Kumbha Mela

(“Festival of the Pot”) A religious festival
celebrated in four different locations:
Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain, and
Nasik. The first two sites are by far the
most important, with Allahabad considered the holiest of all. Attendance at
these festivals is great. In 1998, ten million people were in Haridwar on the climactic day. Both of these sites also host
an Ardha (“half”) Kumbha Mela, generally six years after the full Kumbha Mela,
which are smaller in scale, but can still
draw millions of pilgrims. At Ujjain and
Nasik, the full Kumbha Melas are not as
well attended than at the other two sites.
The Kumbha Mela is a bathing
(snana) festival; it is for this reason
that all the Mela sites are found near
rivers. The Kumbha Mela’s primary
actors are ascetics from all over South
Asia who come to bathe in the sacred
waters. According to tradition, the
Kumbha Mela was organized by the
great philosopher Shankaracharya to
promote regular gatherings of
learned and holy men, as a means to
strengthen, sustain, and spread
Hindu religious beliefs. The Kumbha
Mela is also a time for these ascetics
to display their status vis-à-vis one
another. At each site, the order in
which the different ascetic sects
bathe is strictly enforced—the most
important sects bathe first. In more
recent times, this order has been
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enforced by the government. In earlier
times, it was the subject of much dispute,
often degenerating into armed conflict as
different ascetic sects vied with one
another for the place of pride.
The time for each Kumbha Mela festival is determined astrologically, based
on the positions of the planet Jupiter,
the sun, and the moon. The Mela is held
at Haridwar when Jupiter is in Aquarius
(Kumbha) and the sun enters Aries; at
Allahabad when Jupiter is in Taurus and
the sun and moon are in Capricorn; at
Ujjain when Jupiter is in Leo and the full
moon appears in the lunar month of
Baisakh; and at Nasik when Jupiter is in
Leo during the lunar month of Shravan.
These alignments occur about every
twelve years.
The charter myth for the Kumbha
Mela is taken from the story of Churning
the Ocean of Milk. After the ocean has
been churned and the nectar of immortality (amrta) has been extracted, the
gods and their demon opponents begin
to quarrel over the pot of nectar. The
gods snatch the pot and make off with
it, but the person carrying the pot
grows tired, and in twelve days of carrying it sets it on the ground four times—
namely, at the four sites where the Mela
is held. In each place a bit of the
nectar splashes on the ground,
sanctifying the site. According to popular belief, at each Kumbha Mela’s most
propitious moment, the waters in which
people are bathing become the nectar
of immortality, and all those who
bathe in these waters gain immeasurable religious merit.
Kumbha Mela is considered the
largest religious festival in the world.
Arrangements for the Melas at Haridwar
and Allahabad are made by the government of Uttar Pradesh, coordinating
transportation, drinking water, and sanitation for millions of pilgrims, as well as
building temporary cities for the
visitors. Ascetics come from all over
the subcontinent, some staying for
months. Many religious organizations
set up booths in an effort to publicize
their message.
Recently the government has begun
using the Mela to promote ideas such as
family planning and cleaning up the
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The bathing procession in Haridwar during the Kumbha Mela festival.
The differing ascetic orders proceed toward the holy waters according to a traditionally sanctioned order.
Ganges, as well as promoting the Mela
as tourism, spurring economic development. This combination of business and
religion has roots in the past; in the early
nineteenth century, the annual spring
bathing fair at Haridwar was also a trading fair, particularly for horses. For many
people, the opportunity to view the
spectacle of the Mela is at least as strong
an inducement as the promise of
bathing away their sins. See also
Tortoise avatar.