Kumbh Mela

The Kumbha in Kumbha Mela literally means "pitcher, jar, pot" in Sanskrit. In astrological texts, the term also refers to the zodiac sign of Aquarius. The astrological etymology dates to late 1st-millennium CE. The word mela means "unite, join, meet, move together, assembly, junction" in Sanskrit, particularly in the context of fairs, and community celebrations. This word too is found in the Rigveda and other ancient Hindu texts. Thus, Kumbh Mela means an "assembly, meet, union" around "water or nectar of immortality". , which states "Copied by Sarvottama, son of Vishvanatha Bhatta, Samvat 1752". Hindu mythology describes the creation of a "pot of amrita (nectar of immortality)" after the forces of good and evil churn the ocean of creation. The gods and demons fight over this pot, the "kumbha", of nectar in order to gain immortality. In a later day extension to the legend, the pot is spilt at four places, and that is the origin of the four Kumbha Melas. The story varies, with some stating Vishnu as Mohini avatar, others stating Dhanavantari or Garuda or Indra spilling the pot. This "spilling" and associated Kumbh Mela story is not found in the earliest mentions of the original legend of Samudra Manthana (churning of the ocean) such as the Vedic era texts (pre-500 BCE), or the earliest of the Puranas (3rd to 10th-century CE). ==History==

The first Kumbh Mela event was organised in 1870, under British supervision. The Mahabharata mentions a bathing pilgrimage at Prayag as a means of prāyaścitta (atonement, penance) for past mistakes and guilt. In Tirthayatra Parva, before the great war, the epic states "the one who observes firm [ethical] vows, having bathed at Prayaga during Magha, O best of the Bharatas, becomes spotless and reaches heaven." In Anushasana Parva, after the war, the epic elaborates this bathing pilgrimage as "geographical tirtha" that must be combined with Manasa-tirtha (tirtha of the heart) whereby one lives by values such as truth, charity, self-control, patience and others. There are other references to Prayaga and river-side festivals in ancient Indian texts, including at the places where present-day Kumbh Melas are held, but the exact age of the Kumbh Mela is uncertain. The 7th-century Buddhist Chinese traveller Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) mentions king Harsha and his capital of Prayag, which he states to be a sacred Hindu city with hundreds of "deva temples" and two Buddhist institutions. He also mentions the Hindu bathing rituals at the junction of the rivers. According to some scholars, this is the earliest surviving historical account of the Kumbh Mela, which took place in present-day Prayag in 644 CE. Some traditions ascribe Kumbha Mela's origins to the 8th CE philosopher Shankara as a part of his efforts to start major Hindu gatherings for philosophical discussions and debates along with Hindu monasteries across the Indian subcontinent. Kama MacLean, an Indologist who has published articles on the Kumbh Mela predominantly based on the colonial archives and English-language media, states based on emails from other scholars and a more recent interpretation of the 7th-century Xuanzang memoir, the Prayag event happened every 5 years (and not 12 years), featured a Buddha statue, involved alms giving and it might have been a Buddhist festival. In contrast, Ariel Glucklich – a scholar of Hinduism and Anthropology of Religion, the Xuanzang memoir includes, somewhat derisively, the reputation of Prayag as a place where people (Hindus) once committed superstitious devotional suicide to liberate their souls, and how a Brahmin of an earlier era successfully put an end to this practice. This and other details such as the names of temples and bathing pools suggest that Xuanzang presented Hindu practices at Prayag in the 7th century, from his Buddhist perspective and perhaps to "amuse his audience back in China", states Glucklich. These Sanskrit guide books of the medieval era India were updated over its editions, likely by priests and guides who had a mutual stake in the economic returns from the visiting pilgrims. One of the longest sections about Prayag rivers and their significance to Hindu pilgrimage is found in chapters 103–112 of the Matsya Purana. An early account of the Haridwar Kumbh Mela was published by Captain Thomas Hardwicke in 1796 CE. The Kumbh Mela of Haridwar appears to be the original Kumbh Mela, since it is held according to the astrological sign "Kumbha" (Aquarius), and because there are several references to a 12-year cycle for it. The later Mughal Empire era texts that contain the term "Kumbha Mela" in Haridwar's context include Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh (1695–1699 CE), and Chahar Gulshan (1759 CE). Like the Prayag mela, the bathing pilgrimage mela at Nasik and Ujjain are of considerable antiquity. However, these were referred to as Singhasth mela, and the phrase "Kumbh mela" is yet to be found in literature