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Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela (/ˌkʊmb ˈmlə/) is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism.[1] It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati (Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Prayagraj (Ganges-Yamuna-Sarasvati rivers confluence), Haridwar (Ganges), Nashik (Godavari), and Ujjain (Shipra).[1][2] The festival is marked by a ritual dip in the waters, but it is also a celebration of community commerce with numerous fairs, education, religious discourses by saints, mass gatherings of monks, and entertainment.[3][4] The seekers believe that bathing in these rivers is a means to prāyaścitta (atonement, penance, restorative action) for past mistakes,[5] and that it cleanses them of their sins.[6]

Kumbh Mela / Kumbha Mela
GenrePilgrimage
FrequencyEvery three years
Location(s)Alternately in Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain
Kumbh Mela
CountryIndia
DomainsReligious pilgrimage, rituals, social practices and festive events
Reference01258
RegionAsia and the Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription2017 (12th session)
ListRepresentative
A 2019 stamp dedicated to Kumbh Mela

The festival is traditionally credited to the 8th-century Hindu philosopher and saint Adi Shankara, as a part of his efforts to start major Hindu gatherings for philosophical discussions and debates along with Hindu monasteries across the Indian subcontinent.[1] However, there is no historical literary evidence of these mass pilgrimages called "Kumbha Mela" prior to the 19th century. There is ample evidence in historical manuscripts[7] and inscriptions[8] of an annual Magha Mela in Hinduism – with periodic larger gatherings after 6 or 12 years – where pilgrims gathered in massive numbers and where one of the rituals included a sacred dip in a river or holy tank. According to Kama MacLean, the socio-political developments during the colonial era and a reaction to Orientalism led to the rebranding and remobilisation of the ancient Magha Mela as the modern era Kumbh Mela, particularly after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[2]

The weeks over which the festival is observed cycle at each site approximately once every 12 years[note 1] based on the Hindu luni-solar calendar and the relative astrological positions of Jupiter, the sun and the moon. The difference in Prayag and Haridwar festivals is about 6 years, and both feature a Maha (major) and Ardha (half) Kumbh Melas. The exact years – particularly for the Kumbh Melas at Ujjain and Nashik – have been a subject of dispute in the 20th century. The Nashik and Ujjain festivals have been celebrated in the same year or one year apart,[10] typically about 3 years after the Allahabad / Prayagraj Kumbh Mela.[11] Elsewhere in many parts of India, similar but smaller community pilgrimage and bathing festivals are called the Magha Mela, Makar Mela or equivalent. For example, in Tamil Nadu, the Magha Mela with water-dip ritual is a festival of antiquity. This festival is held at the Mahamaham tank (near Kaveri river) every 12 years at Kumbakonam, attracts millions of South Indian Hindus and has been described as the Tamil Kumbh Mela.[12][13] Other places where the Magha-Mela or Makar-Mela bathing pilgrimage and fairs have been called Kumbh Mela include Kurukshetra,[14][15] Sonipat,[16] and Panauti (Nepal).[17]

The Kumbh Melas have three dates around which the significant majority of pilgrims participate, while the festival itself lasts between one[18] and three months around these dates.[19] Each festival attracts millions, with the largest gathering at the Prayag Kumbh Mela and the second largest at Haridwar.[20] According to the Encyclopædia Britannica and Indian authorities, more than 200 million Hindus gathered for the Kumbh Mela in 2019, including 50 million on the festival's most crowded day.[1] The festival is one of the largest peaceful gatherings in the world, and considered as the "world's largest congregation of religious pilgrims".[21] It has been inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[22][23] The festival is observed over many days, with the day of Amavasya attracting the largest number on a single day. The Kumbh Mela authorities said that the largest one-day attendance at the Kumbh Mela was 30 million on 10 February 2013,[24][25] and 50 million on 4 February 2019.[26][27][28]

Etymology and nomenclature edit

The Kumbha in Kumbha Mela literally means "pitcher, jar, pot" in Sanskrit.[29] It is found in the Vedic texts, in this sense, often in the context of holding water or in mythical legends about the nectar of immortality.[29] The word Kumbha or its derivatives are found in the Rigveda (1500–1200 BCE), for example, in verse 10.89.7; verse 19.16 of the Yajurveda, verse 6.3 of Samaveda, verse 19.53.3 of the Atharvaveda, and other Vedic and post-Vedic ancient Sanskrit literature.[30] In astrological texts, the term also refers to the zodiac sign of Aquarius.[29] The astrological etymology dates to late 1st-millennium CE, likely influenced by Greek zodiac ideas.[31][32][33]

The word mela means "unite, join, meet, move together, assembly, junction" in Sanskrit, particularly in the context of fairs, community celebration. This word too is found in the Rigveda and other ancient Hindu texts.[29][34] Thus, Kumbh Mela means an "assembly, meet, union" around "water or nectar of immortality".[29]

 
A pot (kumbha) containing Amrita was one of the creative product of the Samudra Manthana legend in ancient Hindu texts.
 
Large crowds at the Ganga (Ganges) on a major bathing day in the 2019 Kumbh Mela

Mythology edit

Many Hindus believe that the Kumbh Mela originated in times immemorial and is attested in the Hindu mythology about Samudra Manthana (lit. churning of the ocean) found in the Vedic texts.[35] Historians, in contrast, reject these claims as none of the ancient or medieval era texts that mention the Samudra Manthana legend ever link it to a "mela" or festival. According to Giorgio Bonazzoli – a scholar of Sanskrit Puranas, these are anachronistic explanations, an adaptation of early legends to a later practice by a "small circle of adherents" who have sought roots of a highly popular pilgrimage and festival.[35][36]

 
The first page of Prayag Snana Vidhi manuscript (Sanskrit, Devanagari script). It describes methods to complete a bathing pilgrimage at Prayag. The manuscript (1674 CE) has a colophon, which states "Copied by Sarvottama, son of Vishvanatha Bhatta, Samvat 1752".[37]

This Hindu legend describes the creation of a "pot of amrita (nectar of immortality)" after the forces of good and evil churn the ocean of creation. The gods and demons fight over this pot, the "kumbha", of nectar in order to gain immortality. In a later day extension to the legend, the pot is spilled at four places, and that is the origin of the four Kumbha Melas. The story varies and is inconsistent, with some stating Vishnu as Mohini avatar, others stating Dhanavantari or Garuda or Indra spilling the pot.[2] This "spilling" and associated Kumbh Mela story is not found in the earliest mentions of the original legend of Samudra Manthana (churning of the ocean) such as the Vedic era texts (pre-500 BCE).[38][39] Nor is this story found in the later era Puranas (3rd to 10th-century CE).[2][38]

While the Kumbha Mela phrase is not found in the ancient or medieval era texts, numerous chapters and verses in Hindu texts are found about a bathing festival, the sacred junction of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati at Prayag, and pilgrimage to Prayag. These are in the form of Snana (bathe) ritual and in the form of Prayag Mahatmya (greatness of Prayag, historical tour guides in Sanskrit).[40]

History edit

The earliest mention of Prayag and the bathing pilgrimage is found in Rigveda Pariśiṣṭa (supplement to the Rigveda).[41] It is also mentioned in the Pali canons of Buddhism, such as in section 1.7 of Majjhima Nikaya, wherein the Buddha states that bathing in Payaga (Skt: Prayaga) cannot wash away cruel and evil deeds, rather the virtuous one should be pure in heart and fair in action.[42] The Mahabharata mentions a bathing pilgrimage at Prayag as a means of prāyaścitta (atonement, penance) for past mistakes and guilt.[5] In Tirthayatra Parva, before the great war, the epic states "the one who observes firm [ethical] vows, having bathed at Prayaga during Magha, O best of the Bharatas, becomes spotless and reaches heaven."[43] In Anushasana Parva, after the war, the epic elaborates this bathing pilgrimage as "geographical tirtha" that must be combined with Manasa-tirtha (tirtha of the heart) whereby one lives by values such as truth, charity, self-control, patience and others.[44]

There are other references to Prayaga and river-side festivals in ancient Indian texts, including at the places where present-day Kumbh Melas are held, but the exact age of the Kumbh Mela is uncertain. The 7th-century Buddhist Chinese traveller Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) mentions king Harsha and his capital of Prayag, which he states to be a sacred Hindu city with hundreds of "deva temples" and two Buddhist institutions. He also mentions the Hindu bathing rituals at the junction of the rivers.[45] According to some scholars, this is the earliest surviving historical account of the Kumbh Mela, which took place in present-day Prayag in 644 CE.[46][47][48]

Kama MacLean – an Indologist who has published articles on the Kumbh Mela predominantly based on the colonial archives and English-language media,[49] states based on emails from other scholars and a more recent interpretation of the 7th-century Xuanzang memoir, the Prayag event happened every 5 years (and not 12 years), featured a Buddha statue, involved alms giving and it might have been a Buddhist festival.[50] In contrast, Ariel Glucklich – a scholar of Hinduism and Anthropology of Religion, the Xuanzang memoir includes, somewhat derisively, the reputation of Prayag as a place where people (Hindus) once committed superstitious devotional suicide to liberate their souls, and how a Brahmin of an earlier era successfully put an end to this practice. This and other details such as the names of temples and bathing pools suggest that Xuanzang presented Hindu practices at Prayag in the 7th-century, from his Buddhist perspective and perhaps to "amuse his audience back in China", states Glucklich.[45]

Other early accounts of the significance of Prayag to Hinduism is found in the various versions of the Prayaga Mahatmya, dated to the late 1st-millennium CE. These Purana-genre Hindu texts describe it as a place "bustling with pilgrims, priests, vendors, beggars, guides" and local citizens busy along the confluence of the rivers (Sangam).[40][51] These Sanskrit guide books of the medieval era India were updated over its editions, likely by priests and guides who had a mutual stake in the economic returns from the visiting pilgrims. One of the longest sections about Prayag rivers and its significance to Hindu pilgrimage is found in chapters 103–112 of the Matsya Purana.[40]

Evolution of earlier melas to Kumbh Melas edit

Exceedingly old pilgrimage
There is evidence enough to suggest that although the Magh Mela – or at least, the tradition of religious festival at the triveni [Prayag] – is exceedingly old, the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad is much more recent.

Maclean (2008), p. 91

According to James Lochtefeld – a scholar of Indian religions, the phrase Kumbh Mela and historical data about it is missing in early Indian texts. However, states Lochtefeld, these historical texts "clearly reveal large, well-established bathing festivals" that were either annual or based on the twelve-year cycle of planet Jupiter.[52] Manuscripts related to Hindu ascetics and warrior-monks – akharas fighting the Islamic Sultanates and Mughal Empire era – mention bathing pilgrimage and a large periodic assembly of Hindus at religious festivals associated with bathing, gift-giving, commerce and organisation.[52] An early account of the Haridwar Kumbh Mela was published by Captain Thomas Hardwicke in 1796 CE.[52]

 
Hindu pilgrims heading to the Kumbh Mela site

According to James Mallinson – a scholar of Hindu yoga manuscripts and monastic institutions, bathing festivals at Prayag with large gatherings of pilgrims are attested since "at least the middle of the first millennium CE", while textual evidence exists for similar pilgrimage at other major sacred rivers since the medieval period.[19] Four of these morphed under the Kumbh Mela brand during the East India Company rule (British colonial era) when it sought to control the war-prone monks and the lucrative tax and trade revenues at these Hindu pilgrimage festivals.[19] Additionally, the priests sought the British administration to recognise the festival and protect their religious rights.[19]

The 16th-century Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas mentions an annual Mela in Prayag, as does a Muslim historian's Ain-i-Akbari (c. 1590 CE).[53] The latter Akbar-era Persian text calls Prayag (spells it Priyag) the "king of shrines" for the Hindus, and mentions that it is considered particularly holy in the Hindu month of Magha.[53] The late 16th-century Tabaqat-i-Akbari also records of an annual bathing festival at Prayag sangam where "various classes of Hindus came from all sides of the country to bathe, in such numbers, that the jungles and plains [around it] were unable to hold them".[53]

