The revered Kamakhya Temple, perched atop the Nilachal Hills in Guwahati, Assam witnessed a significant influx of worshippers as the annual Kumari Puja unfolded during the ongoing Navratri festival. This sacred ritual, central to the Navratri celebrations, honors the sanctity of the "girl child," with young girls being revered as living embodiments of the Goddess Shakti.
Since early morning, devout worshippers lined up at the temple, eager to offer their prayers to the young girls dressed as goddesses. These Kumaris are believed to symbolize the many forms of the goddess, with the ritual culminating on Navami, the ninth day of the festival, when nine Kumaris representing the nine forms of the goddess are worshipped.
The Kumari Puja at Kamakhya Temple, a focal point of Shakti worship in the region, holds particular significance during the temple’s unique observation of Durga Puja. While the rest of the country typically celebrates Durga Puja over nine days, Kamakhya extends its rituals for a full fortnight, a practice that has been followed for centuries. Known as Pakhuvapuja, the Durga Puja at Kamakhya begins on the ninth day of the waning moon, Krishna Navami, and concludes on the ninth day of the waxing moon, Sukla Navami, in the Hindu month of Ashvin.
One of the distinct features of the Kamakhya Durga Puja is the absence of any idol of Goddess Durga. Instead, worship is centered around the pitha or sanctum, where a natural conical fissure, measuring around nine inches by 15 inches, is revered as the manifestation of the goddess. Each day of the festival sees three phases of puja—pratah puja (morning), madhyahna puja (mid-day), and sahinna puja (evening)—all conducted behind closed doors by a dedicated team of priests chosen for this occasion.
"The significant aspect of the Puja is that there is no idol of Goddess Durga but the rituals are perfomred in the main sanctum sanctorum", temple doloi Kabindra Sarma told India Today NE.
"The first day of Navratri started with the worship of one Kumari and with each subsequent day, the number of Kumaris increase. Today being Saptami, the seventh day of Navratri, we have a total of 7 Kumaris present for the puja. In this way we will worship altogether 45 Kumaris up to Navami", Doloi Sarma further added.
Minor girls (generally under 11-13 years of age) are incarnations of the Mother Goddess. While performing Kumari Puja, a devotee invokes the Goddess in her. In a way it is worshipping the Goddess, doloi Sarma said.
The Kamakhya Temple’s extended Durga Puja rituals, steeped in ancient traditions, draw devotees from across the country, adding to the temple’s spiritual significance during this auspicious period.