The
Legend
Timing of
kumbha mela
Ardha
kumbha mela, HARIDWAR
The
Blissful Darshan
The
Mystics
Procession of Holy Saints
The
Atmosphere
Prayag
Snan
Tent City
Mythological
legends say that at the beginning of creation, all the Gods were under a curse
that made them weak and cowardly. Brahma, the creator God, advised them to
retrieve the Kumbh (pot) containing the nectar of immortality (amrit). The gods
sought help from the demons, and together they churned the primordial ocean to
bring up the nectar.
As Dhanwantari,
the divine healer, appeared with the "Kumbh" containing nectar in his palms, a
great fight ensued between the Gods and demons to wrest the pitcher. During the
fierce battle in the sky, a few drops of nectar fell in four different places:
Allahabad (Prayag), Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain.
Since then, when
the planets align in the same position, pilgrims and devotees converge to
commemorate this divine event. Kumbh Mela takes place every three years in
rotation in the four sacred places. Therefore Kumbh Mela at Allahabad, the most
holy of these fairs, only takes place every twelfth year. The Ardh Kumbh Mela
takes place in the sixth year between Kumbh Melas.
In the four
holy places Kumbh Mela takes place at an interval of twelve years coinciding
with one round of Jupiter through the zodiac. In Allahabad it takes place with
Jupiter in Vrishabh (Taurus) while the Sun enters Makara (Capricorn) coinciding
with the northerly course of the Sun. The major bath takes place when the Moon
too enters Makara. This happened on January 24, 2001.
