Over 800,000 devotees expected at Kamakhya Ambubachi Mela

The annual Ambubachi Mela, a major religious festival marking the symbolic menstruation cycle of Goddess Kamakhya, commenced at the historic Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Assam, on Monday, June 22, 2026. The event draws hundreds of thousands of devotees and ascetics to the Nilachal Hills for a celebration deeply rooted in Shakta and Tantric traditions.

The formal observance began with the Pravritti ritual on Sunday evening, June 21, at precisely 9:08:42 PM, after which the doors to the temple's sanctum sanctorum were sealed. They will remain closed for three days and nights, a period when the goddess is believed to rest, and all daily religious ceremonies inside are suspended. The temple is scheduled to reopen in the early hours of Friday, June 26, following the Nivritti ceremony and purification rituals. At that time, devotees will be permitted to enter for darshan and will receive sacred cloths, known as rakta bastra or angavastra, as prasad.

Temple authorities expect over eight lakh visitors during the multi-day festival, including thousands of sadhus, tantric practitioners, and spiritual seekers who consider the period exceptionally powerful for spiritual discipline. Pilgrims...