The Kumbh Mela of Haridwar appears to be the original Kumbh Mela, since it is held according to the astrological sign "Kumbha" (Aquarius), and because there are several references to a 12-year cycle for it. The later Mughal Empire era texts that contain the term "Kumbha Mela" in Haridwar's context include Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh (1695–1699 CE),[53] and Chahar Gulshan (1759 CE).[54] The Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh also mentions an annual bathing pilgrimage festival in Prayag, but it does not call it Kumbh.[53] Both these Mughal era texts use the term "Kumbh Mela" to describe only Haridwar's fair, mentioning a similar fair held in Prayag and Nashik. The Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh lists the following melas: an annual mela and a Kumbh Mela every 12 years at Haridwar; a mela held at Trimbak when Jupiter enters Leo (that is, once in 12 years); and an annual mela held at Prayag (in modern Prayagraj) in Magh.[55][54]

Like the Prayag mela, the bathing pilgrimage mela at Nasik and Ujjain are of considerable antiquity. However, these were referred to as Singhasth mela, and the phrase "Kumbh mela" is yet to be found in literature prior to the 19th-century. The phrases such as "Maha Kumbh" and "Ardh Kumbh" in the context of the ancient religious pilgrimage festivals with a different name at Prayag, Nasik and Ujjain are evidently of a more modern era.[56]

 
The Ashoka pillar (photo c. 1900) contains many inscriptions since the 3rd-century BCE. Sometime about 1575 CE, Birbal of Akbar's era added an inscription that mentions the "Magh mela at Prayag Tirth Raj".[41][57]

The Magh Mela of Prayag is probably the oldest among the four modern day Kumbh Melas. It dates from the early centuries CE, given it has been mentioned in several early Puranas.[55] However, the name Kumbh for these more ancient bathing pilgrimages probably dates to the mid-19th century. D. P. Dubey states that none of the ancient Hindu texts call the Prayag fair as a "Kumbh Mela". Kama Maclean states that the early British records do not mention the name "Kumbh Mela" or the 12-year cycle for the Prayag fair. The first British reference to the Kumbh Mela in Prayag occurs only in an 1868 report, which mentions the need for increased pilgrimage and sanitation controls at the "Coomb fair" to be held in January 1870. According to Maclean, the Prayagwal Brahmin priests of Prayag coopted the Kumbh legend and brand to the annual Prayag Magh Mela given the socio-political circumstances in the 19th-century.[2]

The Kumbh Mela at Ujjain began in the 18th century, when the Maratha ruler Ranoji Shinde invited ascetics from Nashik to Ujjain for a local festival.[55] Like the priests at Prayag, those at Nashik and Ujjain, competing with other places for a sacred status, may have adopted the Kumbh tradition for their pre-existing Magha melas.[2]

Akharas: Warrior monks, recruitment drive and logistics edit

One of the key features of the Kumbh mela has been the camps and processions of the sadhus (monks).[58] By the 18th-century, many of these had organised into one of thirteen akharas (warrior ascetic bands, monastic militia), of which ten were related to Hinduism and three related to Sikhism. Seven have belonged to the Shaivism tradition, three to Vaishnavism, two to Udasis (founded by Guru Nanak's son) and one to Nirmalas.[58] These soldier-monk traditions have been a well-established feature of the Indian society, and they are prominent feature of the Kumbh melas.[58]

 
Haridwar Kumbh Mela by the English painter J. M. W. Turner. Steel engraving, c. 1850s.

Until the East India Company rule, the Kumbh Melas (Magha Melas) were managed by these akharas. They provide logistical arrangements, policing, intervened and judged any disputes and collected taxes. They also have been a central attraction and a stop for mainstream Hindus who seek their darsana (meeting, view) as well as spiritual guidance and blessings.[58] The Kumbh Melas have been one of their recruitment and initiation venues, as well as the place to trade.[19][59] These akharas have roots in the Hindu Naga (naked) monks tradition, who went to war without clothes.[58] These monastic groups traditionally credit the Kumbh mela to the 8th-century Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara, as a part of his efforts to start monastic institutions (matha),[60] and major Hindu gatherings for philosophical discussions and debates.[1] However, there is no historic literary evidence that he actually did start the Kumbh melas.[56]

During the 17th-century, the akharas competed for ritual primacy, priority rights to who bathes first or at the most auspicious time, and prominence leading to violent conflicts.[58] The records from the East India Company rule era report of violence between the akharas and numerous deaths.[59][61][62] At the 1760 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, a clash broke out between Shaivite Gosains and Vaishnavite Bairagis (ascetics), resulting in hundreds of deaths. A copper plate inscription of the Maratha Peshwa claims that 12,000 ascetics died in a clash between Shaivite sanyasis and Vaishnavite bairagis at the 1789 Nashik Kumbh Mela. The dispute started over the bathing order, which then indicated status of the akharas.[61] At the 1796 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, violence broke out between the Shaivites and the Udasis on logistics and camping rights.[63][62]

The repetitive clashes, battle-ready nature of the warrior monks, and the lucrative tax and trading opportunities at Kumbh melas in the 18th-century attracted the attention of the East India Company officials.[19] They intervened, laid out the camps, trading spaces, and established a bathing order for each akhara. After 1947, the state governments have taken over this role and provide the infrastructure for the Kumbh mela in their respective states.[19][64]

The Kumbh Melas attract many loner sadhus (monks) who do not belong to any akharas. Of those who do belong to a group, the thirteen active akharas have been,[65]

  • 7 Shaiva akharas:[note 2] Mahanirvani, Atal, Niranjani, Anand, Juna, Avahan, and Agni
  • 3 Vaishnava akharas:[note 3] Nirvani, Digambar, and Nirmohi
  • 3 Sikh akharas: Bara Panchayati Udasins, Chota Panchayati Udasins, and Nirmal

The ten Shaiva and Vaishnava akharas are also known as the Dasanamis, and they believe that Adi Shankara founded them and one of their traditional duties is dharma-raksha (protection of faith).[66]

Significance and impact edit

 
 
Kumbh Melas feature many trade, fairs, charity, community singing, religious recitations, and entertainment spectacles. Left: Anna Dāna event at Prayag Kumbh, feeding monks and poor; Right: A dance performance.

The Kumbh melas of the past, albeit with different regional names, attracted large attendance and have been religiously significant to the Hindus for centuries. However, they have been more than a religious event to the Hindu community. Historically the Kumbh Melas were also major commercial events, initiation of new recruits to the akharas, prayers and community singing, spiritual discussions, education and a spectacle.[3][4] During the colonial era rule of the East India Company, its officials saw the Hindu pilgrimage as a means to collect vast sums of revenue through a "pilgrim tax" and taxes on the trade that occurred during the festival. According to Dubey, as well as Macclean, the Islamic encyclopaedia Yadgar-i-Bahaduri written in 1834 Lucknow, described the Prayag festival and its sanctity to the Hindus.[53][67] The British officials, states Dubey, raised the tax to amount greater than average monthly income and the attendance fell drastically.[67][68] The Prayagwal pandas initially went along, according to colonial records, but later resisted as the impact of the religious tax on the pilgrims became clear. In 1938, Lord Auckland abolished the pilgrim tax and vast numbers returned to the pilgrimage thereafter. According to Macclean, the colonial records of this period on the Prayag Mela present a biased materialistic view given they were written by colonialists and missionaries.[68]

Baptist missionary John Chamberlain, who visited the 1824 Ardh Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, stated that a large number of visitors came there for trade. He also includes a 1814 letter from his missionary friend who distributed copies of the Gospel to the pilgrims and tried to convert some to Christianity.[69] According to an 1858 account of the Haridwar Kumbh Mela by the British civil servant Robert Montgomery Martin, the visitors at the fair included people from a number of races and clime. Along with priests, soldiers, and religious mendicants, the fair had horse traders from Bukhara, Kabul, Turkistan as well as Arabs and Persians. The festival had roadside merchants of food grains, confectioners, clothes, toys and other items. Thousands of pilgrims in every form of transport as well as on foot marched to the pilgrimage site, dressed in colourful costumes, some without clothes, occasionally shouting "Mahadeo Bol" and "Bol, Bol" together. At night the river banks and camps illuminated with oil lamps, fireworks burst over the river, and innumerable floating lamps set by the pilgrims drifted downstream of the river. Several Hindu rajas, Sikh rulers and Muslim Nawabs visited the fair. Europeans watched the crowds and few Christian missionaries distributed their religious literature at the Hardwar Mela, wrote Martin.[70]

 
A cultural program pandal at Prayag Kumbh Mela (2019)

Prior to 1838, the British officials collected taxes but provided no infrastructure or services to the pilgrims.[67][68] This changed particularly after 1857. According to Amna Khalid, the Kumbh Melas emerged as one of the social and political mobilisation venues and the colonial government became keen on monitoring these developments after the Indian rebellion of 1857. The government deployed police to gain this intelligence at the grassroots level of Kumbh Mela.[71] The British officials in co-operation with the native police also made attempts to improve the infrastructure, movement of pilgrims to avoid a stampede, detect sickness, and the sanitary conditions at the Melas. Reports of cholera led the officials to cancel the pilgrimage, but the pilgrims went on "passive resistance" and stated they preferred to die rather than obey the official orders.[71][72]

Massacres, stampedes and scandals edit

The Kumbh Melas have been sites of tragedies. According to Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi – the historian and biographer of the Turco-Mongol raider and conqueror Timur, his armies plundered Haridwar and massacred the gathered pilgrims. The ruthlessly slaughtered pilgrims were likely those attending the Kumbh mela of 1399.[73][74][75] The Timur accounts mention the mass bathing ritual along with shaving of head, the sacred river Ganges, charitable donations, the place was at the mountainous source of the river and that pilgrims believed a dip in the sacred river leads to their salvation.[74]

Several stampedes have occurred at the Kumbh Melas. After an 1820 stampede at Haridwar killed 485 people, the Company government took extensive infrastructure projects, including the construction of new ghats and road widening, to prevent further stampedes.[76] The various Kumbh melas, in the 19th- and 20th-century witnessed sporadic stampedes, each tragedy leading to changes in how the flow of pilgrims to and from the river and ghats was managed.[77] In 1986, 50 people were killed in a stampede.[78] The Prayag Kumbh mela in 1885 became a source of scandal when a Muslim named Husain was appointed as the Kumbh Mela manager, and Indian newspaper reports stated that Husain had "organised a flotilla of festooned boats for the pleasure of European ladies and gentlemen, and entertained them with dancing girls, liquor and beef" as they watched the pilgrims bathing.[79]

1857 rebellion and the Independence movement edit

According to the colonial archives, the Prayagwal community associated with the Kumbh Mela were one of those who seeded and perpetuated the resistance and 1857 rebellion to the colonial rule.[80] Prayagwals objected to and campaigned against the colonial government supported Christian missionaries and officials who treated them and the pilgrims as "ignorant co-religionists" and who aggressively tried to convert the Hindu pilgrims to a Christian sect. During the 1857 rebellion, Colonel Neill targeted the Kumbh mela site and shelled the region where the Prayagwals lived, destroying it in what Maclean describes as a "notoriously brutal pacification of Allahabad".[80] "Prayagwals targeted and destroyed the mission press and churches in Allahabad". Once the British had regained control of the region, the Prayagwals were persecuted by the colonial officials, some convicted and hanged, while others for whom the government did not have proof enough to convict were persecuted. Large tracts of Kumbh mela lands near the Ganga-Yamuna confluence were confiscated and annexed into the government cantonment. In the years after 1857, the Prayagwals and the Kumbh Mela pilgrim crowds carried flags with images alluding to the rebellion and the racial persecution. The British media reported these pilgrim assemblies and protests at the later Kumbh Mela as strangely "hostile" and with "disbelief", states Maclean.[80]

The Kumbh Mela continued to play an important role in the independence movement through 1947, as a place where the native people and politicians periodically gathered in large numbers. In 1906, the Sanatan Dharm Sabha met at the Prayag Kumbh Mela and resolved to start the Banaras Hindu University in Madan Mohan Malaviya's leadership.[81] Kumbh Melas have also been one of the hubs for the Hindutva movement and politics. In 1964, the Vishva Hindu Parishad was founded at the Haridwar Kumbh Mela.[82]

