Assam: Kamakhya temple's doors closed as annual Ambubachi Mela starts

The annual Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya temple, atop Nilachal hills in Assam's Guwahati, commenced on Saturday with worship stopped for the next four days, coinciding with the ritualistic annual menstrual cycle of the goddess.

Lakhs of devotees attend the mela and wait for the resumption of worship and pay obeisance to the goddess.

Temple authorities said the doors were closed at 8.43 am with the start of 'prabritti' and worship will resume at 9.07 pm on June 25 after 'nribritti'.

On June 26, the temple door will open for darshan after a ritualistic bath and daily puja, they said.

Worship is stopped and doors are closed in the temple for four days annually, when the goddess is believed to undergo her menstrual cycle.

Devotees from different parts of the country and abroad converge at the annual mela, which is held in the temple premises during the period.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a post on X in Hindi, welcomed the devotees to the mela.

"On the occasion of Ambubachi M