230618-TH-20-Celebrating the Goddess Who Bleeds

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230618-TH-20-Celebrating the Goddess Who Bleeds

Celebrating the goddess who bleeds Four-day Ambubachi Mela begins in Guwahati after the Kamakhya temple doors are closed Rahul Karmakar da Sonowal inspected the ar- Guwahati rangements for pilgrims as Ambubachi Mela, a four-day well as security in the com- fair to mark the annual men- plex before the fair began. struation of the goddess at Devotees make a beeline Kamakhya temple in Guwa- for Kamakhya during Ambu- hati, began on Friday. bachi Mela. The only ones Kamakhya, atop Nilachal that avoid the temple are the Hills in Guwahati, is one of 51 descendants of the medieval shaktipeeths or seat of Shakti Koch royalty, who had re- followers, each representing constructed the Kamakhya a body part of Sati, Lord Shi- temple in 1565. va’s companion. The tem- Pranab Narayan Deb, a ple’s sanctum sanctorum descendant of Koch king Na- houses the yoni — female ranarayan, said this is be- genital — symbolised by a cause the goddess is believed rock. to have cursed the royalty af- Priests at the temple said ter the king and his brother doors of the temple were Chilarai — one of Assam’s re- shut for visitors at 4 p.m. on vered generals — had secretly Friday to let the goddess go watched her dance. through her period. Researchers at the Guwa- “The temple doors will be hati-based Centre for Koch- reopened at 4.30 p.m. from Devotees at the Ambubachi festival at Kamakhya temple in Guwahati. * RITU RAJ KONWAR Rajbongshi Studies and De- Tuesday ( June 26). All Hindu velopment said there are le- temples across the region tualistic fair celebrating the other parts of India. The at- ding. Oﬃcials said Ambuba- gends about the goddess will remain closed during goddess’ period is one of the tainment of womanhood of chi Mela is also an occasion dancing when Kendukoli, a this period,” Kabindra Sar- reasons why the taboo asso- girls in Assam is celebrated to promote awareness on priest during Naranarayan’s ma, a senior priest, said. ciated with menstruation is with a ritual called ‘Tuloni menstrual hygiene. reign, performed puja with Temple priests said the ri- less in Assam compared with Biya’, meaning small wed- Chief Minister Sarbanan- his eyes shut..

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Class-6 New 2020.CDR
Foreword I am greatly pleased to introduce the inaugural issue of “rediscovering Assam- An Endeavour of DPS Guwahati” . The need for familiarizing the students with the rich historical background, unique geographical features and varied flora and fauna of Assam had long been felt both by the teaching fraternity as well as the parent community. The text has been prepared by the teachers of Delhi Public School Guwahati with the sole aim of fulfilling this need. The book which has three parts will cater to the learning requirement of the students of classes VI, VII, VIII. I am grateful towards the teachers who have put in their best efforts to develop the contents of the text and I do hope that the students will indeed rediscover Assam in all its glory. With best wishes, Chandralekha Rawat Principal Delhi Public School Guwahati @2015 ; Delhi Public School Guwahati : “all rights reserved” Index Class - VI Sl No. Subject Page No. 1 Environmental Science 7-13 2 Geography 14-22 3 History 23-29 Class - VII Sl No. Subject Page No. 1 Environmental Science 33-39 2 Geography 40-46 3 History 47-62 Class - VIII Sl No. Subject Page No. 1 Environmental Science 65-71 2 Geography 72-82 3 History 83-96 CLASS-VI Assam, the north-eastern sentinel of the frontiers of India, is a state richly endowed with places of tourist attractions (Fig.1.1). Assam is surrounded by six of the other Seven Sister States: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya. Assam has the second largest area after Arunachal Pradesh.
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An Analysis of Tantric Practices at Kamakhya and Tarapith
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Ambubachi Mela in Assam's Kamakhya Temple
[VOLUME 5 I ISSUE 1 I JAN. – MARCH 2018] e ISSN 2348 –1269, Print ISSN 2349-5138 http://ijrar.com/ Cosmos Impact Factor 4.236 Ambubachi Mela in Assam’s Kamakhya Temple: A Critical Analysis Sangeeta Das Research Scholar Centre for the Study of Social Systems, School of Social Sciences Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi – 110067 Received Dec. 29, 2017 Accepted Feb. 01, 2018 ABSTRACT With globalization, religion is mixing up with capitalism and consumerism. Old religious observances are finding new modern uses. Ambubachi, celebration of goddess menstruation in Assam’s Kamakhya temple has also undergone significant changes overtime. An analysis of the festival reveals its dichotomous nature. On the one hand, it celebrates menstruation and on the other hand, retains the tradition of menstrual seclusion even for Goddess Kamakhya. The strict rules and taboos that used to be a part of this festival have now become flexible. The temple premise during the period of Ambubachi has also turned more into a commercial site. Thus, although devotees continue to throng Kamakhya temple during Ambubachi mela, yet study reveals that the festival has certain attributes that deserve sincere academic scrutiny. Keywords: Ambubachi, Menstruation, Goddess, Religion. KAMAKHYA TEMPLE: A HISTORCAL ANALYSIS The Kamakhya temple is the famous Ahaar month in Assamese calendar. It is known as pilgrimage spot for the Hindus and Tantric the menses period for Goddess Kamakhya. What is worshipper located on the Nilachala hill in the worshipped at Kamakhya during Ambubachi Mela Guwahati city of the Eastern Indian state of Assam. is not an image of the Goddess but rather a The uniqueness of the temple is that there is no process: a formal process of menstruation.
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Positioning of Assam As a Culturally Rich Destination: Potentialities and Prospects
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) ISSN (Online): 2319 – 7722, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 7714 www.ijhssi.org ||Volume 9 Issue 3 Ser. IV || Mar, 2020 || PP 34-37 Positioning Of Assam as a Culturally Rich Destination: Potentialities and Prospects Deepjoonalee Bhuyan ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Date of Submission: 22-03-2020 Date of Acceptance: 08-04-2020 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- I. INTRODUCTION Cultural tourism has a special place in India because of its past civilisation. Among the various motivating factors governing travel in India, cultural tourism is undoubtedly the most important. For any foreigner, a visit to India must have a profound cultural impact and in its broader sense, tourism in India involves quite a large content of cultural content. It also plays a major role in increasing national as well as international good will and understanding. Thousands of archaeological and historical movements scattered throughout the country provide opportunites to learn about the ancient history and culture. India has been abundantly rich in its cultural heritage. Indian arts and crafts, music and dance, fairs and festivals, agriculture and forestry, astronomy and astrology, trade and transport, recreation and communication, monumental heritage, fauna and flora in wildlife and religion play a vital role in this type of tourism. Thus, it can be very well said that there remains a lot of potential for the progress of cultural tourism in India. Culturally, North East represents the Indian ethos of „unity in diversity‟ and „diversity in unity‟. It is a mini India where diverse ethnic and cultural groups of Aryans, Dravidians, Indo-Burmese, Indo Tibetan and other races have lived together since time immemorial.
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