The Maha Kumbha Mela or the greatest Kumbha Mela is
a rarer than rare occasion. Held after every 144 years, it is an event
of great spiritual worth for pious members of the Hindu community. Here
we bring you an illuminating account of Maha Kumbh Mela and the last
Maha Kumbh Mela celebrated in the year 2001. If you like it,
click here and refer this page
to all your friends and loved ones. Enjoy reading about Maha Kumbh Mela.
One of the greatest Hindu religious occasions, the Kumbh Mela is
held after every four years and is of great spiritual
significance for the Hindus in India.
The
Kumbh Mela is not a single event that is organised at regular
intervals. While the Kumbh Mela is normally held after every
four years, the Purna Kumbh Mela falls after every 12 years and
is of greater importance than the Kumbh Mela. As per ancient
Hindu mythology, some planets that are believed to affect the
destiny of the human race align every 12 years and the Purna
Kumbh Mela is held exactly during the time of this powerful
planetary alignment. The Purna Kumbha is organised by turns at
Haridwar in Uttar Pradesh, Prayag( near Allahabad) in Uttar
Pradesh, Nasik in Maharastra and Ujjaini in Madhya Pradesh. The
site for every Purna Kumbh is decided by the ascetics who
jointly study the planetary positions and agree upon the
location of observance. The Ardh Kumbha Mela(Half Kumbha Mela)
is held after every six years or halfway between two Purna kumbh
Melas; hence the name.
But the most important Kumbh Mela is the Maha Kumbh Mela(Great
Kumbh Mela), that periodically falls every 144 years or after 12
Purna Kumbh Melas, and is held at Allahabad. A rarest of rare
occassion, the Maha Kumbh Mela is looked upon by most Hindus as
a once in a lifetime occassion that one can attend only with
great fortune.
The Maha Kumbh Mela (Great Kumbh Mela) is organised at Prayag
which is located near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. During this
time, millions of devotees converge here to take a ceremonial
dip in the Triveni Sangam - the confluence of the three great
rivers Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati meet. It is accepted to be
the spot where four drops of the sacred nectar had fallen during
the battle between the Devas (demigods) and Asuras(demons) over
the Amrit-Kumbh(pot of nectar). The place is attended by
millions of people who perform rituals here and also a take a
ritual bath. The bathing is done in the open with complete
submersion of the body under water and performing an oblation to
the sun.
Religious Hindus attach great importance to this bathing
ceremony and it forms the most important ritual of the Maha
Kumbh Mela as also of the other Kumbh Melas. According to a
popular legend, Lord Brahma (the God of Creation in Hindu
Mythology) once proclaimed that taking a dip in the holy River
Ganga can liberate mankind from its sins. The Hindus believe
that bathing in the sacred waters at the Kumbh Mela will purge
them and their ancestors back to the eighty-eighth generation
off all evil and sin. This would make them suitable to attain
moksha (salvation) from the cycle of life, death and rebirth.
The inner significance of this ritual bath lies in understanding
the true implication of the Samudra-Manthan episode. The "amrit"
or nectar implies the divine knowledge and strength that lies
within each of us. The churning of the ocean symbolizes that
each of us must judiciously churn our own inner self to gain
this knowledge.
The other important activities associated to the Maha Kumbh Mela
include singing of bhajans (devotional songs), discussions on
religious matters, mass feeding of holy men and women and the
poor, and gatherings where religious doctrines are debated and
determined.
The recent Maha Kumbh Mela was held in 2001 at Prayag, the
holiest of the four spots where the sacred drops of amrit are
said to have fallen. This was the first Maha Kumbh of the 21st
century and also of this millennium. The grand religious
congregation was attended by around 60 million people,
consisting of men, women and children, thousands of sadhus
(monks) and also more than 65,000 foreigners from abroad
(curious to get a glimpse of this grand affair). The astounding
number of the total people gathered makes the Maha Kumbh Mela
2001 the largest gathering anywhere in the history of the world
till date.