Rising attendance and scale edit

 
Kumbh Mela – a dip in the waters is one of the key rituals

The historical and modern estimates of attendance vary greatly between sources. For example, the colonial era Imperial Gazetteer of India reported that between 2 and 2.5 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh mela in 1796 and 1808, then added these numbers may be exaggerations. Between 1892 and 1908, in an era of major famines, cholera and plague epidemics in British India, the pilgrimage dropped to between 300,000 and 400,000.[83]

During World War II, the colonial government banned the Kumbh Mela to conserve scarce supplies of fuel. The ban, coupled with false rumours that Japan planned to bomb and commit genocide at the Kumbh mela site, led to sharply lower attendance at the 1942 Kumbh mela than prior decades when an estimated 2 to 4 million pilgrims gathered at each Kumbh mela.[84] After India's independence, the attendance rose sharply. On amavasya – one of the three key bathing dates, over 5 million attended the 1954 Kumbh, about 10 million attended the 1977 Kumbh while the 1989 Kumbh attracted about 15 million.[84]

On 14 April 1998, 10 million pilgrims attended the Kumb Mela at Haridwar on the busiest single day, according to the Himalayan Academy editors.[85] In 2001, IKONOS satellite images confirmed a very large human gathering,[86][87] with officials estimating 70 million people over the festival,[87] including more than 40 million on the busiest single day according to BBC News.[88] Another estimate states that about 30 million attended the 2001 Kumbh mela on the busiest mauni amavasya day alone.[84]

 
Cooking at Kumbh Mela in 2019

In 2007, as many as 70 million pilgrims attended the 45-day long Ardha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.[89] In 2013, 120 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.[25] Nasik has registered maximum visitors to 75 million.[6]

Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj is the largest in the world, the attendance and scale of preparation of which keeps rising with each successive celebration. For the 2019 Ardh Kumbh at Prayagraj, the preparations include a 42,000 million (equivalent to 52 billion or US$650 million in 2023) temporary city over 2,500 hectares with 122,000 temporary toilets and range of accommodation from simple dormitory tents to 5-star tents, 800 special trains by the Indian Railways, artificially intelligent video surveillance and analytics by IBM, disease surveillance, river transport management by Inland Waterways Authority of India, and an app to help the visitors.[90]

The Kumbh mela is "widely regarded as the world's largest religious gathering", states James Lochtefeld.[91] According to Kama Maclean, the coordinators and attendees themselves state that a part of the glory of the Kumbh festival is in that "feeling of brotherhood and love" where millions peacefully gather on the river banks in harmony and a sense of shared heritage.[92]

Calendar, locations and preparation edit

Types edit

The Kumbh Mela are classified as:[93]

  • The Purna Kumbh Mela (sometimes just called Kumbh or "full Kumbha"), occurs every 12 years at a given site.
  • The Ardh Kumbh Mela ("half Kumbh") occurs approximately every 6 years between the two Purna Kumbha Melas at Prayagraj and Haridwar.[93]
  • The Maha Kumbh, which occurs every 12 Purna Kumbh Melas i.e. after every 144 years.[citation needed]

For the 2019 Prayagraj Kumbh Mela, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the Ardh Kumbh Mela (organised every 6 years) will simply be known as "Kumbh Mela", and the Kumbh Mela (organised every 12 years) will be known as "Maha Kumbh Mela" ("Great Kumbh Mela").[94]

Locations edit

 
Kumbh Mela at Haridwar
 
Nashik Pilgrims gather for the Shahi Snan (royal bath) in Ramkund in Dakshin Ganga River, c. 1991

Numerous sites and fairs have been locally referred to be their Kumbh Melas. Of these, four sites are broadly recognised as the Kumbh Melas: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Trimbak-Nashik and Ujjain.[95][93] Other locations that are sometimes called Kumbh melas – with the bathing ritual and a significant participation of pilgrims – include Kurukshetra,[96] and Sonipat.[16]

Dates edit

Each site's celebration dates are calculated in advance according to a special combination of zodiacal positions of Bṛhaspati (Jupiter), Surya (the Sun) and Chandra (the Moon). The relative years vary between the four sites, but the cycle repeats about every 12 years. Since Jupiter's orbit completes in 11.86 years, a calendar year adjustment appears in approximately 8 cycles. Therefore, approximately once a century, the Kumbh mela returns to a site after 11 years.[9]

Place River Zodiac[97] Season, months First bathing date[9] Second date[9] Third date[9]
Haridwar Ganga Jupiter in Aquarius, Sun in Aries Spring, Chaitra (January–April) Shivaratri Chaitra Amavasya (new moon) Mesh Sankranti
Prayagraj[note 4] Ganga and Yamuna junction Jupiter in Aries, Sun and Moon in Capricorn; or Jupiter in Taurus, Sun in Capricorn Winter, Magha (January–February) Makar Sankranti Magh Amavasya Vasant Panchami
Trimbak-Nashik Godavari Jupiter in Leo; or Jupiter, Sun and Moon enters in Cancer on lunar conjunction Summer, Bhadrapada (August–September) Simha sankranti Bhadrapada Amavasya Devotthayan Ekadashi
Ujjain Shipra Jupiter in Leo and Sun in Aries; or Jupiter, Sun, and Moon in Libra on Kartik Amavasya Spring, Vaisakha (April–May) Chaitra Purnima Chaitra Amavasya Vaisakh Purnima

Past years edit

Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj is celebrated approximately 3 years after Kumbh at Haridwar and 3 years before Kumbh at Nashik and Ujjain (both of which are celebrated in the same year or one year apart).[97]

Year Prayagraj Haridwar Trimbak (Nashik) Ujjain
1980 Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela
1981
1982
1983
1984 Ardh Kumbh Mela
1985
1986 Kumbh Mela
1987
1988
1989 Kumbh Mela
1990
1991
1992 Ardh Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela
1993
1994
1995 Ardh Kumbh Mela
1996
1997
1998 Kumbh Mela
1999
2000
2001 Maha Kumbh Mela
2002
2003 Kumbh Mela
2004 Ardh Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela
2005
2006
2007 Ardh Kumbh Mela
2008
2009
2010 Kumbh Mela
2011
2012
2013 Kumbh Mela
2014
2015 Kumbh Mela
2016 Ardh Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela
2017
2018
2019 Ardh Kumbh Mela
2020
2021[98] Kumbh Mela
2022
2023
2024
2025 Kumbh Mela
2026
2027 Kumbh Mela
2028 Kumbh Mela

Historical Festival management edit

The Kumbh Mela attracts tens of millions of pilgrims. Providing for a safe and pleasant temporary stay at the festival site is a complex and challenging task. The camping (santhas/akharas), food, water, sanitation, emergency health care, fire services, policing, disaster management preparations, the movement of people require significant prior planning.[99] Further, assistance to those with special needs and lost family members through Bhule-Bhatke Kendra demands extensive onsite communication and co-ordination.[99] In the case of Prayag in particular, the festival site is predominantly submerged during the monsoon months. The festival management workers have only two and a half months to start and complete the construction of all temporarily infrastructure necessary for the pilgrims, making the task even more challenging.[99]

In 2013, the Indian government authorities, in co-operation with seva volunteers, monks and Indian companies, set up 11 sectors with 55 camp clusters, providing round-the-clock first aid, ambulance, pharmacy, sector cleaning, sanitation, food and water distribution (setting up 550 kilometres (340 mi) of pipelines operated by 42 pumps), cooking fuel, and other services. According to Baranwal et al., their 13-day field study of the 2013 Kumbh mela found that "the Mela committee and all other agencies involved in Mela management successfully supervised the event and made it convenient, efficient and safe,"[99] an assessment shared by the US-based Center for Disease Control for the Nasik Kumbh mela.[100]

Rituals edit

Bathing and processions edit

 
Naga sadhu at a Kumbh procession (1998)
 
Water dip at the Kumbh festival

Bathing, or a dip in the river waters, with a prayer, is the central ritual of the Kumbh Melas for all pilgrims. Traditionally, on amavasya – the most cherished day for bathing – the Hindu pilgrims welcome and wait for the thirteen sadhu akharas to bathe first. This event – called shahi snan or rajyogi snan – is marked by a celebratory processional march, with banners, flags, elephants, horses and musicians along with the naked or scantily clad monks,[note 5] some smeared with bhasma (ashes).[65][101] These monastic institutions come from different parts of India, have a particular emblem symbol and deity (Ganesha, Dattatreya, Hanuman, etc.).[65][102] The largest contingent is the Juna akhara, traced to Adi Shankara, representing a diverse mix from the four of the largest Hindu monasteries in India with their headquarters at Sringeri, Dvarka, Jyotirmatha and Govardhana. The Mahanirbani and Niranjani are the other large contingents, and each akhara has their own lineage of saints and teachers. Large crowds gather in reverence and cheer for this procession of monks. Once these monks have taken the dip, the festival day opens for bathing by the pilgrims from far and near the site.[65][101][103]

The bathing ritual by the pilgrims may be aided by a Prayagwal priest or maybe a simple dip that is private. When aided, the rituals may begin with mundan (shaving of head), prayers with offerings such as flowers, sindur (vermilion), milk or coconut, along with the recitation of hymns with shradha (prayers in the honour of one's ancestors).[104] More elaborate ceremonies include a yajna (homa) led by a priest.[104] After these river-side rituals, the pilgrim then takes a dip in the water, stands up, prays for a short while, then exits the river waters. Many then proceed to visit old Hindu temples near the site.[104]

The motivations for the bathing ritual are several. The most significant is the belief that the tirtha (pilgrimage) to the Kumbh Mela sites and then bathing in these holy rivers has a salvific value, moksha – a means to liberation from the cycle of rebirths (samsara).[105] The pilgrimage is also recommended in Hindu texts to those who have made mistakes or sinned, repent their errors and as a means of prāyaścitta (atonement, penance) for these mistakes.[5][106] Pilgrimage and bathing in holy rivers with a motivation to do penance and as a means to self-purify has Vedic precedents and is discussed in the early dharma literature of Hinduism.[106] Its epics such as the Mahabharata describe Yudhisthira in a state full of sorrow and despair after participating in the violence of the great war that killed many. He goes to a saint, who advises him to go on a pilgrimage to Prayag and bathe in river Ganges as a means of penance.[107]

Feasts, festivities and discussions edit

 
A cultural event at a Kumbh Mela pandal

Some pilgrims walk considerable distances and arrive barefoot, as a part of their religious tradition. Most pilgrims stay for a day or two, but some stay the entire month of Magh during the festival and live an austere life during the stay. They attend spiritual discourses, fast and pray over the month, and these Kumbh pilgrims are called kalpavasis.[108]

The festival site is strictly vegetarian[108] by tradition, as violence against animals is considered unacceptable. Many pilgrims practice partial (one meal a day) or full vrata (day-long fasting), some abstain from elaborate meals.[104] These ritual practices are punctuated by celebratory feasts where vast number of people sit in rows and share a community meal – mahaprasada – prepared by volunteers from charitable donations. By tradition, families and companies sponsor these anna dana (food charity) events, particularly for the monks and the poor pilgrims.[104] The management has established multiple food stalls, offering delicacies from different states of India.[109][110]

Other activities at the mela include religious discussions (pravachan), devotional singing (kirtan), and religious assemblies where doctrines are debated and standardised (shastrartha).[6] The festival grounds also feature a wide range of cultural spectacles over the month of celebrations. These include kalagram (venues of kala, Indian arts), laser light shows, classical dance and musical performances from different parts of India, thematic gates reflecting the historic regional architectural diversity, boat rides, tourist walks to historic sites near the river, as well opportunities to visit the monastic camps to watch yoga adepts and spiritual discourses.[111]

Darshan edit

 
A sadhu at Maha Kumbh, 2013

Darshan, or viewing, is an important part of the Kumbh Mela. People make the pilgrimage to the Kumbh Mela specifically to observe and experience both the religious and secular aspects of the event. Two major groups that participate in the Kumbh Mela include the Sadhus (Hindu holy men) and pilgrims. Through their continual yogic practices the Sadhus articulate the transitory aspect of life. Sadhus travel to the Kumbh Mela to make themselves available to much of the Hindu public. This allows members of the Hindu public to interact with the Sadhus and to take "darshan". They are able to "seek instruction or advice in their spiritual lives." Darshan focuses on the visual exchange, where there is interaction with a religious deity and the worshiper is able to visually "'drink' divine power." The Kumbh Mela is arranged in camps that give Hindu worshipers access to the Sadhus. The darshan is important to the experience of the Kumbh Mela and because of this worshipers must be careful so as to not displease religious deities. Seeing of the Sadhus is carefully managed and worshipers often leave tokens at their feet.[6]

