Kumbh origin, history, appeal

The Kumbh Mela begins in Prayagraj today. Why is it held in four cities periodically? What are Ardh and Maha Kumbh? And why do millions flock to the Mela, making it the largest gathering of devotees on Earth?

Introduction
Mythological origins of Kumbh
Deciding the site
What pilgrims do at Kumbh

SHAMI RANJAN

NEW DELHI | JANUARY 13

IT IS cold in Prayagraj, foggy with a chance of rain. Yet, on Monday, hundreds of thousands are expected to arrive in the city, to camp on the banks of the Ganga. During their visit. they will stay in tents and bathe in the river, and the most devout will take a dip before dawn when the stars are still twinkling

Prayagraj is hosting the Maha Kumbh or Poorna Kumbh – which is held every 12 years. Many myths are prevalent around the Kumbh Mela, there are many theories about its origin. Some say the festivalfinds men tion in the Vedas and Puranas. Some say it does not go back more than two centuries. What is certain is only that it is the largest gathering of religious devotees on Earth.

What is the Kumbh Mela, and why is it held in four cities by turns? What is Ardh Kumbh and Maha Kumbh? What do the mil- lions who attend it seek? The answers lie in a mix of myths, history, and the enduring faith of an ancient people who trust as much in the munificence of invisible deities as in tangible life-givers like rivers.

Mythological origins of Kumbh

The Sanskrit word kumbh means pitcher. The story goes that when devas (gods) and asuras (loosely translated as demons) churned the ocean, Dhanvantri emerged carrying a pitcher of amrit, or the elixir of immortality. To make sure the asuras did not get it, Indra’s son, Jayant, ran off with the pot. The Sun, his son Shani, Brihaspati (Jupiter), and the Moon went along to protect him and the pot.

As Jayant ran, the amrit spilled at four places: Haridwar, Prayagraj, Ujjain, and Nashik-Trimbakeshwar. He ran for 12 days and as one day of the devas is equal to a year

humans, Kumbh Mela is celebrated at these locations every 12 years, based on the relative positions of the Sun, the Moon, and Jupiter.

Prayagraj and Haridwar also hold the Ardh (half) Kumbh every six years. The festi- val held after 12 years is called Poorna Kumbh or the Maha Kumbh.

All four places are on the banks of rivers – Haridwar has the Ganga; Prayagraj is the sangam (meeting point) of Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati; Ujjain has the Kshipra, and Nashik-Trimbakeshwar the Godavari.

It is believed that taking a dip in these rivers during Kumbh, amid the specific align- ment of the heavenly bodies, washes away
one’s sins and accrues punya (spiritual merit). Sodhus and other holy men gather at Kumbh Melas, and regular people can meet them. While the importance of the Ganga

in Hindu religion is well known, the Kshipra is believed to have emerged from the heart of Vishnu in his Varah (boar) avatar. The Godavari is often called the Ganga of Dakshin (south),” Dr Dipakbhai Jyotishacharya, who runs the Parashar Jyotishalaya in Gujarat’s Vapi, told The Indian Express.

Deciding the site

According to the Kumbh Mela website, when Jupiter-which takes 12 years to com- plete a revolution around the Sun is in Aquarius or Kumbh rashi (whose symbol is the water bearer), and Sun and Moon are in Aries and Sagittarius respectively, Kumbh is held at Haridwar.

When Jupiter is in Taurus, and the Sun and Moon are in Capricorn or Makar (thus, Makar Sankranti is also in this period) the Kumbh is held at Prayag.

When Jupiter is in Leo or Simha, and the Sun and Moon in Cancer, the Kumbh is held at Nashik and Trimbakeshwar, which is why it is called Simhastha Kumbh.

Debate over Kumbh’s antiquity

Reference to the Kumbh in the Skanda Purana is sometimes cited as evidence of its antiquity.

Girija Shankar Shastri, head of the Depar- tment of Jyotish at Banaras Hindu University. said, “The Skanda Purana is widely cited to explain the origins of the Kumbh Mela, but those references have not survived in the ex- tant versions of the Purana.” In fact, Prof Shastri said, “No scripture can be definitively said to contain a reference to the Kumbh Mela as we know it today. While the Samudra Manthan is described in many books, the spilling of amrit at four places is not.”

Dipakbhai Jyotishacharya said that a book published by Gorakhpur’s Gita Press, called Maha Kumbh Parva, claims that the Rig Veda has shlokas that mention the benefits of par- ticipating in the Kumbh Mela.

Many believe that the periodic fairs were started by the 8th-century Hindu philosopher Adi Shankaracharya as a place where Hindu ascetics and scholars could meet, discuss and disseminate ideas, and guide lay people.

The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) described a fair in Prayag in the sev- enth century. However, the Indologist Kama Maclean has pointed out that while Xuanzang does mention a fair, it cannot be established that he was describing the Kumbh Mela (Pilgrimage and Power, 2008).

Maclean has written that an ancient bathing festival of Magh mela (fair held in the Hindu month of Magh) was held at Prayag, which the pandits of the city re- branded as the “timeless” Kumbh sometime

after the Revolt of 1857 to ensure the British did not meddle with it.

DP Dubey, a retired professor of ancient history at the University of Allahabad who has studied the Kumbh Mela in depth, hus written that the fait at have been the as Haridwar ishaly to first to be called Kumbh Mela Brihaspati is in Kumbh rashi for this fair

The origins of the Kuribh are linked to the worship of the Ganga as the great life force of the northern plains. Fairs on the banks of sacred rivers are indeed an ancient Hindu tradition. Gradually, travelling sodes spread the idea of four Kumbh Melas on the banks of sacred rivers, where lay men as well as sanyasis could gather. Apart from pilgrim age, such huge gatherings also presented an opportunity to earn influence and follow ers” Dubey told The Indian Exp

Express In the book Kumbh Mela, Pilgrimage to The Greatest Cosmic Fair, Dubey, citing records from the Mughal era to those kept by sanyasi akhadaas, writes, “The Kumbha Mela came to be organised sometime after the twelfth cen- tury CE. The tradition of Tholding this religious festival possibly crystallised during the heyday of the Bhakti movement, a moverment of the socio-religious reforms set on foot by a series of Hindu saints and reformers.”

What pilgrims do at Kumbh

While some come for only one ritual dip f in the river to wash away sins, many, termed kalpwasi, stay at the riverbank, to take a break from the daily fight of earning material re- sources and earn spiritual credit instead.

With any large crowd comes the chance of commerce, and the Mela has also served as a market crucial to local communities. Historically, there are records of Venetian coins and European toys being spotted at the Mela markets.

The various sadhu akhadaas set up camp. They go for ritual baths, called shahi snan, in elaborate processions. In the past, tussle over which sadhu akhadaa is important enough to bathe first has led to bloody battles, so now, an order is generally pre-decided.

“The Kumbh Mela has played played an impor- tant part in history by mobilising and unit- ing society. These days, it is easy to advertise the time and venue of the next mela, but cen- turies ago, it was the sadhus that made astro- logical calculations and spread the word. People travelled to the venues without trains or motorised vehicles, without the option of luxury tents, driven only by faith. During the freedom struggle, the melas were a venue to spread nationalist thought,” Rakesh Pandey, retired History professor at BHU, said.

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