From Jan 13, 2025 to Feb 26, 2025, Mahakumbh will be celebrated in Prayagraj in the state of Uttar Pradesh  of  India. This is no news in the modern 24×7 world of media.

However, you may have some such questions:

Why is it called MahaKumbh?

MahaKumbh is made up of two Hindi words: Maha and Kumbh.

Maha means Big or Great.

Kumbh is an earthen pitcher used to gather and store water in India. Now people getting sick of refrigerated water are also moving towards earthen pitcher as it cools water naturally.

An earthen pitcher cools water naturally because it is made of porous clay, which allows small amounts of water to seep through its tiny pores and evaporate on the outer surface, drawing heat away from the remaining water inside the pitcher, thus cooling it down through the process of evaporative cooling, informs google.

MahaKumbh essentially means Great gathering of people.

How often does it happen?

MahaKumbh happens every 12 years.

ArdhKumbh happens every 6 years.

What is it’s origin?

The origin of kumbh is thousands of years BCE.

A Chinese traveler, Hiuen Tsang (also known as Xuanzang) who visited India around 645 BC wrote about Kumbh mela (gathering). The origin of Kumbh is also related  to The legend of churning the milky ocean by devas and demons in search of Amrit (Nectar) of life. It is given at the end.

Is it an unbroken tradition?

Yes, It is an unbroken tradition.

The geographical location of Kumbh Mela spans over four locations in India and the Mela site keeps rotating between one of the four pilgrimages on four sacred rivers as listed below:

  • In Haridwar, Uttarakhand, on the banks of Ganges
  • In Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh on the banks of Shipra
  • In Nashik, Maharashtra on the banks of Godavari
  • In Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical invisible Sarasvati

Why does MahaKumbh 2025 begin on Jan 6, 2025 and end on Feb 26, 2025?

The celebration is based on a distinct set of astrological positions of the Sun, the Moon, and the Jupiter. MahaKumbh starts with Full moon day of Paush month and ends with Mahashivratri. The Kumbh Mela is an event that intrinsically encapsulates the science of astronomy, astrology, spirituality, ritualistic traditions, and socio-cultural customs and practices, making it extremely rare in knowledge and experience.

Are pilgrims discriminated against based on caste?

No one is discriminated against on caste basis in Kumbh ever since its origin. It also proves that the stories of caste discrimination in ancient Indian society are cooked up by Britishers, who invaded India in the garb of traders and divided and ruled India.

How many people visit Kumbh?

The number of people visiting Kumbh are in crores (1 crore = 10 million).

In Mahakumbh 2025, organizers are expecting 40-45 crore visitors. That is 400- 450 million people. It is greater than the population of the United States of America.

How do they advertise?

No one advertises or sends invitations or sells tickets for kumbh. It is all voluntary, Hindu faith based. The date is printed in Panchang (Hindu calendar), years in advance.

There is nothing like Kumbh! (Some Amazing facts):

It is world’s largest gathering of humanity.

It is world’s biggest event management.

It is world’s largest coordination project where public and private agencies partner. The innovators of public- private partnership for infrastructure projects can learn a lesson or two from Kumbh.

It is a really big economic event. And the revenue is shared by all, big and small.

 

Imagine, if every visitor spends about INR 5000, (Start to finish, home to back home), it is an economic event of 40,00, 00,000 x 5000= 200000,00,00,000= INR 200000 Crore = 20,000,000,000,000= INR 20 billion.

(Don’t convert to USD, because purchasing power of INR is beyond imagination of common American. While an American gets a  haircut for USD 20, on average; an Indian can get for INR 70, on an average.)

My memories of Mahakumbh in 1980s

I may close by sharing my memory of Mahakumbh in 1980s in Haridwar.

By requesting, the concerned police officer, I could climb up to his watch tower. What I saw was riot of colors. Before that I only knew a phrase ‘ riot of colors’. But when I saw it, it is etched in my memory. It was so beautiful. It was so surreal.

 

For more details of MahaKumbh 2025, you may please contact

Prayagraj Mela Authority

Address: Parade Ground, Daraganj, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh – 211006

Telephone: 0532-2504011, 0532-2500775

Email ID: info.mahakumbh25@gmail.com

The Legend of Churning the Milky Ocean

The legend goes like this. Once upon a time, Devas (good people) wanted to search Amrit (Nectar) of life to be immortal to defeat demons (bad people) for the good of society. So, they decided to churn the ocean. Of course, they got demons along on the condition that Amrit will be shared 50:50 with Demons. They used Mount Mandara, as the churning rod and Vasuki, the serpent-king, as the churning rope. But once they found Amrit, the fight broke out between Devas and Demons. Demons wanted the whole of Amrit.  Then Vishnu, one of the Devas, rushed with Amrit to save it from Demons. In the process, four drops of Amrit fell in four places, where Kumbh is held. The faith is that those drops of Amrit dropped in Rivers in Haridwar, Ujjain, Nasik and Prayagraj have transformed those river waters in those four cities into Amrit. And therefore, devotees who take dip in those rivers during kumbh get all the benefits of Amrit that is Moksha, being free from the cycle of birth and death. (This legend finds its mention in Bhagvad Puran, Vishnu Puran and the Mahabharta.)

 

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