to the InstaAstro app. You will get exciting information about different types of festivals, and rituals celebrated in different parts of society.

Why Ambubachi is celebrated?

Ambubachi simply means ‘gush of water’. The devotees celebrate this festival every year in the month of June (Aashad or Aahar) to pay their highest respect to the deity Kamkhaya. The Mela is celebrated with great pomp and show. Several tourists and pilgrims visit this temple which is situated in Guwahati, Assam. People here pray to the menstruating goddess. Yes, you heard it right. Where women are said to be impure in some regions, people here pray to the menstruating goddess. It is a belief of the locals that the deity, Kamkhaya, bleeds once a year in the Aashad month. The temples doors are closed to maintain the sanity and privacy of the goddess. The place remains shut for four straight days since it is believed that the goddess needs to rest in the meantime. 

Origin of Goddess Kamakhaya

Kamakhaya is another name for the goddess Shakti, the beloved wife of Shiva. There is a mystical tale related to the origin of the goddess. When Sati’s father, King Daksh, held a puja ritual in his home, he invited everyone from the Dev lok but left Lord Shiva. On the other hand, Sati couldn’t bear her husband’s insult and decided to leave the place. She asked Agni dev (the god of fire) to burn her, but in front of the power of goddess Sati, Agni dev’s fire became futile. 

Goddess Sati then burnt herself with her own fire. Mahadev became furious after watching such a horrific moment and killed his own father-in-law. He then took goddess Sati in his arms and began to roam around the universe. The situation created havoc in the universe. Then everyone prayed to Lord Vishnu to calm Shiv Ji down and make him realise his responsibilities. Vishnu ji in order to distract Shivji from the burnt corpse of Devi Sati. He threw his invisible Sudarshan chakra towards goddess Sati. Her body was shattered into fifty-one pieces. 

Each piece is a Shakti peeth. A temple can is built over each of them. One of the pieces fell into the region of Assam. The piece is said to be the Genital of the goddess Sati. Since then, the genital/Yoni of the goddess has been worshipped, and the temple was named Kamakhaya (goddess of motherhood and fertility). The Ambubachi mela is celebrated every year to celebrate and worship the goddess. 

Also Read: Monthly Numerology Prediction for May 2023

Rituals of Ambubachi 2023

The Ambubachi mela plays a significant role in the beliefs and practices of the devotees. People from several states and countries travel to Assam just to seek the blessing of the divine goddess. Devotees eagerly wait for the month of June. The Ambubachi mela 2023 date is June 22. The mela continues for 4 days, and the doors of the temple are fastened in the meantime. The rituals will end with the distribution of Prasadam on the 26th of June, 2023. Let us have light on the rituals of the Ambubachi Mela 2023. 

Worshipping Shakti

The Kamakhya temple Ambubachi Mela 2023 is all about celebrating the goddess and worshipping her in all forms. The Shakti admirers worship the incarnation of Shakti in those four days of Mela. Devotees have a strong instinct for the fact that Shakti itself would come on earth and shower her blessings on the devotees. The female priests perform Yajnas and Pujas outside the temple. This incarnation of Shakti is the goddess of fertility. Women come here to pray to the goddess and ask for a fertile womb. However, the rituals don’t include any malpractices, but sources have shown that tantric practices are prevalent at this time. Since cosmic energies surround the temple during this time, people tend to perform various tantric rituals to attain their desires.

Honouring Yoni

The idol-less temple has a stone-like structure called the pind of mata Sati or the Shaktipeeth. The stone is in the shape of the genitals of women. People believe that it is the Yoni or genitalia of Goddess Sati. The temple is retitled Kamakhaya Devi temple. Childless women come to attain the grace of the goddess of fertility and strength. In the Ambubachi festival, devotees honour the Yoni of the divine goddess. Ambubachi festival is all about honouring and praying to the bleeding goddess and motherhood. These kinds of festivals tell us that the women who bleed aren’t impure but an incarnation and shadows of Goddess Shakti.

Distribution of the Ambubachi Mela Prasadam

Any ritual or puja is incomplete without the Prasad. The mode of offering prasad to the devotees is different in the Ambubachi mela 2023, as we all know that the goddess bleeds in these four days of her menstrual cycle. Priests of the temple put up a white cloth over the Yoni and covered it. After the Mela is over, the doors of the temple open, and miraculously the white cloth seems to be red. The red cloth is distributed among the devotees as Prasad and the blessing of the goddess. It is a belief in the mind of devotees that Shakti’s powers and miraculous strength reside in that cloth. The belief also states that if any woman keeps the red cloth with her, goddess Shakti blesses her with a fertile womb.

In conclusion, the Ambubachi Mela is a festival of four days in order to worship feminine energy. To honour all the phases of women’s lives and to pray for strength. Women here come to inherit the grace and blessings of goddess Shakti. 

To know more about the rituals and how can you attain the blessings of goddess Kamakhaya by just sitting at your home. Connect to the InstaAstro astrologers. The astrologers will suggest mantras to increase fertility and gain strength.

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