| The Kumbh Mela Festival |
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The Kumbha Mela is now held every twelve years in rotation between these revered ancient cities, Allahabad being the largest and most important, as it marks the confluence of the Ganges with two other sacred rivers, the Yamuna and the Saraswati. The Saraswait, however, is a mystical river that has no physical form. It is believed that the Saraswati exists only on the ethereal or spiritual plane is not visible to the human eye. It is said that a bath in either of the sacred rivers has purifying effects, but where the three rivers meet, the bather’s purification is increased one hundred times. Furthermore, it is said that when one takes a bath at the Sangam (confluence) during the Kumbha Mela, the influence is one thousand times increased. This monumental event has taken place for millennia. The dates of the festival, and particularly the six main bathing days spanning the six-week duration of the gathering, are determined by planetary alignment. The Ardh Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years at Haridwar and Prayag, while the Purna (complete) Kumbh takes place at four places Prayag (Allahabad),Haridwar,Ujjain,and Nashik after every twelve years. The Maha Kumbh Mela ('Great' Kumbh Mela) which comes after 12 'Purna Kumbh Melas' which is after every 144 years is also held at Allahabad. The 2001, Maha Kumbh Mela was attended by around 60 million people, making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world. Kumbh Mela is attended by millions of people on a single day. The major event of the festival is a ritual bath at the banks of the rivers in each town. Other activities include religious discussions, devotional singing, mass feeding of holy men and women and the poor, and religious assemblies where doctrines are debated and standardized. Pilgrims believe with unyielding faith that the water at this time turns into the nectar of immortality, and will absolve the negative Karma from this life and previous lives. At the head of the procession to the river are the Naga Babas, India’s famed holy men, who lead a life of celibacy and renunciation from the world and possessions. Easily identified by their immaculately matted hair (which grows from their initiation until the time of their guru’s death), on bathing days they strip themselves of their clothes and paint their naked bodies with ash in preparation for cleansing at the Sangam. They charge into the water with swords and tridents (the symbol of a follower of Shiva) raised high, splashing like infants. Indeed the Nagas are said to be the very children of the Ganges. Haridwar, a holy city and municipal board in the Haridwar District of Uttarakhand, India, will host the Purna Kumbha mela from Makar Sankranti (14th January 2010) to Shakh Purnima Snan (28th April 2010).  |
