Kamakhya Devi Red Cloth or Ambubachi Cloth

Suppose you are planning to visit the Kamakhya temple of Guwahati. In that case, your friends or relatives might have repeatedly requested that you bring Kamakhya Devi Red Cloth or the famous Ambubachi Bastra from the temple. Many people visit the Kamakhya temple yearly, and only a few know about this divine thing. This blog will cover every detail regarding Kamakhya Devi Red Cloth or Ambubachi Cloth, its price, where to buy it and how it came into being.

Story Behind Kamakhya Devi Red Cloth or Ambubachi Cloth?

To understand the complex history and origin of this tradition, you must know the story of the Kamakhya Devi temple. In brief, the story is like this.

After the death of Devi Sati (wife of Shiva), Lord Shiva full of grief carried the dead body of Devi Sati on his shoulder and roamed the whole universe without having any purpose or destination. To bring back normalcy into the universe, Lord Vishnu with the help of his Spinning Wheel (Sudarshan chakra) made fifty-one parts of her body. The places where the body parts of Sati fell were all turned into holy, religious, places for worshipping her. It is believed that out of the fifty-one body parts, one of them namely the female sexual organ (yoni or vagina) fell above the Nilachal hill of Kamrup and later developed into the Kamakhya Temple.

So, the temple is based basically on yoni-worship, a part of tantric practice that was prevalent in Assam. The tradition has been continued for ages.

How the Tradition is Followed Today

It is believed that Maa Kamakhya, just like any other woman, undergoes a menstruation cycle. For the Goddess, it is once a year. The cycle of menstruation of Maa Kamakhya Devi falls in June (preferably in the second or third week of June). During this period, the temple gate of Maa Kamakhya Temple is closed for three days.

During this period, the sculptured image of the Yoni of the Goddess is draped with a cloth. The yoni of the Goddess is located in the inner temple and hidden in a cave and it is an object of reverence. The cloth draped around the image is considered very sacred. It is commonly known as Kamakhya Devi Red Cloth or Ambubachi Cloth or Maa Kamakhya Rakta Bastra. “Rakta Bastra” means “cloth soaked in blood” in Assamese.

Many people visit the temple to obtain the Rakta Bastra, or Red Cloth; some keep it as a souvenir, while others cherish it as part of their beliefs.

Myth Behind Kamakhya Devi Red Cloth or Rakta Bastra

It is believed that a white cloth is placed around the sculpture of Yoni during the Ambubachi Mela. However, after three days the cloth turns red. The same thing is observed with the waters of Brahmaputra near the temple during Ambubachi Mela. The colour of the Brahmaputra river turns red during this time. Legend has it that the blood discharge of the Devi during her periods is reason behind it.

Myth vs Reality surrounding this cloth

In actual, the colour of the Brahmaputra river does not turn red during this time. Similarly, the colour of the cloth does not turn automatically red. Instead, a red silk cloth is draped around yoni shaped structure.

When the temple is kept closed for 4 days, that’s when Maa Kamakhya secretly menstruates but no human being actually gets to see it. The little water infront of the Maa’s yoni, does turn red but when the doors are opened, the red water, say vanishes or turns normal and is not seen by any human eye.

Kamakhya Devi Red Cloth Benefits

The benefits of this cloth is based on folklore and myth. Many believes in the divine power of Maa Kamakhya Devi and believe this cloth would cure many shortcomings of human life. According to these myths, these are the benefits of Raktra Bastra:

• It can make it possible for a couple who have had trouble having babies to finally have a child, even if they’ve had miscarriages or fertility issues.
• It can keep away bad things and make good things happen.
• When a couple ties knots in cloth on their right side, it helps make their married life happy and successful.

How To Get Kamakhya Devi Rakta Bastra and Sindoor

The red cloth and sindoor of the Maa Kamakhya Temple is the most sought after thing among the visitors. Many people have commercialised it after seeing so much demand. You can easily visit the stalls near the temple complex, find these clothes and buy them.

However, these are not authentic. The original clothes are kept by priests of the temple and are not easily available in the open market.

To get the red cloth of Kamakhya Devi Temple, you can ask the priests who are sitting in the inner sanctorum of the temple. They would provide the authentic Rakta Bastra and Sindoor.

Note: If you want the real Kamakhya Devi Rakta Bastra and Sindoor, visit the temple and get them from the priests.

What is the price of Rakta Bastra and Sindoor of Kamakhya Temple?

As told earlier the red cloth and sindoor can be bought at the rate of Rs. 500/- and Rs. 200/- respectively. But, no one can guarantee the authenticity of these clothes.

The original ones are priceless. It means when you ask the priests for the red cloth, they would provide you free of cost. You can donate money to the temple in return. The priests won’t demand any money for the rakta bastra and sindoor of Kamakhya.

Actually, many consider it a corrupt practice to take money for Kamakhya Temple red cloth and sindoor.

What To Do with The Ambubachi Cloth?

Now that you have brought Kamakhya Devi Ambubachi Bastra to your home. You can place this divine thing in your Mandir or site of business. There are specific guidelines regarding keeping the Ambubachi Bastra at your home.

You must know that Kamakhya Devi Red Cloth should not be kept in open. It should be covered all the time. You should put in a box (glass, plastic or any material) and fully cover the box with flowers. Before placing the cloth inside the bowl, you should put a few grains of rice (akshat) inside the bowl and place the cloth above it.

Remember that the cloth should not be visible from the outside. Normally, fresh flowers are desired, but you can cover it up with artificial flowers also. Once you are done with this arrangement, you can place the bowl in your prayer hall.

You can also wear this red cloth on your hands; ladies on left arm and gents on right arm. Alternatively, you can wear it as a talisman (taweez) in any place of your body. For more details, you can read this blog about how to worship Kamakhya Devi at home.

If you are planning to visit Kamakhya Temple, read this blog for travel guidelines and tips.