Kamakhya Temple in Assam
is one of the most popular Shakti Temples in India. The Durga Puja festival at Kamakhya Temple
in Assam
is unique as it is observed for 15 days. From Krishna
Paksha Navami to Ashwin Shukla Paksha Navami.
Zee News reports
"The Puja extends over a fortnight or 'paksa' and is
locally called the 'Pakhuvapuja', he said.
"The most remarkable aspect of the Puja is that there
is no image of Goddess Durga but the rituals are performed in the main 'pitha'
or the sanctum sanctorum which is a conical shaped natural fissure about nine
inches in length and 15 inches in width," noted scholar of the Board
Pradip Sarma said.
Special pujas are held each day during the fortnight with
the doors of the temple closed to devotees during rituals performed by a team
of priests selected for the occasion.
The priests are usually selected on a rotational basis each
year and they all stay together, away from their homes in the Nilachal Hills,
in the temple during the fortnight.
Among them is the main priest who performs the puja at the sanctum sanctorum,
while the other priests chant the holy scriptures or perform the role of the
'tantradharaka'.
Those who perform the yagnas are called 'hoota' and those
who meditate 'brahma', Sarma said.
The priests begin the rituals since early morning, fast
during the day and cook for themselves only one meal a day within the temple
premises, Prosenjit Sarmah, a priest or 'panda' of the temple said.
The rituals in the temple during the fortnight are observed
daily in three phases - the 'pratah puja' or the morning rituals, 'madhyahna
puja' or mid-day puja and 'sahinna puja' or the evening puja.