prior to the 19th century. The phrases such as "Maha Kumbh" and "Ardh Kumbh" in the context of the ancient religious pilgrimage festivals with different names at Prayag, Nasik and Ujjain are evidently of a more modern era. The Magh Mela of Prayag is probably the oldest among the four modern-day Kumbh Melas. It dates from the early centuries CE, given it has been mentioned in several early Puranas. Like the priests at Prayag, those at Nashik and Ujjain, competing with other places for a sacred status, may have adopted the Kumbh tradition for their pre-existing Magha melas. These soldier-monk traditions have been a well-established feature of the Indian society, and they are prominent feature of the Kumbh melas. and major Hindu gatherings for philosophical discussions and debates. At the 1796 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, violence broke out between the Shaivites and the Udasis on logistics and camping rights. The repetitive clashes, battle-ready nature of the warrior monks, and the lucrative tax and trading opportunities at Kumbh melas in the 18th century attracted the attention of the East India Company officials. The Kumbh Melas attract many loner sadhus (monks) who do not belong to any akharas. Of those who do belong to a group, the thirteen active akharas have been, • 7 Shaiva akharas: Mahanirvani, Atal, Niranjani, Anand, Juna, Avahan, and Agni • 3 Vaishnava akharas: Nirvani, Digamb == Significance and impact ==

The Kumbh Melas of the past, albeit with different regional names, attracted large attendance and have been religiously significant to the Hindus for centuries. They have included initiation of followers to the akharas, discourses of religious leaders, and religious music. It is also financially significant. Officials of the East India Company saw the Hindu pilgrimage as a means to collect large sums of revenue through a "pilgrim tax" and taxes on the trade that occurred during the festival. The British officials raised the tax to amount greater than average monthly income and the attendance fell drastically. According to an 1858 account of the Haridwar Kumbh Mela by the British civil servant Robert Montgomery Martin, the visitors at the fair included people from a number of races and clime. Along with priests, soldiers, and religious mendicants, the fair had horse traders from Bukhara, Kabul, Turkistan as well as Arabs and Persians. The festival had roadside merchants of food grains, confectioners, clothes, toys and other items. Thousands of pilgrims in every form of transport as well as on foot marched to the pilgrimage site, dressed in colourful costumes, some without clothes, occasionally shouting "Mahadeo Bol" and "Bol, Bol" together. At night the river banks and camps illuminated with oil lamps, fireworks burst over the river, and innumerable floating lamps set by the pilgrims drifted downstream of the river. Several Hindu rajas, Sikh rulers and Muslim Nawabs visited the fair. Europeans watched the crowds and few Christian missionaries distributed their religious literature at the Hardwar Mela, wrote Martin. Prior to 1838, British officials collected taxes but provided no infrastructure or services to the pilgrims. Mark Twain also visited Kumbh Mela of Prayagraj in 1895 for which he wrote: The positive impact of kumbh mela is this festival helps preserve cultural traditions and promotes the values of spirituality, unity, and devotion.It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. In 1938, Lord Auckland abolished the pilgrim tax, after which the number of pilgrims increased. 1857 rebellion and the Independence movement According to the colonial archives, the Prayagwal community associated with the Kumbh Mela were one of those who seeded and perpetuated the resistance and 1857 rebellion against the colonial rule. Prayagwals objected to and campaigned against the colonial government-supported Christian missionaries and officials who treated them and the pilgrims as "ignorant co-religionists" and those who aggressively tried to convert the Hindu pilgrims to a Christian sect. During the 1857 rebellion, Colonel Neill targeted the Kumbh Mela site and shelled the region where the Prayagwals lived, destroying it in what Maclean describes as a "notoriously brutal pacification of Allahabad". In response, the Prayagwals targeted and destroyed the local mission press and churches. Once the British had regained control of the region, the Prayagwals were persecuted by colonial officials. Some were convicted and hanged, while others for whom the government did not have proof enough to convict were persecuted. Large tracts of Kumbh Mela lands near the Ganga-Yamuna confluence were confiscated and annexed into the government cantonment. In the years after 1857, the Prayagwals and the Kumbh Mela pilgrim crowds carried flags with images alluding to the rebellion and the racial persecution. The British media reported these pilgrim assemblies and protests at the later Kumbh