Kumbh Mela: The once in 12-year Indian Festival

Think about a large public gathering of over 3 crores people over the course of approximately 48 days to bathe at the sacred confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mystical Sarasvati. Primarily, this congregation includes Saints, Sadhus, Ascetics, Sadhvis, Kalpvasis, and Pilgrims from all walks of life.

What is Kumbh Mela?

In Hindusim, Kumbh Mela is a religious pilgrimage celebrated four times over a course of 12 years. Based on the astrological position of the sun, moon, and Jupiter, the Mela site rotates between the four pilgrimages on four sacred rivers:

Haridwar on the Ganges in Uttarakhand
Ujjain on the Shipra in Madhya Pradesh
Nashik on the Godavari in Maharashtra
Prayagraj at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Sarasvati in Uttar Pradesh

The Kumbh Mela intrinsically encapsulates the science of astronomy, astrology, spirituality, ritualistic traditions, and socio-cultural customs and practices, making it extremely rich in knowledge.

Why we celebrate the Kumbh Mela?

The Kumbh Mela, apart from being a grandeur celebration, also has a social, mythological, and spiritual significance which makes it so auspicious and attracts so many visitors.

Mythological Significance:

The legend goes back to the 8th-century philosopher Shankara. The Puranas mention that once the gods and demons started fighting over the sacred pitcher (Kumbh) of Amrit (nectar of immortality) called the Ratna of Samudra Manthan. Lord Vishnu, disguised himself as a beautiful lady ‘Mohini’ to bring the Amrit back from the demons who tried to claim it.

While taking the pitcher back, few drops of the nectar fell on four sacred sites we now know as Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik, and Prayag. This journey and the pursuit lasted for 12 days which was equivalent to 12 human years, thus the Kumbh Mela is celebrated every twelve years, staggered at each of the four sacred sites in this cycle.

The festival grew more popular during the reign of King Harshvardhana (c.590–647 AD). Even famous traveler Hsuan Tsang has prominently mentioned the grandeur of Kumbh Mela in his travelogue.

Mythology also believes that during this Cosmic moment the corresponding rivers turn into Amrit, offering the pilgrims the chance to bathe in the essence of purity, auspiciousness, and immortality.

The term Kumbh is from the root ‘kumbhak’ (the sacred pitcher of the elixir of immortality). The Rigveda mentions Kumbh and the holy bath to eliminate all negative influences and rejuvenate the mind and soul.

The elemental meaning of Kumbh is:

• The confluence (Sangam) of all the cultures in the universe.
• A spiritual conscience.
• The flow of humanity.
• The flow of rivers, forests, and Rishi culture.
• The flow of life.
• The communion of nature and human life.
• The source of energy.
• The path of enlightenment.

Astrological Significance

After checking the location of the celestial bodies, the Kumbh Mela is very strategically celebrated to be both auspicious and a harbinger of good luck for Hindus.

Some astronomical significance of each location is as mentioned below:

• When Jupiter enters the Aquarius constellation along with the Sun moving into the Aries constellation, the Kumbh festival is held at Haridwar.
• When Jupiter moves in to Leo, the Kumbh festival is held at Nasik on the banks of Godavari and in the event of Jupiter moving in to Leo and the Sun entering Aries, the Kumbh festival is held at Ujjain.
• When Jupiter enters Libra and the Sun and the Moon remain together on Kartik Amavasya (8th month of Hindu year) then also the Kumbh Festival is held at Ujjain.
• When Jupiter, the Sun, and the Moon enter Cancer on lunar conjunction (Amavasya), then also the Kumbh Festival is held on the banks of river Godavari.
• When Jupiter enters the Aries constellation and the Sun and the Moon are in Capricorn constellation, the Kumbh festival is held at Prayagraj on the new moon day.
• When the Sun is in Capricorn and Jupiter moves into Taurus, the Kumbh festival is held at Prayagraj.

What is Ardh Kumbh?

While the grandeur Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 12 years, the Ardh Kumbh Mela (Half Kumbh Mela) is held every 6 years in two different locations, Allahabad and Haridwar. Ardh means ‘half’ which is interpreted as half of 12 years.

Conclusion

Kumbh Mela is not like any other gathering you would imagine, it is held on a massive scale, the preparation of which starts 2 years in advance. Along with Poojas, people bathe in the holy water, meditate, make their offerings, and a lot more that cannot be described in words, but is a pleasure to the eye.

The Kumbh Mela is now scheduled to be held in March of 2021, in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

While the COVID situation would not attract a lot of crowd this year if you ever get a chance to visit, witness the glory and greatness of KUMBH MELA.