Kumbh Mela India
Kumbh Mela is a major religious and cultural fair of India, which is also considered the world’s largest spiritual gathering. This fair is held at four places at an interval of every 12 years:
Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) – confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers
Haridwar (Uttarakhand) – on the banks of river Ganga
Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) – on the banks of Kshipra river
Nashik (Maharashtra) – on the banks of Godavari river
Religious importance of Kumbh Mela
It is believed in Hinduism that during the churning of the ocean, there was a struggle between the gods and demons for the Amrit Kalash (Kumbh). A few drops of nectar from that Kalash fell at the above four places. Due to which Kumbh Mela is organized at these places and it is believed that bathing in these holy rivers during this fair leads to salvation.
Types of Kumbh Mela
Full Kumbh Mela – Held once every 12 years
Ardh Kumbh Mela – Held every 6 years in Prayagraj and Haridwar
Mahakumbh Mela – Held every 144 years only in Prayagraj
Mini Kumbh/Simhastha – Held in Ujjain and Nashik on special astrological coincidences
Lakhs of devotees and saints participate
Royal ride and royal bath of Akharas are very famous
Center of cultural, spiritual and religious events
In 2017, UNESCO declared Kumbh Mela as “Intangible Cultural Heritage”
Kumbh Mela – Kumbh Mela is an important festival of Hinduism, it is a festival that is celebrated by thousands of people together at one place, Kumbh Mela is the biggest fair held in India, this fair is organized at four main places of India and this fair is held once in 3 years. According to ancient stories, some drops of nectar fell from heaven at the 4 places of India where this Kumbh Mela is organized and these places are Haridwar, Prayag, Ujjain and Nashik
According to astronomical calculations, this fair begins on the day of Makar Sankranti, when the Sun and Moon enter Scorpio and Jupiter enters Aries. This combination of Makar Sankranti is called Kumbh Snan – Yoga and this day is considered to be especially auspicious,
because it is believed that the doors of the higher worlds open on this day from the earth and thus by taking a bath on this day, the soul can easily reach the higher worlds. Taking a bath here is considered to be a direct darshan of heaven.
Whatever the mythological belief, according to astrologers, the extraordinary importance of Kumbh is associated with the entry of Jupiter in Aquarius and the Sun in Aries. The position of the planets makes the Ganga water medicinal at the place Har Ki Pauri (Haridwar) situated on the banks of the Ganga flowing from Haridwar and it becomes Amritmay on those days.
This is the reason why millions of devotees come here to take a holy bath to purify their soul. From a spiritual point of view, the position of planets during the period of Ardh Kumbh is excellent for concentration and meditation. Although all Hindu festivals are celebrated with equal devotion and reverence, the number of tourists coming here for Ardh Kumbh and Kumbh Mela is the highest.
There are two-three mythological stories prevalent about the organization of Kumbh Mela, out of which the most accepted story is about the falling of drops of nectar from the Amrit Kumbh obtained by the gods and demons from churning the ocean.
According to this story, when Indra and other gods became weak due to the curse of Maharishi Durvasa, the demons attacked the gods and defeated them. Then all the gods together went to Lord Vishnu and narrated the whole story to him. Then Lord Vishnu advised them to churn the Kshir Sagar along with the demons and extract the nectar.
On hearing this from Lord Vishnu, all the gods entered into an agreement with the demons and started trying to extract the nectar. As soon as the Amrit Kumbh was released, Indra’s son Jayant flew into the sky with the Amrit Kalash at the behest of the gods. After that, as per the orders of demon Guru Shukracharya, the demons chased Jayant to take back the Amrit and after a lot of hard work, they caught Jayant in the middle of the way.
After that, there was a continuous war between the gods and demons for twelve days to get the Amrit Kalash. During this mutual fight, Amrit drops fell from the Kalash at four places on the earth (Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik).
At that time, the Moon protected the pot from spilling, the Sun protected it from bursting, the Guru protected it from the abduction of the demons and Saturn protected it from the fear of Devendra. To calm the dispute, God took the form of Mohini and distributed Amrit to everyone according to their rights and made them drink it. In this way, the war between the gods and demons was ended. There was a continuous war between the gods and demons for twelve days to get the Amrit. Twelve days of the gods are equal to twelve years of humans. Therefore, there are twelve Kumbhs too.
Out of them, four Kumbhs are on earth and the remaining eight Kumbhs are in Devlok, which can only be attained by the gods, humans do not have access there. At the time when Chandra etc. had protected the Kalash, when the planets like Moon, Sun etc. that protected the current zodiac signs of that time, come, then Kumbh Yog takes place. That is, in the year in which zodiac sign there is a conjunction of Sun, Moon and Jupiter, in the same year, in the conjunction of the same zodiac sign, wherever the Amrit drops fell, Kumbh Mela takes place there.
Many people from all over India and abroad come here with their families in Kumbh Mela. Many sages from all over India also come to this fair.
Kumbh Mela and Sadhu – According to Vedas and Puranas, there are many types of sadhus in Hinduism, Naga Sadhu and Aghori Baba. Their attire looks similar. But there is a lot of difference in their process of becoming a sadhu and their lifestyle and penance. Naga Sadhus participate in Kumbh with great enthusiasm, but Aghori Baba does not go to Kumbh.
Aghoris are made in the crematorium – To become a Naga and Aghori sadhu, one has to go through a very difficult test. The process of becoming both types of sadhus takes about 12 years. But their process is quite different. To become a Naga Sadhu, one has to take initiation in Akharas, while to become an Aghori, one has to spend many years of life in the crematorium with great difficulty.
Naga Sadhus have Gurus – In the process of becoming a Naga Sadhu, the head of the Akhara has to be considered as their Guru and then the process of becoming a Naga Sadhu is completed under his education. On the other hand, the Guru of Aghoris is Lord Shiva himself. Aghoris are considered to be the fifth incarnation of Lord Shiva. Aghoris do their penance by sitting near the dead body in the crematorium. It is believed that by doing this they get divine powers.
Nagas and Aghori eat this kind of food – Both Nagas and Aghori are non-vegetarians. Although some Nagas are vegetarians too. But Aghoris are not vegetarians, it is believed that they not only eat the flesh of animals, but they also eat the flesh of humans. They eat the flesh of dead bodies in the crematorium.
Dress of Naga and Aghori Baba – There is a lot of difference in the dress of Naga and Aghori Baba. Naga Sadhus live without clothes. Whereas Aghoris do not live like this. These true devotees of Lord Shiva cover the lower part of their body with animal hair just like him.
They perform their last rites even while they are alive. Both Nagas and Aghoris follow complete celibacy by staying away from their families. Nagas and Aghoris. Both of them have to perform their last rites first in the process of becoming sadhus. And at this time they take a vow to abandon their families as well. They become dead for their family and the rest of the world as well. And to complete their penance, they never meet their family members again.
Aghoris always spend time in the crematorium – Naga sadhus are often seen, but Aghoris are never seen anywhere. They only live in the crematorium. Whereas Naga sadhus participate enthusiastically in religious ceremonies like Kumbh and after that they go back to the Himalayas. It is believed that after visiting a Naga Sadhu, visiting an Aghori is equivalent to visiting Lord Shiva.
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