The Bhadarvi Purnima Mela is the greatest annual pilgrimage to the Ambaji temple in Banaskantha, north Gujarat, when vast processions of padayatris walk from across the state to the shrine of the Mother Goddess. It culminates on Bhadrapada Purnima (September), the full moon of the month of Bhadarvo.
When: Bhadrapada (Bhadarvo) Purnima — the full moon of September; the mela builds over the preceding days from Ekadashi
Where: Ambaji town in the Arasur hills, Banaskantha district, north Gujarat, near the Rajasthan border
Deity: Amba Mata — the Mother Goddess, worshipped as the Visa Yantra; the temple is revered among the Shakti Peethas
Observance: Padayatra on foot to Ambaji with flags and chanting, darshan of the Yantra, and ascent of Gabbar hill, the Goddess's original seat
Regional name: Bhadarvi Poonam no Melo (Gujarati)
The Goddess without an image
Ambaji, in the Arasur hills where the Aravalli range meets north Gujarat, is one of the most revered Goddess seats in western India. Tradition counts it among the Shakti Peethas — the places where parts of Sati's body fell as Shiva carried her — and holds that her heart fell here. The temple's most striking feature is that it enshrines no image at all: the object of worship is the Visa Yantra, a sacred geometric diagram, kept veiled and decorated so that from a distance it appears as the Goddess enthroned; even the priests do not look upon it directly with the naked eye. Some kilometres away rises Gabbar hill, honoured as the Devi's original abode, its summit shrine reached by steps or ropeway. Pilgrimage here is ancient and continuous, but one full moon outshines the rest: Bhadarvi Purnima, when the Goddess's children come home on foot.
The walking festival
In the days before the full moon of Bhadarvo, the roads of north Gujarat fill with padayatris — pilgrims walking to Ambaji from Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Palanpur and villages far beyond, some covering hundreds of kilometres over many days. They walk in sanghs, groups under red flags bearing the Goddess's name, chanting 'Bol mari Ambe, Jai Jai Ambe' as they go. The walk is itself the worship, and it is carried by seva: along every route, volunteers set up camps offering food, tea, medical aid and places to rest, holding that to serve the Mother's pilgrims is to serve the Mother. The fair reaches Ambaji town as an ocean of devotees for darshan of the Visa Yantra, the climb to Gabbar, garba through the nights and the maha-aarti of Purnima. The mela is regularly described as gathering pilgrims in the tens of lakhs, making it one of India's largest annual walking pilgrimages.
Bhadarvi Purnima from Ottawa & Canada
The heart of this festival — walking to the Mother — belongs to the roads of north Gujarat, but its devotion travels. Families in Canada with a bond to Ambaji commonly keep Bhadarvi Purnima at home with a full-moon puja to Amba Mata: a decorated image or framed yantra picture, red chunari and flowers, the Ambaji aarti and garba songs in the evening, and the fast or satvik meal many households observe on Purnima. The temple trust broadcasts the mela's aartis, and live streams and coverage are easy to find during the fair days — watching the sea of flags with children is a moving way to pass the tradition on. Some diaspora families sponsor seva at the route camps through relatives, or plan an Ambaji darshan into a September India trip. This site's calendar shows each month's Purnima, including Bhadrapada's, for any year.
Each link opens our computed festival calendar with exact dates and timings for your city.
Questions
Is there really no idol in the Ambaji temple?
Correct — the sanctum enshrines the Visa Yantra, a sacred geometric diagram of the Goddess, rather than a carved image. It is adorned in such a way that devotees perceive the form of the Mother, and by temple custom it is never photographed and not gazed at directly even by the priests.
What is the significance of Gabbar hill?
Gabbar, a hill a few kilometres from the main temple, is revered as the original seat of Amba Mata; tradition also associates it with the childhood tonsure of Krishna. Pilgrims to the Bhadarvi Purnima Mela customarily complete their yatra with darshan at the Gabbar summit shrine, reached by steps or ropeway.
Do pilgrims have to walk to Ambaji?
No — the temple is open to all and reachable by road year-round. The padayatra is a voluntary act of devotion particular to Bhadarvi Purnima, when lakhs choose to arrive on foot; countless others come by bus and car and share fully in the darshan and festivities.
Source: Living temple tradition of the Arasuri Ambaji temple, Banaskantha, Gujarat. Regional versions may vary — this text follows the version most widely used in community worship.