Mela as strangely "hostile" and with "disbelief." The Kumbh Mela continued to play an important role in the independence movement through 1947, as a place where the native people and politicians periodically gathered in large numbers. In 1906, the Sanatan Dharm Sabha met at the Prayag Kumbh Mela and resolved to start the Banaras Hindu University in Madan Mohan Malaviya's leadership. Kumbh Melas have also been one of the hubs for the Hindutva movement and politics. In 1964, the Vishva Hindu Parishad was founded at the Haridwar Kumbh Mela. Rising attendance and scale The historical and modern estimates of attendance vary greatly between sources. For example, the colonial era Imperial Gazetteer of India reported that between 2 and 2.5 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh Mela in 1796 and 1808, then added these numbers may be exaggerations. Between 1892 and 1908, in an era of major famines, cholera and plague epidemics in British India, the pilgrimage dropped to between 300,000 and 400,000. During World War II, the colonial government banned the Kumbh Mela to conserve scarce supplies of fuel. The ban, coupled with false rumours that Japan planned to bomb and commit genocide at the Kumbh Mela site, led to sharply lower attendance at the 1942 Kumbh Mela than in prior decades when an estimated 2 to 4 million pilgrims gathered at each Kumbh mela. After India's independence, the attendance rose sharply. On amavasya – one of the three key bathing dates, over 5 million attended the 1954 Kumbh, about 10 million attended the 1977 Kumbh while the 1989 Kumbh attracted about 15 million. On 14 April 1998, 10 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh Mela at Haridwar on the busiest single day, according to the Himalayan Academy editors. In 2001, IKONOS satellite images confirmed a very large human gathering, with officials estimating 70 million people over the festival, Another estimate states that about 30 million attended the 2001 Kumbh mela on the busiest mauni amavasya day alone. In 2007, as many as 70 million pilgrims attended the 45-day-long Ardha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj. In 2013, 120 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj. The Kumbh Mela is "widely regarded as the world's largest religious gathering", states James Lochtefeld. According to Kama Maclean, the coordinators and attendees themselves state that a part of the glory of the Kumbh festival is in that "feeling of brotherhood and love" where millions peacefully gather on the river banks in harmony and a sense of shared heritage. In modern religious and psychological theory, the Kumbh Mela exemplifies Émile Durkheim's concept of collective effervescence. This phenomenon occurs when individuals gather in shared rituals, fostering a profound sense of unity and belonging. The collective energy generated during the Mela strengthens social bonds and elevates individual and communal consciousness, illustrating the power of such gatherings to create shared identity and purpose. ==Stampedes and scandals==

Several stampedes have occurred at the sites related to the Kumbh Melas. After an 1820 stampede at Haridwar killed 485 people, the Company government took extensive infrastructure projects, including the construction of new ghats and road widening, to prevent further stampedes. The various Kumbh melas, in the 19th- and 20th century witnessed sporadic stampedes, each tragedy leading to changes in how the flow of pilgrims to and from the river and ghats was managed. In a major crowd crush, over 500 people died in the 1954 Kumbh Mela stampede, although the real figure varies according to different sources. In 1986, 50 people were killed in a stampede. The Prayag Kumbh Mela in 1885 became a source of scandal when a Muslim named Husain was appointed as the Kumbh Mela manager, and Indian newspaper reports stated that Husain had "organised a flotilla of festooned boats for the pleasure of European ladies and gentlemen, and entertained them with dancing girls, liquor and beef" as they watched the pilgrims bathing. The Kumbh Mela held in Haridwar in 2021 was considered a COVID-19 super spreader, contributing to increased cases in Uttarakhand and India, as the number of pilgrims visiting the area grew and numerous health guidelines were violated. As the second wave was increasing infections in India, calls to cancel the festival were rejected by the state and central government that assured the festival was clean and safe. In January 2025, 30–79 people died and 60–90 were injured and taken to hospital in the stampede at the Maha Kumbh venue in Prayagraj, and Amrit Snan was temporarily suspended. The provincial government initially said that there had been 30 killed and 60 injured, ==Calendar, locations and preparation==