In culture edit

Kumbh Mela has been theme for many documentaries, including Kings with Straw Mats (1998) directed by Ira Cohen, Kumbh Mela: The Greatest Show on Earth (2001) directed by Graham Day,[112] Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela (2004) directed by Nick Day and produced by "Maurizio Benazzo",[113] Kumbh Mela: Songs of the River (2004) by Nadeem Uddin,[114] Invocation, Kumbh Mela (2008), Kumbh Mela 2013: Living with Mahatiagi (2013) by the Ukrainian Religious Studies Project Ahamot,[115] and Kumbh Mela: Walking with the Nagas (2011), Amrit: Nectar of Immortality (2012) directed by Jonas Scheu and Philipp Eyer.[116]

In 2007, National Geographic filmed and broadcast a documentary of the Prayag Kumbh Mela, named Inside Nirvana, under the direction of Karina Holden with the scholar Kama Maclean as a consultant.[108] In 2013, the National Geographic returned and filmed the Inside the Mahakumbh. Indian and foreign news media have covered the Kumbh Mela regularly. On 18 April 2010, a popular American morning show CBS News Sunday Morning extensively covered Haridwar's Kumbh Mela, calling it "The Largest Pilgrimage on Earth". On 28 April 2010, the BBC reported an audio and a video report on Kumbh Mela, titled "Kumbh Mela: 'greatest show on earth'".[citation needed] On 30 September 2010, the Kumbh Mela featured in the second episode of the Sky One TV series An Idiot Abroad with Karl Pilkington visiting the festival.[citation needed]

Young siblings getting separated at the Kumbh Mela were once a recurring theme in Hindi movies.[117] Amrita Kumbher Sandhane, a 1982 Bengali feature film directed by Dilip Roy, also documents the Kumbh Mela.

Ashish Avikunthak's Bengali-language feature length fiction film Kalkimanthakatha (2015), was shot in the Prayag Kumbh Mela in 2013. In this film, two characters search for the tenth avatar and the final avtar of Lord VishnuKalki, in the lines of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.[118][119]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Approximately once a century, the Kumbh Mela returns after 11 years. This is because of Jupiter's orbit of 11.86 years. With each 12-year cycle per the Georgian calendar, a calendar year adjustment appears in approximately 8 cycles.[9]
  2. ^ They are also called Gosains.[66]
  3. ^ They are also called Bairagis.[66]
  4. ^ The sangam site is known as Prayag, sometimes Tirtharaj (lit. "king of pilgrimages")
  5. ^ The right to be naga, or naked, is considered a sign of separation from the material world.[6]

References edit

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  111. ^ Kumbh Mela: The Greatest Show on Earth at IMDb  
  112. ^ "Short Cut to Nirvana – A Documentary about the Kumbh Mela Spiritual Festival". Mela Films.
  113. ^ Kumbh Mela: Songs of the River at IMDb  
  114. ^ Агеєв. . Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  115. ^ "Amrit:Nectar of Immortality". Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  116. ^ "Why twins no longer get separated at Kumbh Mela". rediff.com. 15 January 2010.
  117. ^ "Eyes Wide Open". Indian Express. 29 July 2015.
  118. ^ "Uncertified film screening at Kolkata gallery miffs CBFC". Times of India. 17 March 2017.

Bibliography edit

  • Kane, P. V. (1953). History of Dharmaśāstra: Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Law in India. Vol. 4.
  • Maclean, Kama (28 August 2008). Pilgrimage and Power: The Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 1765–1954. OUP USA. ISBN 978-0-19-533894-2.
  • Krishnaswamy, C.S.; Ghosh, Amalananda (October 1935). "A Note on the Allahabad Pillar of Aśoka". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 4 (4): 697–706. JSTOR 25201233.
  • Pingree, David (1973). "The Mesopotamian Origin of Early Indian Mathematical Astronomy". Journal for the History of Astronomy. SAGE. 4 (1): 1–12. Bibcode:1973JHA.....4....1P. doi:10.1177/002182867300400102. S2CID 125228353.
  • Pingree, David (1981). Jyotihśāstra : Astral and Mathematical Literature. Otto Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3447021654.
  • Yukio Ohashi (1999). Johannes Andersen (ed.). Highlights of Astronomy, Volume 11B. Springer Science. ISBN 978-0-7923-5556-4.
  • Harvard University, South Asia Institute (2015) Kumbh Mela: Mapping the Ephemeral Megacity New Delhi: Niyogi Books. ISBN 9789385285073
  • Kumbh Mela and The Sadhus,(English, Paperback, Badri Narain and Kedar Narain) Pilgrims Publishings, India, ISBN 9788177698053, 8177698052
  • KUMBH : Sarvjan – Sahbhagita ka Vishalatam Amritparva with 1 Disc (Hindi, Paperback, Ramanand)Pilgrims Publishings, India,ISBN 9788177696714, 8177696718

External links edit

  •   Media related to Kumbh Mela at Wikimedia Commons
  • Kumbh Mela : Magical Celebration of Life' Documentary


