In Hinduism, there is great importance of maha kumbh Mela. The festival’s preparations start to be done several months before. Not just the general public, but the government too long to take care of every little by little things.
Because it is the largest fair of Hinduism, people come in millions. Not only from India, but foreign tourists also come to this fair. Normal Ardha Kumbh comes once in every 6 years and purna Kumbh comes in 12 years.
Why did it call as Ardha Kumbh?
The Kumbh Mela takes place once in 12 years. This fair is called PurnaKumbh the purnaKumbh means a complete and fulfill fair. A maha Kumbh Mela is held in every 6 years, which is called ardh Kumbh Mela, that is half Kumbh fair. Whereas Kumbh is a Sanskrit word meaning Kalash in Hindi.
What happens at the festival of Ardh Kumbh?
Devotees from all over the world come to take a bath in Kumbh Mela, the holiest and largest fair of Hinduism. They believe that bathing in this holy fair of Kumbh ka Mela will wash away all their sins. Kumbh ka Mela is organized in 4 places of the country.
These places are Prayagraj which is in (Allahabad) presently in Indian state Utter Pradesh, Haridwar, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and Nashik in Maharashtra. Kumbh Mela is held once every 12 years in all these places. But apart from this, Ardhkumbhmelais also held once every 6 years in Prayagraj.
The glory of Allahabad is different at the time of Ardhkumbhmela. In the midst of all this, the presence of saints, priests, and Aghoris in the fair adds to the grand pandals and transforms it from a common fair to the most special one. Seeing the glare of the night, one will always feel heartened to settle here. Not only this, besides the devotees, big scientists come to Kumbh Mela, to give direction to their new researches.
In which day you can bath in Kumbh mela?
The ardh Kumbh Mela begins on the day of Makarsankranti. The first bath of Kumbh mela 2019 takes place on the day of Makar Sankranti. This time the kumbh2019bath was on 14-15 January 2019. Bathing in Kumbhis considered being of great importance on this day. It is said that if any person takes a bath during Makar Sankranti during this fair, his soul is purified and heaven is attained at the time of death. So the second bath of ardh Kumbh Mela is done on the day of PaushaPurnima. This year was on 21 January 2019.
The main bath of Kumbh Mela is the third bath of the fair, this bath is done on the day of MaghiMauniAmavasya. Inkumbhmela 2019, which was on 4 February. The next bath is the fourth bath of ArdhKumbhmela, and it takes place on the date of Basant Panchami, Kumbh 2019that was done on 10 February. Apart from this, the last bath of the fair takes place on MouniPurnima or Shivaratri. Which will be on 4 March this year. Earlier ardh Kumbh Mela was held in the year 2013.
The myth behind the Kumbh mela?
The mythological significance of Kumbh Mela is so many mythological stories are told about Kumbh Mela. One of which is the story of Dev that is Gods and the demons. It is said that Indra and other gods became weak after cursing of Maharishi Durvasa. After which the demons attacked the gods and defeated them. After this, all the gods went to Lord Vishnu together to solve their problem. Lord Vishnu along with the demons asked him to extract the nectar from Kshirsagar.
The gods believed Lord Vishnu and indicated Indraputra that is the son of Indra’Jayant’ to fly in the sky with nectar-urn. After this, the Rakshasasthat is Deamonschased Jayant and after a long time caught Jayant in the middle. For the AmritKalash, there was a continuous war for twelve days in the Dev-Danavas. During this war that lasted 12 days, nectar drops fell from the urn in four places of the earth. These 4 places are Haridwar, Prayagraj, Ujjain, and Nashik. It is said that these 12 days of the gods were equal to 12 years for man. Therefore, Kumbh Mela is organized every 12 years on Earth.
How to reach Kumbh mela? And Kumbh mela places.
By Road: There are bus facilities from all major cities of India to Allahabad. To get here from small cities, you can go to the bus station in the nearest big city and take a bus to Allahabad from there. Once you reach Allahabad by bus, you can make auto or taxi to Kumbhmela (Sangam Beach).
By Air: If you come to Allahabad by plane then Bamrauli Airport is here. It is an interstate airport, easily accessible from anywhere in the country. You have to cover 18 km distance from the airport to Sangam. You will cover this distance via taxi in 1 hour 10 minutes.
By Train: Allahabad is the headquarters of the North Central Railway. There are 8 railway stations here, and all these are connected to many more cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Patna, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur. Apart from this, some short distance trains run to reduce congestion during Kumbh Mela.
Hope this will help you to discover and explore new ideas and thoughts related to Kumbh and its existence.
Wish you happy journey for your next normal Kumbh Mela which will be held in Haridwar andmahakumbhmelais on 2025
Hello Manoj, This is Piyush. I just read your article on maha Kumbh Mela this one is very awesome and helps people to know more about Indian culture and traditions. It will also describe India’s one of the biggest Hindu tradition i.e Kumbh Mela. I would also interested in reading this type of topic.
Thank you.
Hello Manoj,
This is Archana. I read your article as per me your share very important information with us because people know about Kumbh Mela but don’t know how to reach there.
you have simplified and given a good solution to reach at this place.
Thank u!!!