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Devotees gather to offer prayers at Kamakhya Temple which reopened after the end of four-day long Ambubachi Mela, in Guwahati on Wednesday.[/caption]
Guwahati, June 26 (PTI): The doors of Kamakhya Temple atop the Nilachal Hill here opened for devotees on Wednesday after four days with devotees from different parts of the country visiting the temple on the occasion of the Ambubachi Mela.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was one of the first devotees to offer prayers to the Goddess after the doors of the famed Shakti peeth opened this morning.
Sonowal later tweeted he had prayed for the development and well-being of all on the auspicious end of the Ambubachi Mela.
The chief minister said he hoped “Maa Kamakhya’s divine blessings bring happiness and peace in everyone’s life.”
The annual four-day Ambubachi mela began on June 22 with the ceremonial closing of the temple doors.
The mela is promoted as an integral part of the religious tourism initiative by Assam Tourism department.
The state government made elaborate arrangements to ensure the smooth flow of devotees to and from the temple during the festival, including ferry services by ASTC, health camps, cleanliness measures, security and surveillance, lodging arrangements and cultural events.
During the four-day Ambubachi festival, according to myths, Mother Earth is believed to menstruate and all religious and agricultural activities are not performed during the period.
The doors of the temple are closed for the devotees and regular rituals are suspended for four days.
On the day, preceding the actual time of the beginning of the Ambubachi usually on the seventh day of the Hindu month of ‘Asadha’, the ‘yoni mandala’ of Mother Kamakhya is covered with a red cloth called ‘angavastra’ for four days.
The temple doors are opened after four days following the ‘suddhi’ or the ritualistic bath of the Devi and the day is considered to be the holiest to visit the temple and pilgrims throng the shrine to get a glimpse of the Goddess and receive a piece of the red cloth.