kumbh, mela, kumbha, mela, major, pilgrimage, festival, hinduism, celebrated, cycle, approximately, years, celebrate, every, revolution, brihaspati, jupiter, completes, four, river, bank, pilgrimage, sites, prayagraj, ganges, yamuna, sarasvati, rivers, conflue. Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela ˌ k ʊ m b ˈ m eɪ l e is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism 1 It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati Jupiter completes at four river bank pilgrimage sites Prayagraj Ganges Yamuna Sarasvati rivers confluence Haridwar Ganges Nashik Godavari and Ujjain Shipra 1 2 The festival is marked by a ritual dip in the waters but it is also a celebration of community commerce with numerous fairs education religious discourses by saints mass gatherings of monks and entertainment 3 4 The seekers believe that bathing in these rivers is a means to prayascitta atonement penance restorative action for past mistakes 5 and that it cleanses them of their sins 6 Kumbh Mela Kumbha MelaPrayag Kumbh Mela in 2013GenrePilgrimageFrequencyEvery three yearsLocation s Alternately in Prayagraj Haridwar Nashik and UjjainKumbh MelaUNESCO Intangible Cultural HeritageCountryIndiaDomainsReligious pilgrimage rituals social practices and festive eventsReference01258RegionAsia and the PacificInscription historyInscription2017 12th session ListRepresentativeA 2019 stamp dedicated to Kumbh MelaThe festival is traditionally credited to the 8th century Hindu philosopher and saint Adi Shankara as a part of his efforts to start major Hindu gatherings for philosophical discussions and debates along with Hindu monasteries across the Indian subcontinent 1 However there is no historical literary evidence of these mass pilgrimages called Kumbha Mela prior to the 19th century There is ample evidence in historical manuscripts 7 and inscriptions 8 of an annual Magha Mela in Hinduism with periodic larger gatherings after 6 or 12 years where pilgrims gathered in massive numbers and where one of the rituals included a sacred dip in a river or holy tank According to Kama MacLean the socio political developments during the colonial era and a reaction to Orientalism led to the rebranding and remobilisation of the ancient Magha Mela as the modern era Kumbh Mela particularly after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 2 The weeks over which the festival is observed cycle at each site approximately once every 12 years note 1 based on the Hindu luni solar calendar and the relative astrological positions of Jupiter the sun and the moon The difference in Prayag and Haridwar festivals is about 6 years and both feature a Maha major and Ardha half Kumbh Melas The exact years particularly for the Kumbh Melas at Ujjain and Nashik have been a subject of dispute in the 20th century The Nashik and Ujjain festivals have been celebrated in the same year or one year apart 10 typically about 3 years after the Allahabad Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 11 Elsewhere in many parts of India similar but smaller community pilgrimage and bathing festivals are called the Magha Mela Makar Mela or equivalent For example in Tamil Nadu the Magha Mela with water dip ritual is a festival of antiquity This festival is held at the Mahamaham tank near Kaveri river every 12 years at Kumbakonam attracts millions of South Indian Hindus and has been described as the Tamil Kumbh Mela 12 13 Other places where the Magha Mela or Makar Mela bathing pilgrimage and fairs have been called Kumbh Mela include Kurukshetra 14 15 Sonipat 16 and Panauti Nepal 17 The Kumbh Melas have three dates around which the significant majority of pilgrims participate while the festival itself lasts between one 18 and three months around these dates 19 Each festival attracts millions with the largest gathering at the Prayag Kumbh Mela and the second largest at Haridwar 20 According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Indian authorities more than 200 million Hindus gathered for the Kumbh Mela in 2019 including 50 million on the festival s most crowded day 1 The festival is one of the largest peaceful gatherings in the world and considered as the world s largest congregation of religious pilgrims 21 It has been inscribed on the UNESCO s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 22 23 The festival is observed over many days with the day of Amavasya attracting the largest number on a single day The Kumbh Mela authorities said that the largest one day attendance at the Kumbh Mela was 30 million on 10 February 2013 24 25 and 50 million on 4 February 2019 26 27 28 Contents 1 Etymology and nomenclature 1 1 Mythology 2 History 2 1 Evolution of earlier melas to Kumbh Melas 2 2 Akharas Warrior monks recruitment drive and logistics 3 Significance and impact 3 1 Massacres stampedes and scandals 3 2 1857 rebellion and the Independence movement 3 3 Rising attendance and scale 4 Calendar locations and preparation 4 1 Types 4 2 Locations 4 3 Dates 4 4 Past years 4 5 Historical Festival management 5 Rituals 5 1 Bathing and processions 5 2 Feasts festivities and discussions 5 3 Darshan 6 In culture 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 9 1 Bibliography 10 External linksEtymology and nomenclature editThe Kumbha in Kumbha Mela literally means pitcher jar pot in Sanskrit 29 It is found in the Vedic texts in this sense often in the context of holding water or in mythical legends about the nectar of immortality 29 The word Kumbha or its derivatives are found in the Rigveda 1500 1200 BCE for example in verse 10 89 7 verse 19 16 of the Yajurveda verse 6 3 of Samaveda verse 19 53 3 of the Atharvaveda and other Vedic and post Vedic ancient Sanskrit literature 30 In astrological texts the term also refers to the zodiac sign of Aquarius 29 The astrological etymology dates to late 1st millennium CE likely influenced by Greek zodiac ideas 31 32 33 The word mela means unite join meet move together assembly junction in Sanskrit particularly in the context of fairs community celebration This word too is found in the Rigveda and other ancient Hindu texts 29 34 Thus Kumbh Mela means an assembly meet union around water or nectar of immortality 29 nbsp A pot kumbha containing Amrita was one of the creative product of the Samudra Manthana legend in ancient Hindu texts nbsp Large crowds at the Ganga Ganges on a major bathing day in the 2019 Kumbh MelaMythology edit Many Hindus believe that the Kumbh Mela originated in times immemorial and is attested in the Hindu mythology about Samudra Manthana lit churning of the ocean found in the Vedic texts 35 Historians in contrast reject these claims as none of the ancient or medieval era texts that mention the Samudra Manthana legend ever link it to a mela or festival According to Giorgio Bonazzoli a scholar of Sanskrit Puranas these are anachronistic explanations an adaptation of early legends to a later practice by a small circle of adherents who have sought roots of a highly popular pilgrimage and festival 35 36 nbsp The first page of Prayag Snana Vidhi manuscript Sanskrit Devanagari script It describes methods to complete a bathing pilgrimage at Prayag The manuscript 1674 CE has a colophon which states Copied by Sarvottama son of Vishvanatha Bhatta Samvat 1752 37 This Hindu legend describes the creation of a pot of amrita nectar of immortality after the forces of good and evil churn the ocean of creation The gods and demons fight over this pot the kumbha of nectar in order to gain immortality In a later day extension to the legend the pot is spilled at four places and that is the origin of the four Kumbha Melas The story varies and is inconsistent with some stating Vishnu as Mohini avatar others stating Dhanavantari or Garuda or Indra spilling the pot 2 This spilling and associated Kumbh Mela story is not found in the earliest mentions of the original legend of Samudra Manthana churning of the ocean such as the Vedic era texts pre 500 BCE 38 39 Nor is this story found in the later era Puranas 3rd to 10th century CE 2 38 While the Kumbha Mela phrase is not found in the ancient or medieval era texts numerous chapters and verses in Hindu texts are found about a bathing festival the sacred junction of rivers Ganga Yamuna and mythical Saraswati at Prayag and pilgrimage to Prayag These are in the form of Snana bathe ritual and in the form of Prayag Mahatmya greatness of Prayag historical tour guides in Sanskrit 40 History editThe earliest mention of Prayag and the bathing pilgrimage is found in Rigveda Parisiṣṭa supplement to the Rigveda 41 It is also mentioned in the Pali canons of Buddhism such as in section 1 7 of Majjhima Nikaya wherein the Buddha states that bathing in Payaga Skt Prayaga cannot wash away cruel and evil deeds rather the virtuous one should be pure in heart and fair in action 42 The Mahabharata mentions a bathing pilgrimage at Prayag as a means of prayascitta atonement penance for past mistakes and guilt 5 In Tirthayatra Parva before the great war the epic states the one who observes firm ethical vows having bathed at Prayaga during Magha O best of the Bharatas becomes spotless and reaches heaven 43 In Anushasana Parva after the war the epic elaborates this bathing pilgrimage as geographical tirtha that must be combined with Manasa tirtha tirtha of the heart whereby one lives by values such as truth charity self control patience and others 44 There are other references to Prayaga and river side festivals in ancient Indian texts including at the places where present day Kumbh Melas are held but the exact age of the Kumbh Mela is uncertain The 7th century Buddhist Chinese traveller Xuanzang Hiuen Tsang mentions king Harsha and his capital of Prayag which he states to be a sacred Hindu city with hundreds of deva temples and two Buddhist institutions He also mentions the Hindu bathing rituals at the junction of the rivers 45 According to some scholars this is the earliest surviving historical account of the Kumbh Mela which took place in present day Prayag in 644 CE 46 47 48 Kama MacLean an Indologist who has published articles on the Kumbh Mela predominantly based on the colonial archives and English language media 49 states based on emails from other scholars and a more recent interpretation of the 7th century Xuanzang memoir the Prayag event happened every 5 years and not 12 years featured a Buddha statue involved alms giving and it might have been a Buddhist festival 50 In contrast Ariel Glucklich a scholar of Hinduism and Anthropology of Religion the Xuanzang memoir includes somewhat derisively the reputation of Prayag as a place where people Hindus once committed superstitious devotional suicide to liberate their souls and how a Brahmin of an earlier era successfully put an end to this practice This and other details such as the names of temples and bathing pools suggest that Xuanzang presented Hindu practices at Prayag in the 7th century from his Buddhist perspective and perhaps to amuse his audience back in China states Glucklich 45 Other early accounts of the significance of Prayag to Hinduism is found in the various versions of the Prayaga Mahatmya dated to the late 1st millennium CE These Purana genre Hindu texts describe it as a place bustling with pilgrims priests vendors beggars guides and local citizens busy along the confluence of the rivers Sangam 40 51 These Sanskrit guide books of the medieval era India were updated over its editions likely by priests and guides who had a mutual stake in the economic returns from the visiting pilgrims One of the longest sections about Prayag rivers and its significance to Hindu pilgrimage is found in chapters 103 112 of the Matsya Purana 40 Evolution of earlier melas to Kumbh Melas edit Exceedingly old pilgrimage There is evidence enough to suggest that although the Magh Mela or at least the tradition of religious festival at the triveni Prayag is exceedingly old the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad is much more recent Maclean 2008 p 91 According to James Lochtefeld a scholar of Indian religions the phrase Kumbh Mela and historical data about it is missing in early Indian texts However states Lochtefeld these historical texts clearly reveal large well established bathing festivals that were either annual or based on the twelve year cycle of planet Jupiter 52 Manuscripts related to Hindu ascetics and warrior monks akharas fighting the Islamic Sultanates and Mughal Empire era mention bathing pilgrimage and a large periodic assembly of Hindus at religious festivals associated with bathing gift giving commerce and organisation 52 An early account of the Haridwar Kumbh Mela was published by Captain Thomas Hardwicke in 1796 CE 52 nbsp Hindu pilgrims heading to the Kumbh Mela siteAccording to James Mallinson a scholar of Hindu yoga manuscripts and monastic institutions bathing festivals at Prayag with large gatherings of pilgrims are attested since at least the middle of the first millennium CE while textual evidence exists for similar pilgrimage at other major sacred rivers since the medieval period 19 Four of these morphed under the Kumbh Mela brand during the East India Company rule British colonial era when it sought to control the war prone monks and the lucrative tax and trade revenues at these Hindu pilgrimage festivals 19 Additionally the priests sought the British administration to recognise the festival and protect their religious rights 19 The 16th century Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas mentions an annual Mela in Prayag as does a Muslim historian s Ain i Akbari c 1590 CE 53 The latter Akbar era Persian text calls Prayag spells it Priyag the king of shrines for the Hindus and mentions that it is considered particularly holy in the Hindu month of Magha 53 The late 16th century Tabaqat i Akbari also records of an annual bathing festival at Prayag sangam where various classes of Hindus came from all sides of the country to bathe in such numbers that the jungles and plains around it were unable to hold them 53 The Kumbh Mela of Haridwar appears to be the original Kumbh Mela since it is held according to the astrological sign Kumbha Aquarius and because there are several references to a 12 year cycle for it The later Mughal Empire era texts that contain the term Kumbha Mela in Haridwar s context include Khulasat ut Tawarikh 1695 1699 CE 53 and Chahar Gulshan 1759 CE 54 The Khulasat ut Tawarikh also mentions an annual bathing pilgrimage festival in Prayag but it does not call it Kumbh 53 Both these Mughal era texts use the term Kumbh Mela to describe only Haridwar s fair mentioning a similar fair held in Prayag and Nashik The Khulasat ut Tawarikh lists the following melas an