The holy festival of Kumbh is the most sacred celebration for Hindus. The festival falls every 3 years and is celebrated in 4 different cities, viz., Allahabad, Hardwar, Ujjain and Nasik. The Kumbh Mela at Allahabad is said to be the Maha Kumbh Mela. The site for the mela in Allahabad is the famous Triveni Sangam, which is a confluence of the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and invisible Saraswati. It is said that if somene takes a bath in the confluence on the holy days of festival, the person gets free from the birth-cycle.
History
As per the Hindu mythology, history of Kumbh Mela dates back to origin of the universe. It is said that once the all the gods were under a curse and felt very tired and exhausted. Lord Brahma, the creator of universe, adviced them to drink Amrita, a drink which prevents aging and ensures a never ending life. Amrita was stored in an ocean, and could only be dug out by churning the ocean. It was a rigorous task to churn the ocean, so god decided to include the demons in the process. They falsely promised demons to share the Amrita. A mountain, Meru, was used as churning stick. Mythical snake, Vasuki was used as rope to move the mountain.
Finally the churning process got started and continued for long. Lord Vishnu had to interrupt to stop the procedure, as it was getting too late. As soon as it stopped, many mythological things came out of the ocean, which included Laksmi the Goddess of Prosperity and Wealth, Sura the Goddess of Wine, Chandra, or the moon, Apsaras, the celestial nymphs, Kaustabha, the precious gem of Vishnu, Uchchaishravas, the divine horse, Parijata, the wishing coral tree, Kamdhenu, the wish-fulfilling Divine Cow, Airavata, the four-tusked white elephant, Panchajanya, or the conch, Sharanga, the invincible bow, and Dhanvantri, Nimi and Bharadwaj - the physicians and surgeons. The Amrita also came out and gods took it and ran away. The demons chased them and a small fight also took place. During all this event, some amount of Amrita dropped out of the vessel and fell in Allahabad, Hardwar, Ujjain and Nasik. Since then, it has become a ritual to bath here and absorb the Amrita. |
