Sadhus- The renouncers
Maha Kumbha Mela. No one knows when the first Kumbha Mela took place. Distinguished as the largest religious festival on earth, it occurs in only four places. This year more than 30 million devotees gathered on the shores of the River Yamuna and Ganges in Allahabad to be blessed and purified.
The Prayag (Allahabad) Kumbh Mela is the largest and holiest of all melas and is believed to be the most auspicious. On important bathing dates, millions of pilgrims take bath on the banks of the holy Sangam (confluence). The Purna (complete) Kumbh or Maha Kumbh, the biggest and the most auspicious fair, which falls once every 12 years, is always held in Allahabad. The main bathing day is known as 'Shahi Snans' or 'Royal Bathing Days'. On the main bathing dates there will be a vivid, magnificent Procession of radiant saints on chariots and elephants at sunrise. As the saints pass by, they impart blessings of divine grace to all the people. Then the glorious saints take their dip in the holy Sangam (confluence). This takes place according to tradition, each group proceeding to the river and then bathing in a particular sequence. After all these groups have bathed, then all other people will take their turn to march to the Ganges for their bath.
Allahabad, India. (Jan/Feb 2013)
Hinduism’s Kumbha Mela is by far the largest human event on the planet, a moment when millions of people descend upon a single sacred place. According to Hindu lore, the devas (gods) and asuras (demons) teamed up to “churn the ocean”, from which arose a series of precious objects, the most priced of which was the nectar of immortality, amrit. As they struggled for the pot, kumbha, holding the elixir, one drop spilled at each of four sacred places: Nashik, Ujjain, Haridwar and Prayag (aka Allahabad). From ancient times Hindus have celebrated the Kumbha Mela (festival) at each of these places in a twelve-year-rotation determined by the position of Jupiter.
The nectar is said to have been absorbed in the sacred of these places, which is why people in large number come to these festivals to advance their spiritual life. The Mela is also one time when saints and sages come out their solitude and meditation in the inaccessible caves and areas of the Himalayas and mingle with the people. The babas with long dreadlocks wrapped around their heads like turbans, and the saffron-attired sadhus and sages are, for a few days, a commons sight.
Read MoreThe Prayag (Allahabad) Kumbh Mela is the largest and holiest of all melas and is believed to be the most auspicious. On important bathing dates, millions of pilgrims take bath on the banks of the holy Sangam (confluence). The Purna (complete) Kumbh or Maha Kumbh, the biggest and the most auspicious fair, which falls once every 12 years, is always held in Allahabad. The main bathing day is known as 'Shahi Snans' or 'Royal Bathing Days'. On the main bathing dates there will be a vivid, magnificent Procession of radiant saints on chariots and elephants at sunrise. As the saints pass by, they impart blessings of divine grace to all the people. Then the glorious saints take their dip in the holy Sangam (confluence). This takes place according to tradition, each group proceeding to the river and then bathing in a particular sequence. After all these groups have bathed, then all other people will take their turn to march to the Ganges for their bath.
Allahabad, India. (Jan/Feb 2013)
Hinduism’s Kumbha Mela is by far the largest human event on the planet, a moment when millions of people descend upon a single sacred place. According to Hindu lore, the devas (gods) and asuras (demons) teamed up to “churn the ocean”, from which arose a series of precious objects, the most priced of which was the nectar of immortality, amrit. As they struggled for the pot, kumbha, holding the elixir, one drop spilled at each of four sacred places: Nashik, Ujjain, Haridwar and Prayag (aka Allahabad). From ancient times Hindus have celebrated the Kumbha Mela (festival) at each of these places in a twelve-year-rotation determined by the position of Jupiter.
The nectar is said to have been absorbed in the sacred of these places, which is why people in large number come to these festivals to advance their spiritual life. The Mela is also one time when saints and sages come out their solitude and meditation in the inaccessible caves and areas of the Himalayas and mingle with the people. The babas with long dreadlocks wrapped around their heads like turbans, and the saffron-attired sadhus and sages are, for a few days, a commons sight.
