AMBUVĀCĪ FESTIVAL AS REFLECTED IN THE GAṆGĀJALAM

Abstract

We the Indian people are the lover of festivals and prayers. We celebrate thirteen festivals in twelve months. Ambuvācī is a popular festival held annually in the great shrine of Maa Kāmākhyā at Guwahati. It falls under the seasonal festival of the Hindus that particularly associated with agriculture. Dāmodara Miśra in his Gaṇgājalam stated that the earth is in her courses from the moment of the sun entering in the Mithuna rāsi. On the seventh day at the same time the Ambuvācī starts. According to him, during the time of Ambuvācī, seeds should not be sown and all the religious rites like dāna, yajňa and vratas except the compulsory daily rites should be abandoned. Basically, Ambuvācī associated with an ancient fertility cult and incorporated in to the mother Goddess cult with Kāmākhyā as its Centre. The Gaṇgājalam of Dāmodara Miśra, present some important guidelines on the observance of Ambuvācī especially for the people of Assam and for the welfare of the society which is elaborately discussed