annual mela and a Kumbh Mela every 12 years at Haridwar a mela held at Trimbak when Jupiter enters Leo that is once in 12 years and an annual mela held at Prayag in modern Prayagraj in Magh 55 54 Like the Prayag mela the bathing pilgrimage mela at Nasik and Ujjain are of considerable antiquity However these were referred to as Singhasth mela and the phrase Kumbh mela is yet to be found in literature prior to the 19th century The phrases such as Maha Kumbh and Ardh Kumbh in the context of the ancient religious pilgrimage festivals with a different name at Prayag Nasik and Ujjain are evidently of a more modern era 56 nbsp The Ashoka pillar photo c 1900 contains many inscriptions since the 3rd century BCE Sometime about 1575 CE Birbal of Akbar s era added an inscription that mentions the Magh mela at Prayag Tirth Raj 41 57 The Magh Mela of Prayag is probably the oldest among the four modern day Kumbh Melas It dates from the early centuries CE given it has been mentioned in several early Puranas 55 However the name Kumbh for these more ancient bathing pilgrimages probably dates to the mid 19th century D P Dubey states that none of the ancient Hindu texts call the Prayag fair as a Kumbh Mela Kama Maclean states that the early British records do not mention the name Kumbh Mela or the 12 year cycle for the Prayag fair The first British reference to the Kumbh Mela in Prayag occurs only in an 1868 report which mentions the need for increased pilgrimage and sanitation controls at the Coomb fair to be held in January 1870 According to Maclean the Prayagwal Brahmin priests of Prayag coopted the Kumbh legend and brand to the annual Prayag Magh Mela given the socio political circumstances in the 19th century 2 The Kumbh Mela at Ujjain began in the 18th century when the Maratha ruler Ranoji Shinde invited ascetics from Nashik to Ujjain for a local festival 55 Like the priests at Prayag those at Nashik and Ujjain competing with other places for a sacred status may have adopted the Kumbh tradition for their pre existing Magha melas 2 Akharas Warrior monks recruitment drive and logistics edit One of the key features of the Kumbh mela has been the camps and processions of the sadhus monks 58 By the 18th century many of these had organised into one of thirteen akharas warrior ascetic bands monastic militia of which ten were related to Hinduism and three related to Sikhism Seven have belonged to the Shaivism tradition three to Vaishnavism two to Udasis founded by Guru Nanak s son and one to Nirmalas 58 These soldier monk traditions have been a well established feature of the Indian society and they are prominent feature of the Kumbh melas 58 nbsp Haridwar Kumbh Mela by the English painter J M W Turner Steel engraving c 1850s Until the East India Company rule the Kumbh Melas Magha Melas were managed by these akharas They provide logistical arrangements policing intervened and judged any disputes and collected taxes They also have been a central attraction and a stop for mainstream Hindus who seek their darsana meeting view as well as spiritual guidance and blessings 58 The Kumbh Melas have been one of their recruitment and initiation venues as well as the place to trade 19 59 These akharas have roots in the Hindu Naga naked monks tradition who went to war without clothes 58 These monastic groups traditionally credit the Kumbh mela to the 8th century Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara as a part of his efforts to start monastic institutions matha 60 and major Hindu gatherings for philosophical discussions and debates 1 However there is no historic literary evidence that he actually did start the Kumbh melas 56 During the 17th century the akharas competed for ritual primacy priority rights to who bathes first or at the most auspicious time and prominence leading to violent conflicts 58 The records from the East India Company rule era report of violence between the akharas and numerous deaths 59 61 62 At the 1760 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar a clash broke out between Shaivite Gosains and Vaishnavite Bairagis ascetics resulting in hundreds of deaths A copper plate inscription of the Maratha Peshwa claims that 12 000 ascetics died in a clash between Shaivite sanyasis and Vaishnavite bairagis at the 1789 Nashik Kumbh Mela The dispute started over the bathing order which then indicated status of the akharas 61 At the 1796 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar violence broke out between the Shaivites and the Udasis on logistics and camping rights 63 62 The repetitive clashes battle ready nature of the warrior monks and the lucrative tax and trading opportunities at Kumbh melas in the 18th century attracted the attention of the East India Company officials 19 They intervened laid out the camps trading spaces and established a bathing order for each akhara After 1947 the state governments have taken over this role and provide the infrastructure for the Kumbh mela in their respective states 19 64 The Kumbh Melas attract many loner sadhus monks who do not belong to any akharas Of those who do belong to a group the thirteen active akharas have been 65 7 Shaiva akharas note 2 Mahanirvani Atal Niranjani Anand Juna Avahan and Agni 3 Vaishnava akharas note 3 Nirvani Digambar and Nirmohi 3 Sikh akharas Bara Panchayati Udasins Chota Panchayati Udasins and NirmalThe ten Shaiva and Vaishnava akharas are also known as the Dasanamis and they believe that Adi Shankara founded them and one of their traditional duties is dharma raksha protection of faith 66 Significance and impact edit nbsp nbsp Kumbh Melas feature many trade fairs charity community singing religious recitations and entertainment spectacles Left Anna Dana event at Prayag Kumbh feeding monks and poor Right A dance performance The Kumbh melas of the past albeit with different regional names attracted large attendance and have been religiously significant to the Hindus for centuries However they have been more than a religious event to the Hindu community Historically the Kumbh Melas were also major commercial events initiation of new recruits to the akharas prayers and community singing spiritual discussions education and a spectacle 3 4 During the colonial era rule of the East India Company its officials saw the Hindu pilgrimage as a means to collect vast sums of revenue through a pilgrim tax and taxes on the trade that occurred during the festival According to Dubey as well as Macclean the Islamic encyclopaedia Yadgar i Bahaduri written in 1834 Lucknow described the Prayag festival and its sanctity to the Hindus 53 67 The British officials states Dubey raised the tax to amount greater than average monthly income and the attendance fell drastically 67 68 The Prayagwal pandas initially went along according to colonial records but later resisted as the impact of the religious tax on the pilgrims became clear In 1938 Lord Auckland abolished the pilgrim tax and vast numbers returned to the pilgrimage thereafter According to Macclean the colonial records of this period on the Prayag Mela present a biased materialistic view given they were written by colonialists and missionaries 68 Baptist missionary John Chamberlain who visited the 1824 Ardh Kumbh Mela at Haridwar stated that a large number of visitors came there for trade He also includes a 1814 letter from his missionary friend who distributed copies of the Gospel to the pilgrims and tried to convert some to Christianity 69 According to an 1858 account of the Haridwar Kumbh Mela by the British civil servant Robert Montgomery Martin the visitors at the fair included people from a number of races and clime Along with priests soldiers and religious mendicants the fair had horse traders from Bukhara Kabul Turkistan as well as Arabs and Persians The festival had roadside merchants of food grains confectioners clothes toys and other items Thousands of pilgrims in every form of transport as well as on foot marched to the pilgrimage site dressed in colourful costumes some without clothes occasionally shouting Mahadeo Bol and Bol Bol together At night the river banks and camps illuminated with oil lamps fireworks burst over the river and innumerable floating lamps set by the pilgrims drifted downstream of the river Several Hindu rajas Sikh rulers and Muslim Nawabs visited the fair Europeans watched the crowds and few Christian missionaries distributed their religious literature at the Hardwar Mela wrote Martin 70 nbsp A cultural program pandal at Prayag Kumbh Mela 2019 Prior to 1838 the British officials collected taxes but provided no infrastructure or services to the pilgrims 67 68 This changed particularly after 1857 According to Amna Khalid the Kumbh Melas emerged as one of the social and political mobilisation venues and the colonial government became keen on monitoring these developments after the Indian rebellion of 1857 The government deployed police to gain this intelligence at the grassroots level of Kumbh Mela 71 The British officials in co operation with the native police also made attempts to improve the infrastructure movement of pilgrims to avoid a stampede detect sickness and the sanitary conditions at the Melas Reports of cholera led the officials to cancel the pilgrimage but the pilgrims went on passive resistance and stated they preferred to die rather than obey the official orders 71 72 Massacres stampedes and scandals edit The Kumbh Melas have been sites of tragedies According to Sharaf ad Din Ali Yazdi the historian and biographer of the Turco Mongol raider and conqueror Timur his armies plundered Haridwar and massacred the gathered pilgrims The ruthlessly slaughtered pilgrims were likely those attending the Kumbh mela of 1399 73 74 75 The Timur accounts mention the mass bathing ritual along with shaving of head the sacred river Ganges charitable donations the place was at the mountainous source of the river and that pilgrims believed a dip in the sacred river leads to their salvation 74 Several stampedes have occurred at the Kumbh Melas After an 1820 stampede at Haridwar killed 485 people the Company government took extensive infrastructure projects including the construction of new ghats and road widening to prevent further stampedes 76 The various Kumbh melas in the 19th and 20th century witnessed sporadic stampedes each tragedy leading to changes in how the flow of pilgrims to and from the river and ghats was managed 77 In 1986 50 people were killed in a stampede 78 The Prayag Kumbh mela in 1885 became a source of scandal when a Muslim named Husain was appointed as the Kumbh Mela manager and Indian newspaper reports stated that Husain had organised a flotilla of festooned boats for the pleasure of European ladies and gentlemen and entertained them with dancing girls liquor and beef as they watched the pilgrims bathing 79 1857 rebellion and the Independence movement edit According to the colonial archives the Prayagwal community associated with the Kumbh Mela were one of those who seeded and perpetuated the resistance and 1857 rebellion to the colonial rule 80 Prayagwals objected to and campaigned against the colonial government supported Christian missionaries and officials who treated them and the pilgrims as ignorant co religionists and who aggressively tried to convert the Hindu pilgrims to a Christian sect During the 1857 rebellion Colonel Neill targeted the Kumbh mela site and shelled the region where the Prayagwals lived destroying it in what Maclean describes as a notoriously brutal pacification of Allahabad 80 Prayagwals targeted and destroyed the mission press and churches in Allahabad Once the British had regained control of the region the Prayagwals were persecuted by the colonial officials some convicted and hanged while others for whom the government did not have proof enough to convict were persecuted Large tracts of Kumbh mela lands near the Ganga Yamuna confluence were confiscated and annexed into the government cantonment In the years after 1857 the Prayagwals and the Kumbh Mela pilgrim crowds carried flags with images alluding to the rebellion and the racial persecution The British media reported these pilgrim assemblies and protests at the later Kumbh Mela as strangely hostile and with disbelief states Maclean 80 The Kumbh Mela continued to play an important role in the independence movement through 1947 as a place where the native people and politicians periodically gathered in large numbers In 1906 the Sanatan Dharm Sabha met at the Prayag Kumbh Mela and resolved to start the Banaras Hindu University in Madan Mohan Malaviya s leadership 81 Kumbh Melas have also been one of the hubs for the Hindutva movement and politics In 1964 the Vishva Hindu Parishad was founded at the Haridwar Kumbh Mela 82 Rising attendance and scale edit nbsp Kumbh Mela a dip in the waters is one of the key ritualsThe historical and modern estimates of attendance vary greatly between sources For example the colonial era Imperial Gazetteer of India reported that between 2 and 2 5 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh mela in 1796 and 1808 then added these numbers may be exaggerations Between 1892 and 1908 in an era of major famines cholera and plague epidemics in British India the pilgrimage dropped to between 300 000 and 400 000 83 During World War II the colonial government banned the Kumbh Mela to conserve scarce supplies of fuel The ban coupled with false rumours that Japan planned to bomb and commit genocide at the Kumbh mela site led to sharply lower attendance at the 1942 Kumbh mela than prior decades when an estimated 2 to 4 million pilgrims gathered at each Kumbh mela 84 After India s independence the attendance rose sharply On amavasya one of the three key bathing dates over 5 million attended the 1954 Kumbh about 10 million attended the 1977 Kumbh while the 1989 Kumbh attracted about 15 million 84 On 14 April 1998 10 million pilgrims attended the Kumb Mela at Haridwar on the busiest single day according to the Himalayan Academy editors 85 In 2001 IKONOS satellite images confirmed a very large human gathering 86 87 with officials estimating 70 million people over the festival 87 including more than 40 million on the busiest single day according to BBC News 88 Another estimate states that about 30 million attended the 2001 Kumbh mela on the busiest mauni amavasya day alone 84 nbsp Cooking at Kumbh Mela in 2019In 2007 as many as 70 million pilgrims attended the 45 day long Ardha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj 89 In 2013 120 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj 25 Nasik has registered maximum visitors to 75 million 6 Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj is the