Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela (/ˌkʊm ˈmeɪlə/ or /ˌkʊm məˈlɑː/; Devanagari: कुम्भ मेला "kumbha mēlā", Marathi कुंभमेळा) "kumbh mela" is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred river. It is considered to be largest peaceful gathering in the world with over 100 million people visiting during the Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013. It is held every third year at one of the four places by rotation: Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayaga), Nashikand Ujjain. Thus the Kumbh Mela is held at each of these four places every twelfth year. Ardha ("Half") Kumbh Mela is held at only two places, Haridwar and Allahabad, every sixth year. The rivers at these four places are: the Ganges (Ganga) at Haridwar, the confluence (Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati at Allahabad, the Godawari at Nashik, and the Shipra at Ujjain.

The name Kumbh Mela comes from Hindi, and in the original Sanskrit and other Indian languages it is more often known as Kumbha Mela. Kumbhameans a pitcher and Mela means fair in Sanskrit. The pilgrimage is held for about one and a half months at each of these four places where it is believed in Hinduism that drops of nectar fell from the kumbha carried by gods after the sea was churned. The festival is billed as the "world’s largest congregation of religious pilgrims".There is no precise method of ascertaining the number of pilgrims, and the estimates of the number of pilgrims bathing on the most auspicious day may vary; approximately 80 million people attended on 14 February 2013.

Mauni Amavasya traditionally attracted the largest crowds at the mela, held here every 12 years. The current Kumbh Mela was held on 14 January 2013 at Allahabad. The day marked the second and the biggest Shahi Snanam (royal bath) of this event, with 13 akharas taking to the Sangam. 10 Feb 2013 was the biggest bathing day at the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela and probably the largest human gathering on a single day. Over 30 million devotees and ascetics took holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya.

Haridwar Pilgrims gather at the third Shahi Snanam in Har ki Pauri to take the royal bath in Ganga River, 2010.

History

The first written evidence of the Kumbh Mela can be found in the accounts of Chinese monk Xuanzang (玄奘, alternately Hsuan Tsang) who visited India in 629–645 CE, during the reign of King Harshavardhana. However, similar observances date back many centuries, where the river festivals first started getting organised. According to medieval Hindu theology, its origin is found in one of the most popular medieval puranas, the Bhagavata Purana. TheSamudra manthan episode (Churning of the ocean of milk), is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, the Mahabharata, and theRamayana.

The account goes that the Devas had lost their strength by the curse of Durväsä Muni, and to regain it, they approached Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. They directed all the demigods to Lord Vishnu (full story on kumbh mela) and after praying to Lord Vishnu, he instructed them to churn the ocean of milk Ksheera Sagara (primordial ocean of milk) to receive amrita (the nectar of immortality). This required them to make a temporary agreement with their arch enemies, the Asuras, to work together with a promise of sharing the wealth equally thereafter.However, when the Kumbha (urn) containing the amrita appeared, a fight ensued. For twelve days and twelve nights (equivalent to twelve human years) the Devas and Asuras fought in the sky for the pot of amrita. It is believed that during the battle, Lord Vishnu (incarnated as Mohini-Mürti) flew away with the Kumbha of elixir spilling drops of amrita at four places: Allahabad (Prayag), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik.

Places

Kumbh Mela takes place every twelve years at one of four places: Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. The Mela in its different forms alternates between Prayag, Nashik, Ujjain and Haridwar every third year. The Ardha (half) Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years at only two places, Haridwar and Prayag.

• Kumbh Mela: Held at all four places.
• Ardha Kumbh Mela: Held at Haridwar and Paryag

, every 6 years.

• Purna Kumbh Mela: Held only at Prayag every 12 years.
• Maha Kumbh Mela: Held only at Prayag, every 144 years

Prayag

The Triveni Sangam, or the intersection ofYamuna River and Ganges River and the mythicalSarasvati River, where devotees perform rituals.

Triveni Sangam, the meeting place, of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Sarasvati.

Haridwar

On the bank of river Ganga.

Nashik

There are 14 Akhadas, of which 11 belong to the Shaiva sect (of the 11 Shaiva Akhadasa, one—Bhudada Akhada—is defunct, while 10 are active) and 3 to the Vaishnava sect. The Shaiva Akhadas take a holy dip at Kushavart in Trimbakeshwar, about 30 km from Nashik.^[22] The Vaishnav Akhadas perform rituals at Ramkund in Godavari and stay at Tapovan.^[23] The Vaishnava Akhadas have Khalsas (religious groups headed by Mahantas attached with Akhadas) attached with them. Both Shaiva and Vaishnava Sadhus used to take the holy dip in Trimbakeshwar, until 1838, when a clash between them led to bloodshed and the Peshwa ruler requested Shaiva sadhus to perform rituals at Trimbakeshwar and Vaishnavs to move downstream to Ramakunda in Nasik.

Ujjain

On the bank of river Shipra.