|
|
|
Stampede claims 36 lives Allahabad station in Kumbh 2013
At least 36 people died and scores of others injured on
Sunday evening when a stampede broke out at the Allahabad Junction teeming with pilgrims returning from the Mahakumbh on February 10, 2013.
The incident occurred around 7 pm, allegedly when a railing leading to a
footbridge over platform no. 6 collapsed.
Maha Kumbh Mela (कुम्भ मेला) 2013
The Kumbh Mela, a Hindu Spiritual Festival, considered to be the world's largest
religious gathering. The Purna Kumbha Mela will be held in in Prayag at Allahabad in
2013 (January 27th to February 25th). In ancient scriptures
Prayag or Teerathraj or Sangam is 'the holiest pilgrimage centre, The city is situated at the confluence
of India's holiest rivers - The River Ganga (गगां) , The River
Yamuna (यमुना) and The Mythical Saraswati. The 55-day-long Maha Kumbh
mela ends on the occasion of Mahashivaratri on March 10, 2013
In 2013 the Purna Kumbh Mela will be held on Allahabad which occurs after every 12th years.
The most auspicious days (Bathing Dates) in year 2013 during Maha Kumbh Festival (mela) are:
14th January 2013(Sunday) – Makar Sankranti.
27 January 2013(Sunday) – Paush Purnima
6 February 2013 (Wednesday) – Ekadashi Snan
10 February 2013 (Sunday) – Mauni Amavasya Snan (Main Bathing Day)
15 February 2013 (Friday) – Basant Panchami Snan
17 February 2013 (Sunday) – Rath Saptami Snan
21 February 2013(Thursday) – Bhisma Ekadashi Snan
25 February 2013(Monday) – Maghi Purnima Snan
Rituals in Kumbh Mela
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, 2013), Moni Amavsya (10 February 2013) 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.
Some naked, some wrapped in saffron or leopard-print cloth and smoking
cannabis pipes, the holy men hold court by fire pits in sprawling camps
decorated with coloured neon lights, where they are visited by pilgrims who proffer alms and get blessings.
The festival attracts global followers too, with a number of foreigners
ordained in the hierarchy of sadhus, including Baba Mangalannand, who is
also a popular trance music DJ under the name Goa Gil. He first came in 1971.
|
|
|
|
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. It is belived that bathing on the auspicious
days cleanses one of all sins and attains Moksha (meaning liberation from the cycle of life, Death and Rebirth).
Kumbh Mela is the most sacred of all the pilgrimages. Millions of holy men and women attend, and the auspiciousness of the festival
of Maha Kumbh 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.
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 four times every 12 years, the site of the
observance rotating between four pilgrimage places on four sacred rivers: at
"Haridwar" on the River Ganga (गगां), at "Ujjain" on the Shipra, at
"Nasik" on the Godavari ( गोदावरी) River, and at "Allahabad"
on the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical river Sarasvati.
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 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.
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, 2010. Kumbh Mela was celebrated
on Ganga entrance (Haridwar) when the planet of Brhaspati (Jupiter) moves into the zodiac sign of Aquarius or Kumbha rashi.
 |
|
|
|
Bathing at Sangam on 14th January, 2013 (Makar Sankranti)
More than 82 lakh pilgrims, led by ash-covered, trident and sword yielding sadhus, streamed into the Sangam - the confluence
of the sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythological Saraswati- on Monday at the start of the world's biggest religious festival.
Officials say up to 100 million devotees will gather over the next 55 days to take the ritual bath in the holy Sangam. More than 2,000 years old, the festival is a meeting point for the Hindu
sadhus, some who live in forests or Himalayan caves, and who belong to
dozens of inter-related congregations. The sects have their own administration and elect leaders, but are also known for violent clashes with each other.
Devotees take holy dip at Maha Kumbh on Maghi Poornima
Lakhs of pilgrims on February 25, 2013 converged at Sangam, the confluence of
Ganga, Yamuna and mythical river Saraswati, here for a holy dip on the
auspicious occasion of Maghi Poornima, virtually drawing the curtain on
the ongoing 55-day Maha Kumbh congregation.
Allahabad is the first and only city in the country to receive funds from the Ministry of
Environment and Forest to tackle the flow of sewage water into the Ganga and make alternative
arrangements for Kumbh mela 2013 . MoEF had sanctioned a sum of Rs 1,200 crore to the city three and a half
years back, the credit for which mainly goes to the activists fighting
for a clean Ganga, former Allahabad mayor and member, Central Pollution Control Board, Jitendra Nath Singh said. |
|
|
| Map Kumbh Mela 2013 - Allahabad |
|
|
|
