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Kumbh
Mela (कुम्भ मेला) 2010
The Kumbh Mela, a Hindu Spiritual Festival, considered to be the world's largest
religious gathering starts this year on Thursday, the 14th January,
2010 at Haridwar on the banks of River
Ganga (गगां).Over 70 million spiritual seekers will kick off the new year with a gathering at
the Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar on January 14. The Guiness Book of World Records states that the three-and-a-half month long
festival will see the largest number of human beings assemble with a common purpose.
पद्मिनीनायके
मेषे कुम्भराशिगते गुरो|
गगांद्वारे भवेध्धोगः कुम्भनामा तदोत्तमः||
Kumbh Mela is celebrated
on Ganga entrance (Haridwar) when the planet of
Brhaspati (Jupiter) moves into the zodiac sign of Aquarius or Kumbha rashi.
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History
According to Hindu mythology, in the beginning of all creation, the gods (Deva) were placed under a curse that made them weak and cowardly.
Lord Brahma, the creator god, advised them to retrieve the kumbh (pitcher) containing the nectar of immortality.
The gods sought help from the demons and, together, they churned the primordial
ocean to bring up the nectar. When Dhanwantari, the divine healer, appeared with the kumbh containing the
nectar (Amrit), a great fight over the pitcher ensued between the gods and the demons, and the gods eventually won.
During the fierce battle in the sky, a few drops of nectar fell in four
different places: Allahabad, in Uttar Pradesh, meeting place (Sangam)
of River
Ganga (गगां), River Yamuna (यमुना) and Saraswati; Haridwar in Uttarakhand, where the Ganga enters the plains from the Himalayas; Ujjain in Madhya
Pradesh which lies on the banks of the Ksipra river; and Nasik in
Maharashtra, on the banks of the Godavari River. |
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Rituals
in Kumbh Mela
Kumbh Mela is the most sacred of all the
pilgrimages. The major event of the festival is a ritual bath at the banks of the
Ganga river on the auspicious days as Makar Sankrti. (January 14),
Moni Amavsya (January 15) etc. Thousands of holy men and women (monks, saints and sadhus) attend, and the
auspiciousness of the festival is in part attributable to this. The sadhus are seen clad in saffron sheets with
plenty of ashes and powder dabbed on their skin per the requirements of ancient
traditions. Some called naga sanyasis may often be seen without any clothes even
in severe winter, generally considered to live an extreme lifestyle. |
A procession of Akharas marching over a makeshift bridge over the Ganga river |
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After visiting the Kumbh Mela of 1895, Mark Twain wrote:
“It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such
incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvelous to our kind of people, the cold
whites” |
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Importance of Kumbh Mela
According to the Hindu faith, souls are reborn after death in a continuous cycle
known as karma, and nirvana (perfect peace) is achieved when one is liberated
from this cycle through righteous living and good deeds. The circumstances of one’s next life, or even whether one achieves nirvana, are
determined by one’s actions in the present life. So going on a pilgrimage to an
event like the Kumbh Mela can have a profound impact on one’s next life and the
cycle of rebirth.
Also in the astrological period when the sun enters
the sign of Aries and Jupiter into Aquarius, every Hindu wish to wash away their sins on the banks of the Ganga River. |
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Bathing (Snan) dates
14 January 2010 (Thursday) - Makar Sankranti Snan - First Snan (translation: bath)
15 January 2010 (Friday) - Mauni Amavasya and Surya Grahan (Solar Eclipse) - Second Snan
20 January 2010 (Wedesday) - Basant Panchmi Snan - Third snan
30 January 2010 (Saturday) - Magh Purnima Snan - Fourth Snan
12 February 2010 (Friday) - Maha Shivratri - Pratham Shahi Snan (First Royal Bath).
15 March 2010 (Monday) - Somvati Amavasya - Dvitya Shahi Snan (Second Royal Bath).
16 March 2010 (Tuesday) - Navsatrambh Snan
24 March 2010 (Wednesday) - Ram Navmi - Fifth Snan
30 March 2010 (Tuesday) - Chaitra purnima Snan
14 April 2010 (Wednesday) - Baisakhi - Pramukh Shahi Snan ( Main Royal Bath).
28 April 2010 (Wednesday) - Shakh Purnima - Snan
Bathing (Snan) on 14th January, 2010 (Makar Sankranti)
The three-month-long Mahakumbh mela
at Haridwar got off to a quiet start before dawn in chilly waters and upon foggy ghats with Makar Sankranti on Thursday. Ganga was pleasantly clean and serene. Under a thick
carpet of security, a 10-lakh-strong crowd braved the cold to take the holy dip that began as early as 3.30am. Only a few sadhus hung loose but foreigners caught the eye.
As the sun climbed, the congregation grew in leaps and bounds, with a steady stream of humans
swelling the ranks. Beyond faith and belief, the Mahakumbh brought to its seekers spiritual reality. ‘‘You can feel the intention of the crowd. So many people geared towards a sacred ritual,’’ said Nicole Salmi from Brazil.
‘‘Never seen anything like this,’’ said Karsten Parsoe, here with family from Denmark, especially for the
Mahakumbh.
Ganges Snan on Magh Purnima
Lakhs of devotees took a holy dip in river Ganges at Haridwar on the occasion of 'Magh Purnima', the full moon of the
Hindu month of 'Magha', during the Kumbh Mela. There is a belief among the Hindus that bathing in the river Ganges
during the nearly four-month-long festival, and especially on full moon day,
cleanses them of their sins. Devotees gathered near the banks of Ganges before dawn and began bathing as soon
as the sun rose.
Bathing (Snan) on
12th February 2010 , Maha Shivratri - Pratham Shahi Snan
Lakhs of devotees started bathing in the holiest river of the Hindus on the occasion of
Mahashivratri on Friday, one of the biggest days of the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela
in Haridwar. According to Hindu mythology, Lord
Shiva (शिव) married Goddess Parvati on Mahashivratri. It is one of the focal days of the Maha Kumbh Mela, the
once-in-12-years festival that promises to become the world's largest religious gathering this time.
Map Kumbh Mela |
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