Kumbh Mela: The Sacred Gathering of Spiritual Awakening - Part I

Kumbh Mela is made up of two words Kumbh and Mela. The word “kumbh” means a pot and “mela” means a joyous gathering.

It is correctly said that Kumbh Mela is the world's largest religious and cultural human gathering. Crores of pilgrims over a course of 48 days take baths in the holy rivers on special days. Devotees, mainly sadhus, sadhvis, ascetics, pilgrims etc. from the Himalayas in the north to Kanyakumari in the south take part in this Mela. Many sannyasis who have never before been seen by anyone, who reside in caves on the icy peaks of the Himalayas, come down for this unique event.

The first written evidence of the Kumbha Mela is in the Bhagavat Maha Purana. It is also cited in the Vishnu Purana, Mahabharata and Ramayana.

The Kumbha Mela is also mentioned in the works of the Chinese traveller Hsuan Tsang (Xuanzang) who visited India in 629-645 AD, during the reign of Harshavardhana.

This Mela is celebrated four times over the course of 12 years. The location of the festival keeps rotating between the four pilgrimage sites situated on the banks of holy rivers. These places are Haridwar on the Ganga in the state of Uttarakhand, Ujjain on the Shipra River in Madhya Pradesh, Nashik on the Godavari River in Maharashtra and Prayagraj at the confluence of three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati in the Uttar Pradesh.

Amongst the four cities Prayagraj, Nashik, Haridwar and Ujjain, the Kumbh Mela held at Prayagraj is the oldest.

There is a story connected with the Kumbh Mela which happened during the famous episode of the churning of the Milky Ocean. This story is related in most of the Puranas.

Once upon a time the devas or gods lost their youth due to the curse of the sage Durvasa. They turned to Lord Narayana for help. He asked them to churn the ocean of milk on which he resided in order to get the nectar of immortality known as “Amrita”. The devas were too weak to do this gargantuan task by themselves so they asked the asuras to help them. They agreed to help provided they were given an equal share.

The churning of this ocean produced many things including the deadly poison called “halahala” which was drunk by Lord Shiva and made him the “saviour of the world” since the poison, if allowed to fall on the earth, would have destroyed it completely. The devas and asuras kept churning the ocean which threw up many fantastic gifts. At last Vishnu in the form of Dhanwantari appeared holding the kumbh (pot) of nectar.

The devas accepted the pot and entrusted it into the hands of the four gods – Brihaspati (Jupiter), Surya (Sun), Shani (Saturn) and Chandra (Moon). The asuras chased them and Jayant, the son of Indra, took the form of a raven and snatched the pot of amrit and flew off with the asuras in hot pursuit. It took 12 days for them to get the pot. Twelve days of the gods correspond to 12 human years. Hence the Kumbh Mela is held once in twelve years. While they were chasing Jayant, drops of precious nectar from the kumbh “pot” dropped at the four places of Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. Hence the Mela is held in these four sacred sites.

The Astrological aspect of Kumbh is related to the alignment of certain planets. The Sun is considered as a life- giving force. The moon is considered as the Lord of the mind. The planet Jupiter or Brihaspati is the guru of the gods. As it takes almost 12 years for Jupiter to travel round the zodiac, the Kumbh is celebrated once in twelve years.

पद्‍मिनी नायके मेषे कुम्भ राशि गते गुरोः ।

गंगा द्वारे भवेद योगः कुम्भ नामा तथोत्तमाः।।

When Jupiter enters into Aquarius or Kumbh rasi and the Sun and Moon are in Aries and Sagittarius respectively, Kumbh is held at Haridwar.

मकरे च दिवा नाथे ह्‍म‍जगें च बृहस्पतौ कुम्भ योगोभवेत्तत्र प्रयागे ह्‌यति दूलर्भ:

मेष राशि गते जीवे मकरे चन्द्र भास्करौ ।

अमावस्या तदा योगः कुम्भख्यस्तीर्थ नायके ।।

When Jupiter is in Taurus or Vrishabha and the Sun and Moon are in Capricorn or Makara, the Kumbh is held at Prayagraj.

सिंह राशि गते सूर्ये सिंह राशौ बृहस्पतौ ।

गोदावर्या भवेत कुम्भों जायते खलु मुक्‍तिदः ।। "

When the Jupiter enters Leo or Simha and the Sun and Moon are in Cancer, the Kumbh is held at Nashik.

Purna Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 12 years at these four places i.e. Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain at the auspicious time as decided by the priests. The venue is decided according to the position of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter in that period in different zodiac signs as given in the above Sanskrit verses. It is organised by the state governments. Millions of people participate and are spiritually benefitted.

Ardh Kumbh Mela: This is a half Kumbh Mela which is held every 6 years only at two places i.e. Haridwar and Prayagraj.

Magh Kumbh Mela: It is also known as Mini Kumbh Mela and is held annually only at Prayagraj. It is organised in the month of Magha according to the Hindu Calendar.

Hari Aum Tat Sat