Kamkhya temple opens, lakhs throng

Guwahati, June 25(UNI) Tens of thousands of devotees thronged the Kamkhya temple this morning to have a glimpse of the Goddess Kamakhya after five days.

A conservative estimate put by the Assam Police said that more than four lakh devotees had visited the temples in the past five days. So far there have not been any untoward incident.

This morning as soon as the doors were flung open after five days of ''menstruation period'', thousands jostled to have a glimpse of the Goddess as police, para-military forces and scouts had a difficult time managing them.

Hundreds of Sadhus(Holy man) have descended from all over India to participate in the week-long Ambubachi mela at Kamkhya dham. The centre of attraction is the red piece of cloth which is considered to be most sacred. The cloth is shredded into thousands of pieces and distributed.

As the sun is out with bright weather, the vast complex have been teeming with activities as various Sadhus hold courts, displaying their amazing skills casting a mystic spell.

Many of them are known faces and scholars. They have been coming there for years and Kamkhya is considered the seat of tantras.

However, there were no Sashtri baba this time as this Oxford educated Sadhu had crossed ninety. There was so far no ''white sadhus' also who generally make appearances in the five-day fair.

No private vehicles were allowed up the Neelachal hills. Free ferry vehicles had been arranged for transporting the pilgrims, said Guwahati Superintendent of Police Pradip Pujari.

The temple, atop a hill on the banks of the Brahmaputra, is dedicated to goddess Kamakhya, consort of Lord Shiva. The idol of goddess Kamakhya inside the temple is represented by a female fertility symbol. It is believed that prayers made during this time please the goddess and is an auspicious time to attain spiritual well-being.

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