Unlike the previous years, the Kamakhya temple wore a deserted look as Ambubachi rituals commenced on Monday morning. The Ambubachi Mela — the biggest religious congregation of eastern India which is held at Kamakhya, atop Nilachal Hills — was cancelled this year in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was decided that only priests will perform rituals in the temple premises for these four days and that the main temple door would remain shut following the celebration of the annual menstruation cycle of goddess Kamakhya.
The Kamakhya temple is one of the 51 important Shakti Peeths of Hindu religion and Ambubachi Mela usually sees lakhs of domestic and foreign pilgrims every year which is a significant source of revenue for the temple as well as the state. More than 30 lakh devotees visit at Kamakhya Temple during these four days.
This year, silence gripped Kamakhya Devalaya as rituals for Ambubachi began at 7:53 am on Monday. The ceremony will conclude on June 25, Thursday at 8:16 pm.
The temple priests will offer only fruits and perform the daily rituals outside the 'garvagriha'. The main door will open on the morning of June 26 for regular puja.
Several temples in Assam as well as in other parts of the country, cautiously reopened after the central government allowed it under its Unlock 1.0 plan, but Kamakhya Temple remained shut fearing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The shrine will remain shut for all the devotees till June 30 and the temple management will decide on the opening after taking into consideration the Covid-19 situation in Guwahati and the state.
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