Millions start bathing in holy rivers at India’s biggest Hindu festival 11 hours ago Geeta Pandey BBC News, Prayagraj•@geetapandeybbc Millions have arrived to attend the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela (also known as Mahakumbh) – described as humanity’s biggest gathering – in northern India’s Prayagraj city on Monday.
What is Kumbh Mela?
As the fight went on for 12 celestial years – each equal to 12 years on Earth – Kumbh Mela festival is held every 12 years in the four cities.
“Such perfection is being observed after 12 Kumbh festivals or 144 years,” he said.
Kumbh Mela: Millions of Indians take holy dip India transgender gurus in landmark Hindu procession Tens of thousands of pilgrims, including many from foreign countries, have already reached the city.
During India’s largest Hindu festival, millions begin taking baths in sacred rivers.
Eleven hours earlier.
Geeta Pandey.
Prayagraj, BBC News, @geetapandeybbc.
The Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela, also called Mahakumbh, has drawn millions of people to Prayagraj, a city in northern India, on Monday. It is referred to as humanity’s largest gathering.
Once every 12 years, the event begins Monday. Over the course of the following six weeks, the faithful will take baths at Sangam, which is the meeting point of the Yamuna, the fabled Saraswati, and India’s most revered Ganges river.
Since salvation is the ultimate goal of Hinduism, Hindus believe that partaking in the sacred river will purify their souls, rid them of sins, and free them from the cycle of birth and death.
Large enough to be seen from space, the 45-day event is anticipated to draw about 400 million pilgrims.
It is anticipated that five to eight million worshippers will take a bath on Monday, and that number will rise to over 20 million the following day.
The spectacle on Tuesday will be particularly noteworthy because it will feature naked Hindu holy men, known as Naga sadhus, with matted dreadlocks and ash-smeared bodies swimming in the northern Indian city at dawn.
Officials, however, are working quickly to prepare the city for the millions of visitors that will continue to pour in during the celebration.
A huge tent city covering 4,000 hectares has been erected on the riverbanks to house the pilgrims and tourists.
However, many areas of Prayagraj’s expansive grounds still looked to be under construction on Sunday, just hours before events were scheduled to start.
Water was scarce and power was sporadic in some of the camps that saints and other worshippers had established.
There were still thousands of toilet cubicles to be set up, and many of the ones that had already been installed were broken due to missing water connections.
According to administration official Vivek Chaturvedi, who spoke to the BBC, organizers faced difficulties because the monsoon waters took longer to recede this year, reducing the amount of time available for construction.
However, “all systems will be in place to welcome the visitors and preparations are almost complete,” he insisted.
In addition to installing tens of thousands of tents and restrooms, we have constructed 650 km (403 miles) of temporary roads. Over 100,000 people are working nonstop to ensure its success, including over 40,000 police and security personnel, Mr. Chaturvedi stated.
Kumbh Mela: what is it?
The United Nations organization Unesco has designated the festival, which ends on February 26th, as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Its origins lie in a mythological tale of a battle between the gods and demons over a Kumbh, or pitcher, of nectar that formed when the ocean was churning.
A few drops spilled and fell in Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik as the two sides battled for the pot of elixir that would grant them immortality.
Because the battle lasted for 12 celestial years, which is equivalent to 12 years on Earth, the four cities participate in the Kumbh Mela festival every 12 years. Halfway between two festivals, there is an ardh or a half Kumbh.
The largest festivals, where attendance records are broken, are always held in Prayagraj, but the mela is organized in all four cities.
The festival this year was “extra special,” according to Hindu seer Mahant Ravindra Puri, who also called it “a Maha [great] Kumbh.”.
As he explained to the BBC, “That’s because the current alignment of planets and stars is identical to what existed at the moment of the spill.”.
He claimed that after 144 years or 12 Kumbh festivals, “such perfection is being observed.”.
One of the main draws for festival-goers is the sight of naked Naga sadhus, or ascetics, throwing themselves into the freezing waters.
It is particularly significant to the pious, however, who think that the purity of the saints’ thoughts and actions is transferred into the waters.
Large, boisterous processions of holy men arrived at the mela grounds over the weekend.
Swords, tridents, and small two-headed drums were carried by a group of men covered in ash, some of whom were naked and others who were only wearing loin cloth or marigold garland around their necks.
Leaders of another group were escorted to their campsite in a big procession with horses, camels, dancers, and a band on chariots.
Which days are best for taking a bath?
Based on how particular planets and constellations align, astrologers determine the best times to take a bath.
This time, there are six especially lucky days to take a bath.
January 13th is Paush Purnima.
January 14th is Makar Sankranti.
Mauni Amavasya on January 29.
March 3: Basant Panchami.
It’s Magh Purnima on February 12.
March 26th is Maha Shivaratri.
The Naga sadhus will take a bath on Shahi Snan (also known as the royal bath) days, which are January 14 and 29, as well as February 3.
When 50 to 60 million worshippers take to the waters on January 29, the largest crowd is anticipated.
Prayagraj, a city away from the river, has been decorated for the momentous occasion.
About 200 roads have been widened, officials said, and facades leading to Sangam have received new paint jobs. Additionally, walls have been adorned with murals and vibrant paintings that tell tales from Hindu mythology.
The Kumbh Mela is a holy dip for millions of Indians.
India’s historic Hindu procession features transgender gurus.
The city is already home to tens of thousands of pilgrims, many of whom are from other nations.
As a member of a 90-person Argentinean group, Sebastian Diago said he traveled to “experience the devotion first hand.”.
“I came because I felt the pull of the Ganges,” he said.
“Because I feel a need to connect with the Ganges, I will take a bath in the river. “,”.
What is the festival’s scale?
The area is 4,000 hectares.
160,000 tents.
40,000 security and law enforcement personnel.
15,000.
More than half a million cars can be accommodated in 99 parking lots.
thirty river-spanning floating pontoon bridges.
67,000 lights on the streets.
150,000 restrooms; 25,000 trash cans.
Eighty-five tube wells and 200 water ATMs.
According to local media reports, the state government will make 250 billion rupees ($2.9 billion; £2.3 billion) from the festival, which the Indian government said would cost 70 billion rupees ($812 million; £665 million) to organize.
While some pilgrims lamented the lack of facilities, saints and large campsite leaders claimed to understand the difficulties of planning a festival of this magnitude.
Kumbh Mela: How to organize a celebration for one hundred inhabitants.
Kumbh Mela: Lost and found at the largest gathering on earth.
Baba Amarnathji, a 60-year-old monk in saffron robes, showed the BBC a small tent he had made for himself using three bamboo poles and cloth and plastic sheets.
He said that in the past, he was able to sleep for free in tents that the government had set up, but this time, there was no such option.
“The police are attempting to drive me out of here. Everyone claims that this festival is for sadhus like me, but I can see that all the arrangements are for tourists, so where will I go? “..”.