largest in the world the attendance and scale of preparation of which keeps rising with each successive celebration For the 2019 Ardh Kumbh at Prayagraj the preparations include a 42 000 million equivalent to 52 billion or US 650 million in 2023 temporary city over 2 500 hectares with 122 000 temporary toilets and range of accommodation from simple dormitory tents to 5 star tents 800 special trains by the Indian Railways artificially intelligent video surveillance and analytics by IBM disease surveillance river transport management by Inland Waterways Authority of India and an app to help the visitors 90 The Kumbh mela is widely regarded as the world s largest religious gathering states James Lochtefeld 91 According to Kama Maclean the coordinators and attendees themselves state that a part of the glory of the Kumbh festival is in that feeling of brotherhood and love where millions peacefully gather on the river banks in harmony and a sense of shared heritage 92 Calendar locations and preparation editTypes edit The Kumbh Mela are classified as 93 The Purna Kumbh Mela sometimes just called Kumbh or full Kumbha occurs every 12 years at a given site The Ardh Kumbh Mela half Kumbh occurs approximately every 6 years between the two Purna Kumbha Melas at Prayagraj and Haridwar 93 The Maha Kumbh which occurs every 12 Purna Kumbh Melas i e after every 144 years citation needed For the 2019 Prayagraj Kumbh Mela the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the Ardh Kumbh Mela organised every 6 years will simply be known as Kumbh Mela and the Kumbh Mela organised every 12 years will be known as Maha Kumbh Mela Great Kumbh Mela 94 Locations edit nbsp Kumbh Mela at Haridwar nbsp Nashik Pilgrims gather for the Shahi Snan royal bath in Ramkund in Dakshin Ganga River c 1991Numerous sites and fairs have been locally referred to be their Kumbh Melas Of these four sites are broadly recognised as the Kumbh Melas Prayagraj Haridwar Trimbak Nashik and Ujjain 95 93 Other locations that are sometimes called Kumbh melas with the bathing ritual and a significant participation of pilgrims include Kurukshetra 96 and Sonipat 16 Dates edit Each site s celebration dates are calculated in advance according to a special combination of zodiacal positions of Bṛhaspati Jupiter Surya the Sun and Chandra the Moon The relative years vary between the four sites but the cycle repeats about every 12 years Since Jupiter s orbit completes in 11 86 years a calendar year adjustment appears in approximately 8 cycles Therefore approximately once a century the Kumbh mela returns to a site after 11 years 9 Place River Zodiac 97 Season months First bathing date 9 Second date 9 Third date 9 Haridwar Ganga Jupiter in Aquarius Sun in Aries Spring Chaitra January April Shivaratri Chaitra Amavasya new moon Mesh SankrantiPrayagraj note 4 Ganga and Yamuna junction Jupiter in Aries Sun and Moon in Capricorn or Jupiter in Taurus Sun in Capricorn Winter Magha January February Makar Sankranti Magh Amavasya Vasant PanchamiTrimbak Nashik Godavari Jupiter in Leo or Jupiter Sun and Moon enters in Cancer on lunar conjunction Summer Bhadrapada August September Simha sankranti Bhadrapada Amavasya Devotthayan EkadashiUjjain Shipra Jupiter in Leo and Sun in Aries or Jupiter Sun and Moon in Libra on Kartik Amavasya Spring Vaisakha April May Chaitra Purnima Chaitra Amavasya Vaisakh PurnimaPast years edit Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj is celebrated approximately 3 years after Kumbh at Haridwar and 3 years before Kumbh at Nashik and Ujjain both of which are celebrated in the same year or one year apart 97 Year Prayagraj Haridwar Trimbak Nashik Ujjain1980 Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela1981198219831984 Ardh Kumbh Mela19851986 Kumbh Mela198719881989 Kumbh Mela199019911992 Ardh Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela199319941995 Ardh Kumbh Mela199619971998 Kumbh Mela199920002001 Maha Kumbh Mela20022003 Kumbh Mela2004 Ardh Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela200520062007 Ardh Kumbh Mela200820092010 Kumbh Mela201120122013 Kumbh Mela20142015 Kumbh Mela2016 Ardh Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela201720182019 Ardh Kumbh Mela20202021 98 Kumbh Mela2022202320242025 Kumbh Mela20262027 Kumbh Mela2028 Kumbh MelaHistorical Festival management edit The Kumbh Mela attracts tens of millions of pilgrims Providing for a safe and pleasant temporary stay at the festival site is a complex and challenging task The camping santhas akharas food water sanitation emergency health care fire services policing disaster management preparations the movement of people require significant prior planning 99 Further assistance to those with special needs and lost family members through Bhule Bhatke Kendra demands extensive onsite communication and co ordination 99 In the case of Prayag in particular the festival site is predominantly submerged during the monsoon months The festival management workers have only two and a half months to start and complete the construction of all temporarily infrastructure necessary for the pilgrims making the task even more challenging 99 In 2013 the Indian government authorities in co operation with seva volunteers monks and Indian companies set up 11 sectors with 55 camp clusters providing round the clock first aid ambulance pharmacy sector cleaning sanitation food and water distribution setting up 550 kilometres 340 mi of pipelines operated by 42 pumps cooking fuel and other services According to Baranwal et al their 13 day field study of the 2013 Kumbh mela found that the Mela committee and all other agencies involved in Mela management successfully supervised the event and made it convenient efficient and safe 99 an assessment shared by the US based Center for Disease Control for the Nasik Kumbh mela 100 Rituals editBathing and processions edit nbsp Naga sadhu at a Kumbh procession 1998 nbsp Water dip at the Kumbh festivalBathing or a dip in the river waters with a prayer is the central ritual of the Kumbh Melas for all pilgrims Traditionally on amavasya the most cherished day for bathing the Hindu pilgrims welcome and wait for the thirteen sadhu akharas to bathe first This event called shahi snan or rajyogi snan is marked by a celebratory processional march with banners flags elephants horses and musicians along with the naked or scantily clad monks note 5 some smeared with bhasma ashes 65 101 These monastic institutions come from different parts of India have a particular emblem symbol and deity Ganesha Dattatreya Hanuman etc 65 102 The largest contingent is the Juna akhara traced to Adi Shankara representing a diverse mix from the four of the largest Hindu monasteries in India with their headquarters at Sringeri Dvarka Jyotirmatha and Govardhana The Mahanirbani and Niranjani are the other large contingents and each akhara has their own lineage of saints and teachers Large crowds gather in reverence and cheer for this procession of monks Once these monks have taken the dip the festival day opens for bathing by the pilgrims from far and near the site 65 101 103 The bathing ritual by the pilgrims may be aided by a Prayagwal priest or maybe a simple dip that is private When aided the rituals may begin with mundan shaving of head prayers with offerings such as flowers sindur vermilion milk or coconut along with the recitation of hymns with shradha prayers in the honour of one s ancestors 104 More elaborate ceremonies include a yajna homa led by a priest 104 After these river side rituals the pilgrim then takes a dip in the water stands up prays for a short while then exits the river waters Many then proceed to visit old Hindu temples near the site 104 The motivations for the bathing ritual are several The most significant is the belief that the tirtha pilgrimage to the Kumbh Mela sites and then bathing in these holy rivers has a salvific value moksha a means to liberation from the cycle of rebirths samsara 105 The pilgrimage is also recommended in Hindu texts to those who have made mistakes or sinned repent their errors and as a means of prayascitta atonement penance for these mistakes 5 106 Pilgrimage and bathing in holy rivers with a motivation to do penance and as a means to self purify has Vedic precedents and is discussed in the early dharma literature of Hinduism 106 Its epics such as the Mahabharata describe Yudhisthira in a state full of sorrow and despair after participating in the violence of the great war that killed many He goes to a saint who advises him to go on a pilgrimage to Prayag and bathe in river Ganges as a means of penance 107 Feasts festivities and discussions edit nbsp A cultural event at a Kumbh Mela pandalSome pilgrims walk considerable distances and arrive barefoot as a part of their religious tradition Most pilgrims stay for a day or two but some stay the entire month of Magh during the festival and live an austere life during the stay They attend spiritual discourses fast and pray over the month and these Kumbh pilgrims are called kalpavasis 108 The festival site is strictly vegetarian 108 by tradition as violence against animals is considered unacceptable Many pilgrims practice partial one meal a day or full vrata day long fasting some abstain from elaborate meals 104 These ritual practices are punctuated by celebratory feasts where vast number of people sit in rows and share a community meal mahaprasada prepared by volunteers from charitable donations By tradition families and companies sponsor these anna dana food charity events particularly for the monks and the poor pilgrims 104 The management has established multiple food stalls offering delicacies from different states of India 109 110 Other activities at the mela include religious discussions pravachan devotional singing kirtan and religious assemblies where doctrines are debated and standardised shastrartha 6 The festival grounds also feature a wide range of cultural spectacles over the month of celebrations These include kalagram venues of kala Indian arts laser light shows classical dance and musical performances from different parts of India thematic gates reflecting the historic regional architectural diversity boat rides tourist walks to historic sites near the river as well opportunities to visit the monastic camps to watch yoga adepts and spiritual discourses 111 Darshan edit nbsp A sadhu at Maha Kumbh 2013Darshan or viewing is an important part of the Kumbh Mela People make the pilgrimage to the Kumbh Mela specifically to observe and experience both the religious and secular aspects of the event Two major groups that participate in the Kumbh Mela include the Sadhus Hindu holy men and pilgrims Through their continual yogic practices the Sadhus articulate the transitory aspect of life Sadhus travel to the Kumbh Mela to make themselves available to much of the Hindu public This allows members of the Hindu public to interact with the Sadhus and to take darshan They are able to seek instruction or advice in their spiritual lives Darshan focuses on the visual exchange where there is interaction with a religious deity and the worshiper is able to visually drink divine power The Kumbh Mela is arranged in camps that give Hindu worshipers access to the Sadhus The darshan is important to the experience of the Kumbh Mela and because of this worshipers must be careful so as to not displease religious deities Seeing of the Sadhus is carefully managed and worshipers often leave tokens at their feet 6 In culture editKumbh Mela has been theme for many documentaries including Kings with Straw Mats 1998 directed by Ira Cohen Kumbh Mela The Greatest Show on Earth 2001 directed by Graham Day 112 Short Cut to Nirvana Kumbh Mela 2004 directed by Nick Day and produced by Maurizio Benazzo 113 Kumbh Mela Songs of the River 2004 by Nadeem Uddin 114 Invocation Kumbh Mela 2008 Kumbh Mela 2013 Living with Mahatiagi 2013 by the Ukrainian Religious Studies Project Ahamot 115 and Kumbh Mela Walking with the Nagas 2011 Amrit Nectar of Immortality 2012 directed by Jonas Scheu and Philipp Eyer 116 In 2007 National Geographic filmed and broadcast a documentary of the Prayag Kumbh Mela named Inside Nirvana under the direction of Karina Holden with the scholar Kama Maclean as a consultant 108 In 2013 the National Geographic returned and filmed the Inside the Mahakumbh Indian and foreign news media have covered the Kumbh Mela regularly On 18 April 2010 a popular American morning show CBS News Sunday Morning extensively covered Haridwar s Kumbh Mela calling it The Largest Pilgrimage on Earth On 28 April 2010 the BBC reported an audio and a video report on Kumbh Mela titled Kumbh Mela greatest show on earth citation needed On 30 September 2010 the Kumbh Mela featured in the second episode of the Sky One TV series An Idiot Abroad with Karl Pilkington visiting the festival citation needed Young siblings getting separated at the Kumbh Mela were once a recurring theme in Hindi movies 117 Amrita Kumbher Sandhane a 1982 Bengali feature film directed by Dilip Roy also documents the Kumbh Mela Ashish Avikunthak s Bengali language feature length fiction film Kalkimanthakatha 2015 was shot in the Prayag Kumbh Mela in 2013 In this film two characters search for the tenth avatar and the final avtar of Lord Vishnu Kalki in the lines of Samuel Beckett s Waiting for Godot 118 119 See also editBarahakshetra A semi Kumbh Mela in Sunsari Nepal Mahamaham the Tamil Kumbh Mela Pushkaram the river festivals of Karnataka Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Pushkar Fair the springtime fair in Rajasthan includes the tradition of a dip in the Pushkar lake List of largest gatherings in historyNotes edit Approximately once a century the Kumbh Mela returns after 11 years This is because of Jupiter s orbit of 11 86 years With each 12 year cycle per the Georgian calendar a calendar year adjustment appears in approximately 8 cycles 9 They are also called Gosains 66 They are also called Bairagis 66 The sangam site is known as Prayag sometimes Tirtharaj lit king of pilgrimages The right to be naga or naked is considered a sign of separation from the material world 6 References edit a b c d e Kumbh Mela Hindu festival Encyclopaedia Britannica 2015 The Kumbh Mela lasts several weeks and is one of the largest festivals in the world attracting more than 200 million people in 2019 including 50 million on the festival s most auspicious day a b c d e f Maclean Kama 2003 Making the Colonial State Work for You The Modern Beginnings of the Ancient Kumbh Mela in Allahabad The Journal of Asian Studies 62 3 873 905 doi 10 2307 3591863 JSTOR 3591863 S2CID 162404242 a b Diana L Eck 2012 India A Sacred Geography Harmony Books pp 