Maha Kumbh Mela: Largest spiritual gathering of humanity

Only in India

By Dr R Neerunjun Gopee

Maha means vast, mela means crowd, kumbh means a vessel. This leads us to the origins of the Kumbh Mela in times immemorial when, according to tradition, there was a churning of the ocean or Samudra Manthan by the Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons) to obtain Amrit, the nectar of immortality.

During this process, a vessel (Kumbh) containing Amrit emerged. Before the Asuras could claim it, Lord Vishnu fled with the Kumbh. Drops of Amrit fell at four locations: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik, which became sacred pilgrimage destinations for followers of Sanatan Dharma aka Hinduism. Taking a holy dip in the waters at these sites confers spiritual benefits upon those who participate in the festival.

A Kumbh Mela is held every 6 (‘Ardh Kumbh’) and 12 years. But the Maha Kumbh Mela takes place after completion of 12 cycles of 12 years each. Thus, the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 is being held after 144 years. Clearly, this is a blessed opportunity of a lifetime for the devotees who will be fortunate enough to make the pilgrimage over the 45 days of the festival, from Jan 13 to Feb 26. They will come from across the world: nearly 10 million foreign devotees from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, the US, Russia, Israel, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea, etc.

One of the most illustrious devotees there is the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, Laurene Powell Jobs who has come with a 60-strong delegation. She is participating as Kamala, the new Sanatani name she has been given by her Guru, with whom she visited the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir in Kashi (Banaras) before travelling to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh where the Maha Kumbh Mela is being held. She is doing this to fulfil a wish of her husband who came to India in the 1970s and was inspired by the life and teachings of Neem Karoli Baba to launch Apple.

Prayagraj in the state of Uttar Pradesh is where the three rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati (no longer extant, but proven by the scriptures and modern geological tools to have existed) meet, and their confluence known as Triveni Sangam is where the bathing takes place.

With the sheer number of devotees expected, almost 10 million per day totalling nearly 450 million in all (equal to the combined populations of US, Australia and Canada), one can imagine that the Maha Kumbh Mela is ‘poised to be a monumental spiritual event,’ which ‘showcases centuries-old traditions and cultural grandeur. With cutting-edge technology, advanced safety measures, and extensive planning, it promises a secure and transformative experience for pilgrims’ – thus writes Executive Content Writer Kirti Barua for the GK section of Jagran Josh New Media, wherein she has given a comprehensive account of the arrangements made by the UP-state government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The statistics related to this Mela are simply mind-boggling. It is worth pointing out that this is the first time that a Kumbh Mela is being held in the era of social media, and as expected there is extensive daily 24/7 coverage that includes on-ground Reporters’ Diaries and visuals from which much information is available.

To start with, aerial drone pictures give an idea of the scale and the topographic outlay of the site of nearly 4000 hectares. The bathing area stretching along 12 km of the river bank is demarcated from the main body of water by a line of floats. Adjoining it are to be seen the hundreds of thousands of devotees awaiting their turn, and further inland are seen the tent cities that have been put up: 150,000 in all, with a similar number of toilets and urinals.Read More… Become a Subscriber

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 17 January 2025