BHADRA PURNIMA
Venue: Ambaji Shrine.
Held In: August/September. August/September.
The Shrine Of Ambaji
The shrine of the Goddess Ambaji located in the village bearing her name,
lies at the foothills of the Aravalli mountain range. It is the principal
shrine of the Goddess in Gujarat and its origins to this location as far
back as AD 746.The deity is represented by a triangular VISHWA Yantra,
inscribed with figures and the syllable 'Shree' in the centre. There is no
idol. This is a fact testifying to the temple's antiquity since worship of
images of deities became popular much later.
An Original Shakti Pitha The temple of Ambaji is recognised as
one of the original "Shakti Pithas" where, according to the
ancient scriptures written about the goddess the heart of the Goddess
Ambaji feel to earth when her body was dismembered. It is said that the
tonsorial ceremony of Shri Krishna was performed at Ambaji!
Bhadra Purnima Fair 
On full moon days there is a virtual festival at Ambaji, but the full
moon of Bhadrapad is one of the four most important festival days of the
year, when agriculturists go to the temple in their thousands, along with
members of the general public. There is a large fair on this occasion,
while in the evening performances of Bhavai are held, and Garba programmes
are organised. The devout attend readings of the Saptashati, the seven
hundred verses in praise of the goddess, and visit the temple for an
auspicious View, Darshan, of her.
EXCURSIONS
There are other holy places around Ambaji, which pilgrims usually visit
on such occasions. One such place is Gabbargadh, a small hill two miles
west of Ambaji. There is a Pipal tree at the top, which pilgrims
circumambulate.
Kumbhariya, although a small village, is famous because it holds five
Jain temples dedicated to different Jain Tirthankaras. Koteshwar, three
miles away is famous because the hill near the temple of Koteshwar Mahadev
is the source of the Saraswati River. Pilgrims usually bathe in the Kund
into which water from the Saraswati flows
