What is kumbh mela and why it is largest gathering of humans in the world
India is a land of festivals. Festival has always been an integral part to Hinduism. Indians celebrate traditional festivals following all the rituals with great pomposity and grandiosity. Out of all the festivals, Kumbh mela is believed to be the biggest one that is celebrated once in every 12 years across four locations in India. Ardha ("Half") Kumbh Mela is held at only two places, Haridwar and Allahabad, once in every sixth year
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. Kumbh mela in Prayag is said to be the most sacred of all locations. Kumbh mela in prayag is so grand that it is considered worldwide as the largest human gathering on earth
Why the name Kumbh Mela?
Kumbh-Mela derives its name from two words: - 'Kumbh', meaning the eternal pot of nectar and Mela meaning "Fair". It is said in the fight between the deities and Demons for the pot containing nectar of immortality produced by their joint churning of the milky ocean, few drops of nectar fell from the heavenly planet (Where the fight took place) to four places on earth. So, kumbh mela is held at these four places: - Allahabad (Prayag), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik, once in every 12 years.
If you want to know the full story on the fight between the deities and demons, then check the below link,
Why bathing in Ganga river?
Purity of the body + Purity of the mind + Purity in prayer = Purity of the soul.
So, kumbh mela or any celebration in Hinduism cannot be initiated without bathing or purifying the soul. Additional Reason behind bathing & the grand-scale celebration of kumbh-mela is the age old belief that the bathing at the place where the nectar fall on earth from the planet of deities would absolve all sins and the devotee would attain moksha (liberation). It is this faith and belief that the millions of devotees from all across the world attend the kumbh mela to take a sacred dip in the ganges river.
Despite of Ganges water being polluted and dirty, devotee's dip into the ganges river unbothered as Moksha (liberation) is the only thing that is ruling their mind. Bathing, which is locally known as shahi snan, is the main ritual of kumbh mela. So As soon as the sun rises, different group of sadhus first move on procession towards the sacred gangas waters.
It is believed that during the festival of kumbh mela, climatic and planetary position align in such a way that the waters in the river situated in these cities turns into the nectar of immortality, thus giving devotes an opportunity to bathe in the essence of purity, auspiciousness, and immortality.
As bathing in River Ganga has unique healing benefits, devotees, gurus, sadhus and Saints from across the world bathe in Kumbh Mela. Bathing in sacred ganga river during the kumbh mela festival is considered to be equivalent of performing 1,000 Ashvamedha Yadnyas, 100 Vajapeya Yadnyas and 100,000 Pradakshinas (Circumambulations). River Ganga is rich in minerals and has a special kind bacteria that destroys all the impurities. This is why despite of being polluted, bathing in river Ganga has not produced any kind of disease to even one of the million devotees bathing here. On the contrary, bathing in river Ganga is known to be the cure of many serious illness/diseases.
Even you can witness the magic of river Ganga. Fill waters of river Ganga in a bottle. No matter how dirty the water was, after a day or two, all the impurities will be gone. Even if you keep waters of Ganga in a bottle for 100 years, you will never see any germs in the water and on testing the water in laboratory after 100 years, lab results will still conclude it safe to drink.
Why kumbh mela in prayag attracts the most devotees?
Due to the spiritual, cultural and historical significance of the Ganges, kumbh mela in prayag attracts the most devotees. As prayag is the place of confluence of the three sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna and saraswati, This Confluence ('Triveni Sangam') is said to be the most sacred of all religious destinations in India.
Religious Significance of prayag described in various scriptures
ेतिसातिस सरिते यत्र सङ्गते तत्राप्लुतासो दिवमुत्पतन्ति ।
ये वै तन्वं विसृजन्ति धीरास्ते जनासो अमृतत्वं भजन्ते ॥
- Rugveda, Khilsukta
Translation: He who bathes at the sangam (Confluence) of Ganga and Yamuna Rivers attains Heaven, and courageous individuals who sacrifice their body in this confluence attain Moksha (Final Liberation).
ंाणाहर्ग च यथा सूर्यो नक्षत्राणां यथा शशी ।
तीर्थानामुत्तमं तीर्थं प्रयागाख्यमनुत्तमम् ॥
- Padma Purana
Translation: Just as the sun is supreme among all celestial bodies (As per astrology), the moon in the constellation (As per astrology),
Prayagraj is supreme among all pilgrimage places.
ःगाय सर्वतीर्थेभ्यः प्रभवत्यधिकं विभो ॥
श्रवणात् तस्य तीर्थस्य नामसंकीर्तनादपि ।
मृत्तिकालम्भनाद्वापि नरः पापात् प्रमुच्यते ॥
- Mahabharat, Parva 3, Adhyaya 83, Shloka 74, 75
Translation: O King ! Prayag is the superiormost among all pilgrimage places. If its greatness is heard, its Name is chanted or if its soil is smeared on the body, man will be liberated from all sins.
Why devotees in kumbh mela is rising every year?
Number of devotees attending kumbh mela has been on the rise since its inception. This shows the rising dissatisfaction among the thriving middle class family of India and the western world. Peoples across the world are fed up of the materialistic pleasures or are dissatisfied for some reasons and are looking for liberation (Moksha). Since kumbhmela is said to be the shortcut for Moksha (liberation), devotees from all across the world comes to kumbh mela with the goal of washing away all sins.
The total number of devotees expected to attend kumbh mela this year is estimated to be 120 million out of which 1 million are foreigners.