Types The Kumbh Mela are classified as: • The Purna ("full") Kumbh Melas, which are held every 12 years at a given site. • The Ardh ("half") Kumbh Mela held approximately every 6 years between the two Purna Kumbha Melas at Prayagraj and Haridwar. For the 2019 Prayagraj Kumbh Mela, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the Ardh Kumbh Mela (organised every 6 years) will simply be known as "Kumbh Mela", and the Kumbh Mela (organised every 12 years) will be known as "Maha Kumbh Mela" ("Great Kumbh Mela"). The term Maha Kumbh Mela has also been used to publicise certain kumbha melas that are said to have had astrological attributes that would not be repeated for another 144 years, including the ones in 1954, 1989, 2001, and 2025. Locations in the Godavari River in 1992 The fairs held at four sites are broadly recognised as the Kumbh Melas: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain. Priests at other places have also attempted to boost the status of their tirtha by adapting the Kumbh legends. The places whose festivals have been claimed as "Kumbh Mela" include Thirumakudalu Narasipura in Karnataka, Varanasi and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, Kumbhakonam (Mahamaham) in Tamil Nadu, Rajim (Rajim Kumbh Mela) in Chhattisgarh, Bansberia (Bansberia Kumbh Mela) in West Bengal, Kurukshetra and Sonipat in Haryana; and Panauti in Nepal. Even Tibet has hosted a festival claimed to be a Kumbh Mela. Dates Each site's celebration dates are calculated in advance according to a special combination of zodiacal positions of Bṛhaspati (Jupiter), Surya (the Sun) and Chandra (the Moon). The relative years vary between the four sites, but the cycle repeats about every 12 years. Since Jupiter's orbit completes in 11.86 years, a calendar year adjustment appears in approximately 8 cycles. Therefore, approximately once a century, the Kumbh Mela returns to a site after 11 years. Past and future years Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj is celebrated approximately 3 years after Kumbh at Haridwar and 3 years before Kumbh at Nashik and Ujjain (both of which are celebrated in the same year or one year apart - with Ujjain Mela occurring after Nashik). In the case of Prayag in particular, the festival site is predominantly submerged during the monsoon months. The festival management workers have only two and a half months to start and complete the construction of all temporary infrastructure necessary for the pilgrims, making the task even more challenging. In 2025, more than 13000 trains including 3000 special trains have allocated to accommodate large volume of passengers. Yet the surge in devotees caused a full blown crisis across railway stations, especially in Bihar, where passengers who were trying to board the train caused extensive damages to trains. At Madhubani and Samastipur stations, devotees vandalised six air-conditioned coaches of the Jayanagar-New Delhi Swatantrata Senani Express. == Rituals ==

Bathing and processions at a Kumbh procession (1998) Bathing, or a dip in the river waters, with a prayer, is the central ritual of the Kumbh Melas for all pilgrims. Traditionally, on amavasya – the most cherished day for bathing – the Hindu pilgrims welcome and wait for the thirteen sadhu akharas to bathe first. This event – called shahi snan or rajyogi snan – is marked by a celebratory processional march, with banners, flags, elephants, horses and musicians along with the naked or scantily clad monks, some smeared with bhasma (ashes). The largest contingent is the Juna akhara, traced to Adi Shankara, representing a diverse mix from the four of the largest Hindu monasteries in India with their headquarters at Sringeri, Dvarka, Jyotirmatha and Govardhana. The Mahanirbani and Niranjani are the other large contingents, and each akhara has their own lineage of saints and teachers. Large crowds gather in reverence and cheer for this procession of monks. Once these monks have taken the dip, the festival day opens for bathing by the pilgrims from far and near the site. The bathing ritual by the pilgrims may be aided by a Prayagwal priest or maybe a simple dip that is private. When aided, the rituals may begin with mundan (shaving of head), prayers with offerings such as flowers, sindur (vermilion), milk or coconut, along with the recitation of hymns with shradha (prayers in the honour of one's ancestors). More elaborate ceremonies include a yajna (homa) led by a priest. After these river-side rituals, the pilgrim then takes a dip in the water, stands up, prays for a short while, then exits the river waters. Many then proceed to visit old Hindu temples near the site. The motivations for the bathing ritual are several. The most significant is the belief that the tirtha (pilgrimage) to the Kumbh Mela sites and then bathing in these holy rivers has a salvific value, moksha – a means to liberation from the cycle of rebirths (samsara). The pilgrimage is also recommended in Hindu texts to those who have made mistakes or sinned, to repent for their errors and as a means of prāyaścitta (atonement, penance) for these mistakes. Pilgrimage and bathing in holy rivers