153 155 ISBN 978 0 385 53190 0 a b Williams Sox 2005 Lindsay Jones ed Encyclopedia of Religion 2nd Edition Vol 8 Macmillan pp 5264 5265 Quote The special power of the Kumbha Mela is often said to be due in part to the presence of large numbers of Hindu monks and many pilgrims seek the darsan Skt darsana auspicious mutual sight of these holy men Others listen to religious discourses participate in devotional singing engage brahman priests for personal rituals organise mass feedings of monks or the poor or merely enjoy the spectacle Amid this diversity of activities the ritual bath at the conjunction of time and place is the central event of the Kumbha Mela a b c Kane 1953 pp 55 56 a b c d e Maclean Kama September 2009 Seeing Being Seen and Not Being Seen Pilgrimage Tourism and Layers of Looking at the Kumbh Mela CrossCurrents 59 3 319 341 doi 10 1111 j 1939 3881 2009 00082 x S2CID 170879396 Maclean Kama 2003 Making the Colonial State Work for You The Modern Beginnings of the Ancient Kumbh Mela in Allahabad The Journal of Asian Studies 62 3 877 879 doi 10 2307 3591863 JSTOR 3591863 S2CID 162404242 Monika Horstmann 2009 Patronage and Popularisation Pilgrimage and Procession Channels of Transcultural Translation and Transmission in Early Modern South Asia Otto Harrassowitz Verlag pp 135 136 with footnotes ISBN 978 3 447 05723 3 a b c d e James Lochtefeld 2008 Knut A Jacobsen ed South Asian Religions on Display Religious Processions in South Asia and in the Diaspora Routledge pp 40 footnote 3 ISBN 978 1 134 07459 4 Matthew James Clark 2006 The Dasanami saṃnyasis The Integration of Ascetic Lineages into an Order Brill p 294 ISBN 978 90 04 15211 3 K Shadananan Nair 2004 Mela PDF Proceedings Ol THC UNI SCO 1 AI IS I Wl IA Symposium Held in Rome December 2003 IAHS 165 Archived from the original PDF on 2 August 2020 Retrieved 7 December 2017 Maclean 2008 p 102 Diana L Eck 2012 India A Sacred Geography Harmony Books pp 156 157 ISBN 978 0 385 53190 0 Census of India 1971 Haryana Volume 6 Part 2 Page 137 1988 Town Survey Report Haryana Thanesar District Kurukshetra page 137 a b Madan Prasad Bezbaruah Dr Krishna Gopal Phal S Girota 2003 Fairs and Festivals of India Chandigarh Delhi Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Punjab Rajasthan Uttaranchal Uttar Pradesh Gerard Toffin 2012 Phyllis Granoff and Koichi Shinohara ed Sins and Sinners Perspectives from Asian Religions BRILL Academic pp 330 with footnote 18 ISBN 978 90 04 23200 6 James Lochtefeld 2008 Knut A Jacobsen ed South Asian Religions on Display Religious Processions in South Asia and in the Diaspora Routledge p 29 ISBN 978 1 134 07459 4 a b c d e f g James Mallinson 2016 Rachel Dwyer ed Key Concepts in Modern Indian Studies New York University Press pp 150 151 ISBN 978 1 4798 4869 0 Maclean 2008 pp 225 226 The Maha Kumbh Mela 2001 indianembassy org 00103 amp multinational 1 2021 Kumbh Mela UNESCO Intangible World Heritage official list Kumbh Mela on UNESCO s list of intangibl Archived 7 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine Economic Times 7 December 2017 Over 3 crore take holy dip in Sangam on Mauni Amavasya India Times 10 February 2013 Archived from the original on 22 January 2016 a b Rashid Omar 11 February 2013 Over three crore devotees take the dip at Sangam The Hindu Chennai Jha Monica 23 June 2020 Eyes in the sky Indian authorities had to manage 250 million festivalgoers So they built a high tech surveillance ministate Rest of World Retrieved 23 June 2020 Mauni Amavasya Five crore pilgrims take holy dip at Kumbh till 5 pm Times of India 4 February 2019 retrieved 24 June 2020 A record over 24 crore people visited Kumbh 2019 more than total tourists in UP in 2014 17 Hindustan Times 21 May 2019 Retrieved 15 March 2022 a b c d e Nityananda Misra 2019 Kumbha The Traditionally Modern Mela Bloomsbury Academic pp 1 2 ISBN 978 93 88414 12 8 Rigveda 10 89 7 Wikisource Yajurveda 6 3 Wikisource For translations see Stephanie Jamison Joel Brereton 2014 The Rigveda 3 Volume Set Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 972078 1 Pingree 1973 pp 2 3 Yukio Ohashi 1999 pp 719 721 Nicholas Campion 2012 Astrology and Cosmology in the World s Religions New York University Press pp 110 111 ISBN 978 0 8147 0842 2 Monier Monier Williams Updated 2006 Sanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology Mel Melaka Melana Mela a b Nityananda Misra 2019 Kumbha The Traditionally Modern Mela Bloomsbury Academic pp 3 5 ISBN 978 93 88414 12 8 Giorgio Bonazzoli 1977 Prayaga and Its Kumbha Mela Purana 19 84 85 context 81 179 Prayaagasnaanavidhi Manuscript UP No 140 Poleman No 3324 University of Pennsylvania Sanskrit Archives a b Maclean 2008 pp 88 89 Collins Charles Dillard 1988 The Iconography and Ritual of Siva at Elephanta SUNY Press p 36 ISBN 978 0 88706 773 0 a b c Ariel Glucklich 2008 The Strides of Vishnu Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective Oxford University Press pp 146 147 ISBN 978 0 19 971825 2 a b Krishnaswamy amp Ghosh 1935 pp 698 699 702 703 Bhikkhu Nanamoli Tr Bhikkhu Bodhi Tr 1995 Teachings of The Buddha Majjhima Nikaya p 121 ISBN 978 0861710720 Diana L Eck 2013 India A Sacred Geography Three Rivers Press p 153 ISBN 978 0 385 53192 4 Diane Eck 1981 India s Tirthas Crossings in Sacred Geography History of Religions Vol 20 No 4 pp 340 341 with footnote a b Ariel Glucklich 2008 The Strides of Vishnu Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective Oxford University Press pp 145 146 ISBN 978 0 19 971825 2 Dilip Kumar Roy Indira Devi 1955 Kumbha India s ageless festival Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan p xxii Mark Tully 1992 No Full Stops in India Penguin Books Limited pp 127 ISBN 978 0 14 192775 6 Mark Juergensmeyer Wade Clark Roof 2011 Encyclopedia of Global Religion SAGE Publications pp 677 ISBN 978 1 4522 6656 5 Christian Lee Novetzke 2010 Review of Pilgrimage and Power The Kumbh Mela in Allahabad 1765 1954 Journal of Interdisciplinary History 41 1 174 175 Maclean Kama 2003 Making the Colonial State Work for You The Modern Beginnings of the Ancient Kumbh Mela in Allahabad The Journal of Asian Studies 62 3 877 doi 10 2307 3591863 JSTOR 3591863 S2CID 162404242 Ludo Rocher 1986 The Puraṇas Otto Harrassowitz Verlag pp 71 72 with footnotes ISBN 978 3 447 02522 5 a b c James Lochtefeld 2008 Knut A Jacobsen ed South Asian Religions on Display Religious Processions in South Asia and in the Diaspora Routledge pp 31 33 ISBN 978 1 134 07459 4 a b c d e f Maclean 2008 pp 90 91 a b Jadunath Sarkar 1901 India of Aurangzib Kinnera pp 27 124 Haridwar page 124 Trimbak page 51 Prayag page 27 a b c James G Lochtefeld 2008 The Kumbh Mela Festival Processions In Knut A Jacobsen ed South Asian Religions on Display Religious Processions in South Asia and in the Diaspora Routledge pp 32 41 ISBN 9781134074594 a b Maclean 2008 p 89 Alexander Cunningham 1877 Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol 1 pp 37 39 a b c d e f James Lochtefeld 2008 Knut A Jacobsen ed South Asian Religions on Display Religious Processions in South Asia and in the Diaspora Routledge pp 29 33 ISBN 978 1 134 07459 4 a b William R Pinch 1996 Soldier Monks and Militant Sadhus In David Ludden ed Contesting the Nation University of Pennsylvania Press pp 141 156 ISBN 9780812215854 Constance Jones and James D Ryan 2006 Encyclopedia of Hinduism Infobase p 280 ISBN 978 0 8160 7564 5 a b James Lochtefeld 2009 Gods Gateway Identity and Meaning in a Hindu Pilgrimage Place Oxford University Press pp 252 253 ISBN 9780199741588 a b Hari Ram Gupta 2001 History of the Sikhs The Sikh commonwealth or Rise and fall of Sikh misls Volume IV Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers p 175 ISBN 978 81 215 0165 1 Thomas Hardwicke 1801 Narrative of a Journey to Sirinagur pp 314 319 Maclean 2008 pp 57 58 a b c d Maclean 2008 pp 226 227 a b c Maclean 2008 p 226 a b c S P Dubey 2001 Kumbh City Prayag CCRT pp 72 73 a b c Maclean 2008 pp 92 94 John Chamberlain William Yates 1826 Memoirs of Mr John Chamberlain late missionary in India Baptist Mission Press pp 346 351 Robert Montgomery Martin 1858 The Indian Empire Vol 3 The London Printing and Publishing Company pp 4 5 a b Amna Khalid 2008 Biswamoy Patil Mark Harrison eds The Social History of Health and Medicine in Colonial India Routledge pp 68 78 ISBN 978 1 134 04259 3 R Dasgupta Time Trends of Cholera in India An Overview PDF INFLIBNET Retrieved 13 December 2015 Nityananda Misra 2019 Kumbha The Traditionally Modern Mela Bloomsbury Publishing pp 155 156 ISBN 978 93 88414 12 8 a b James Lochtefeld 2010 God s Gateway Identity and Meaning in a Hindu Pilgrimage Place Oxford University Press pp 51 52 ISBN 978 0 19 974158 8 Sir Alexander Cunningham 1871 Four Reports Made During the Years 1862 63 64 65 Government Central Press pp 229 237 Traian Penciuc 2014 Globalization and Intercultural Dialogue Multidisciplinary Perspectives Arhipelag Iulian Boldea ed ISBN 978 606 93691 3 5 pp 57 66 Maclean 2008 p 61 Maclean 2008 pp 182 185 193 195 202 203 Five die in stampede at Hindu bathing festival BBC 14 April 2010 Maclean 2008 p 132 a b c Maclean 2008 pp 74 77 95 98 Jagannath Prasad Misra 2016 Madan Mohan Malaviya and the Indian Freedom Movement Oxford University Press pp 40 41 ISBN 978 0 19 908954 3 Maclean 2008 pp 212 213 Haridwar The Imperial Gazetteer of India 1909 v 13 pp 52 53 a b c Maclean 2008 pp 185 186 What Is Hinduism Modern Adventures into a Profound Global Faith Himalayan Academy Publications 2007 pp 242 243 ISBN 978 1 934145 27 2 Kumbh Mela pictured from space BBC 26 January 2001 Retrieved 12 March 2021 a b Carrington Damian 25 January 2001 Kumbh Mela New Scientist Retrieved 12 March 2021 Pandey Geeta 14 January 2013 India s Hindu Kumbh Mela festival begins in Allahabad BBC News Retrieved 12 March 2021 70 mn to take holy dip during Ardh Kumbh Hindustan Times Associated Press 2 January 2007 Kumbh Mela How UP will manage one of the world s biggest religious festival Economic Times 21 December 2018 James Lochtefeld 2008 Knut A Jacobsen ed South Asian Religions on Display Religious Processions in South Asia and in the Diaspora Routledge p 29 ISBN 978 1 134 07459 4 Maclean 2008 pp 43 44 a b c J C Rodda Lucio Ubertini Symposium on the Basis of Civilization Water Science 2004 The Basis of Civilization water Science International Association of Hydrological Science pp 165 ISBN 978 1 901502 57 2 U P Governor launches Kumbh 2019 logo The Hindu Press Trust of India 14 December 2017 Retrieved 19 December 2018 via www thehindu com J S Mishra 2004 Mahakumbh the Greatest Show on Earth Har Anand Publications p 17 ISBN 978 81 241 0993 9 G S Randhir 2016 Sikh Shrines in India a b Mela Adhikari Kumbh Mela 2013 Official Website of Kumbh Mela 2013 Allahabad Uttar Pradesh India Archived from the original on 29 October 2019 Retrieved 24 November 2015 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Pioneer The CM reviews Kumbh Mela 2021 preparations The Pioneer Retrieved 4 July 2019 a b c d Baranwal Annu Anand Ankit Singh Ravikant Deka Mridul Paul Abhishek Borgohain Sunny Roy Nobhojit 2015 Managing the Earth s Biggest Mass Gathering Event and WASH Conditions Maha Kumbh Mela India PLOS Currents Public Library of Science PLoS 7 doi 10 1371 currents dis e8b3053f40e774e7e3fdbe1bb50a130d PMC 4404264 PMID 25932345 India Staying Healthy at The Biggest Gathering on Earth CDC Global Health Security USA a b Special Bathing Dates Archived 30 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine Kumbh Mela Official Government of India 2019 Sadhus astride elephants horses at Maha Kumbh The New Indian Express 30 January 2010 Retrieved 19 December 2018 Nandita Sengupta 13 February 2010 Naga sadhus steal the show at Kumbh TNN a b c d e Maclean 2008 pp 228 229 Simon Coleman John Elsner 1995 Pilgrimage Past and Present in the World Religions Harvard University Press pp 140 141 ISBN 978 0 674 66766 2 a b Patrick Olivelle Donald Richard Davis 2018 Hindu Law A New History of Dharmasastra Oxford University Press pp 217 339 347 ISBN 978 0 19 870260 3 Diana L Eck 2013 India A Sacred Geography Three Rivers Press pp 146 147 ISBN 978 0 385 53192 4 a b c Maclean 2008 p 229 Prayagraj Food Hub At Kumbh To Offer Cuisines From Different Indian States NDTV ANI 14 January 2019 Retrieved 21 June 2023 Sengar Resham 4 February 2019 5 special foods you can t miss at this Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj The Times of India Retrieved 21 June 2023 Attractions and Cultural Events of Kumbh Archived 30 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine Kumbh Mela Official Government of India 2019 Kumbh Mela The Greatest Show on Earth at IMDb nbsp Short Cut to Nirvana A Documentary about the Kumbh Mela Spiritual Festival Mela Films Kumbh Mela Songs of the River at IMDb nbsp Ageyev Kumbh Mela 2013 living with mahatiagi Archived from the original on 20 December 2018 Retrieved 19 December 2018 Amrit Nectar of Immortality Retrieved 24 November 2015 Why twins no longer get separated at Kumbh Mela rediff com 15 January 2010 Eyes Wide Open Indian Express 29 July 2015 Uncertified film screening at Kolkata gallery miffs CBFC Times of India 17 March 2017 Bibliography edit Kane P V 1953 History of Dharmasastra Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Law in India Vol 4 Maclean Kama 28 August 2008 Pilgrimage and Power The Kumbh Mela in Allahabad 1765 1954 OUP USA ISBN 978 0 19 533894 2 Krishnaswamy C S Ghosh Amalananda October 1935 A Note on the Allahabad Pillar of Asoka The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 4 4 697 706 JSTOR 25201233 Pingree David 1973 The Mesopotamian Origin of Early Indian Mathematical Astronomy Journal for the History of Astronomy SAGE 4 1 1 12 Bibcode 1973JHA 4 1P doi 10 1177 002182867300400102 S2CID 125228353 Pingree David 1981 Jyotihsastra Astral and Mathematical Literature Otto Harrassowitz ISBN 978 3447021654 Yukio Ohashi 1999 Johannes Andersen ed Highlights of Astronomy Volume 11B Springer Science ISBN 978 0 7923 5556 4 Harvard University South Asia Institute 2015 Kumbh Mela Mapping the Ephemeral Megacity New Delhi Niyogi Books ISBN 9789385285073 Kumbh Mela and The Sadhus English Paperback Badri Narain and Kedar Narain Pilgrims Publishings India ISBN 9788177698053 8177698052 KUMBH Sarvjan Sahbhagita ka Vishalatam Amritparva with 1 Disc Hindi Paperback Ramanand Pilgrims Publishings India ISBN 9788177696714 8177696718External links edit nbsp Media related to Kumbh Mela at Wikimedia Commons Official website Kumbh Mela Magical Celebration of Life Documentary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kumbh Mela amp oldid 1198457150, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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