About Kumbh Mela

About Kumbh Mela, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kumbh Mela (/ˌkʊm ˈmeɪlə/ or /ˌkʊm məˈlɑː/; Devanagari: कुम्भ मेला "kumbh mēlā") is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather at a sacred river for a bath in the river. It is held every third year at one of the four places by rotation: Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Nasik and Ujjain. Thus the Kumbh Mela is held at each of these four places every twelfth year. Ardh ("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 Nasik, and the Shipra at Ujjain.
Kumbh means a pitcher and Mela means fair in Hindi. 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 Kumbh carried by gods after the sea was churned. The festival is billed as the "world’s largest congregation of religious pilgrims".[2] There is no scientific method of ascertaining the number of pilgrims even approximately and the estimates of the number of pilgrims bathing on the most auspicious day may vary widely, from 2 to 8 million depending upon the team(s) of persons making the estimate and the rough method of making the estimate.
Mauni Amavasya traditionally attracted the largest crowds at the mela, held here every 12 years. The day marked the second and the biggest Shahi Snan (royal bath) of this event, with 13 akharas taking to the Sangam. This was the biggest bathing day, 10 Feb 2013 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.[3]
The current Kumbh Mela began on 14 January 2013 at Allahabad.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Places
2.1 Prayag
2.2 Haridwar
2.3 Nashik
2.4 Ujjain
3 Venues
4 Timing
4.1 Attendance
5 The ritual
6 Most significant days during the Kumbh Mela
7 Recent Kumbha Melas
7.1 1894
7.2 2003
7.3 2007
7.4 2010
7.5 2013
8 Kumbha Mela in media
9 See also
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links
[edit]History

The first written evidence of the Kumbha Mela can be found in the accounts of Chinese monk Xuanzang (formerly romanised as Hsuan Tsang) who visited India in 629–645 CE, during the reign of King Harshavardhana.[4][5] 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. The Samudra manthan episode (Churning of the ocean of milk), is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, the Mahabharata, and the Ramayana.[6]
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[7] (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.[8] 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.[9]
[edit]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.[10][11][12] The Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years at only two places, Haridwar and Prayag.
Kumbha Mela: Held at all four places.[13]
Ardha Kumbha Mela: Held at Haridwar and Prayag, every 6 years.
Purna Kumbha Mela: Held only at Prayag every 12 years.[14]
Maha Kumbha Mela: Held only at Prayag, every 144 years.[15][16]
[edit]Prayag


The Triveni Sangam, or the intersection of Yamuna River and Ganges River and the mythical Sarasvati River, where devotees perform rituals.
Triveni Sangam, the meeting place, of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Sarasvati.[17]
[edit]Haridwar
On the bank of river Ganga.
[edit]Nashik
There are 14 Akhadas, of which 11 belong to the Shaiv sect (of the 11 Shaiv Akhadas, one—Bhudad Akhada—is defunct, while 10 are active) and 3 to the Vaishnav sect. The Shaiv Akhadas take a holy dip at Kushavart in Trimbakeshwar, about 30 km from Nashik.[18] The Vaishnav Akhadas perform rituals at Ramkund in Godavari and stay at Tapovan.[19] The Vaishnav Akhadas have Khalsas (religious groups headed by Mahants attached with Akhadas) attached with them. Both Shaiv and Vaishnav Sadhus used to take the holy dip in Trimbakeshwar, until 1838, when a clash between them led to bloodshed and the Peshwa ruler requested Shaiv sadhus to perform rituals at Trimbakeshwar and Vaishnavs to move downstream to Ramkund in Nashik.
[edit]Ujjain
On the bank of river Shipra.
[edit]Venues

YearPrayagNashikUjjainHaridwar
1983Ardh Kumbh–––
1989Purna Kumbh–––
1991–Kumbh––
1992––KumbhArdh Kumbh
1995Ardh Kumbh–––
1998–––Kumbh
2001Maha Kumbh–––
2003–Kumbh––
2004––SihasthArdh Kumbh
2007Ardh Kumbh–––
2010–––Kumbh
2013Purna Kumbh––-
2015–Kumbh––
2016––SihasthArdh Kumbh
2019Ardh Kumbh–––
2022–––Kumbh