with a motivation to do penance and as a means to self-purify has Vedic precedents and is discussed in the early dharma literature of Hinduism. Feasts, festivities and discussions '' Some pilgrims walk considerable distances and arrive barefoot, as a part of their religious tradition. Most pilgrims stay for a day or two, but some stay the entire month of Magh during the festival and live an austere life during the stay. They attend spiritual discourses, fast and pray over the month, and these Kumbh pilgrims are called kalpavasis. The festival site is strictly vegetarian by tradition, as violence against animals is considered unacceptable. Many pilgrims practice partial (one meal a day) or full vrata (day-long fasting), and some abstain from elaborate meals. These ritual practices are punctuated by celebratory feasts where the vast number of people sit in rows and share a community meal – mahaprasada – prepared by volunteers from charitable donations. By tradition, families and companies sponsor these anna dana (food charity) events, particularly for the monks and the poor pilgrims. The management has established multiple food stalls, offering delicacies from different states of India. Other activities at the mela include religious discussions (pravachan), devotional singing (kirtan), and religious assemblies where doctrines are debated and standardised (shastrartha). 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela The 2025 Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela was held from 13 January to 26 February 2025 at Triveni Sangam, Prayagraj. It coincided with a rare planetary alignment occurring once every 144 years. Official figures released on 26 February stated that more than 660 million pilgrims participated, making it the largest human gathering on record.{{cite web |title=Half-billion people attend Hindu festival in India Darshan Darshan, or the act of sacred viewing, holds immense significance at the Kumbh Mela. Pilgrims undertake this journey to experience the profound religious and cultural essence of the event. Two key groups central to the Kumbh Mela are the Sadhus (Hindu ascetics) and the pilgrims. Through their dedicated yogic practices, Sadhus embody the transient nature of life and play a vital role in connecting the spiritual and the mundane. Sadhus attend the Kumbh Mela to engage with the broader Hindu community, offering the opportunity for devotees to partake in darshan. This interaction allows pilgrims to seek spiritual guidance and advice. Darshan emphasises a visual exchange—a divine connection where worshippers symbolically "drink" the deity's power through sight. The Kumbh Mela is structured into camps, facilitating access to Sadhus for Hindu worshippers. The darshan experience is integral to the Kumbh Mela, and worshippers approach it with great reverence, ensuring they do not inadvertently offend the religious sanctity of the moment. Interactions with Sadhus are highly respectful, with devotees often leaving offerings at their feet as tokens of devotion and gratitude. == In culture ==

Kumbh Mela has been a theme for many documentaries, including Kings with Straw Mats (1998) directed by Ira Cohen, Kumbh Mela: The Greatest Show on Earth (2001) directed by Graham Day, Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela (2004) directed by Nick Day and produced by Maurizio Benazzo, Kumbh Mela: Songs of the River (2004) by Nadeem Uddin, Invocation, Kumbh Mela (2008), Kumbh Mela 2013: Living with Mahatiagi (2013) by the Ukrainian Religious Studies Project Ahamot, and Kumbh Mela: Walking with the Nagas (2011), Amrit: Nectar of Immortality (2012) directed by Jonas Scheu and Philipp Eyer. In 2007, National Geographic filmed and broadcast a documentary of the Prayag Kumbh Mela, named Inside Nirvana, under the direction of Karina Holden with the scholar Kama Maclean as a consultant. In 2013, National Geographic returned and filmed the documentary Inside the Mahakumbh. Indian and foreign news media have covered the Kumbh Mela regularly. On 18 April 2010, a popular American morning show, CBS News Sunday Morning, extensively covered Haridwar's Kumbh Mela, calling it "The Largest Pilgrimage on Earth". On 28 April 2010, the BBC released an audio and a video report on Kumbh Mela, titled "Kumbh Mela: 'greatest show on earth'. On 30 September 2010, the Kumbh Mela featured in the second episode of the Sky One TV series An Idiot Abroad with Karl Pilkington visiting the festival. Young siblings getting separated at the Kumbh Mela was once a recurring theme in Hindi movies. Amrita Kumbher Sandhane, a 1982 Bengali feature film directed by Dilip Roy, also documents the Kumbh Mela. Ashish Avikunthak's Bengali-language feature length fiction film Kalkimanthakatha (2015) was shot in the Prayag Kumbh Mela in 2013. In this film, two characters search for the tenth and final avatar of Lord Vishnu – Kalki, in the lines of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. == See also ==