Kumbh - the highest conglomeration of people in Earth.

A few months back I visited the Ardh Kumbh held in Allahabad along with Delhi Photography Club along with a group of  12  excited individuals to see one of the biggest festivals ever to be held in the world, after all, we all had heard stories of Kumbh and the most famous being the "story of lost brothers of Kumbh". I would suggest every photographer visit Kumbh as it is a candy store for photographers, especially for street and travel photographers.

The word Kumbh literally means Pot and is one of the biggest and one of the oldest festivals of the Hindus held in Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik where they do not pray to any particular idol but to bathe in the rivers with the belief that it would cleanse them from their sins. It is basically a mortal attempt to rectify ourselves and cleanse ourselves from sins and wipe off our debts

Mythologically, Kumbh is a story of the churning of the ocean. As the story goes that when the churning started a deadly poison came out which Shiva drank and kept it in his throat due to which he came to known as “Neel Kantha” (Neela" = "blue", "kantha" = "throat). From the churning came out of various things which are known as Ratnas and which included various items but most important being Kumbh of immortal nectar/elixir, for which as usual there was a fight among the Devas and the Asuras for 12 days and 12 nights. It is believed that during the fight which ensued for 12 days and 12 nights a few drops of nectar fell in Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik due to which the festival of Kumbh is held in these places only. Further, as per the Deva-Asura timeframe, 12 days and 12 nights mean 12 years (1 day of the Deva-Asura is equivalent to 1 year for mortals) due to which Kumbh is held after 12 years. Traditionally, Kumbh has been divided into Kumbh (which is held after every 3 years), Ardha Kumbh (which is held after every six years), Purna (complete) Kumbh is held after every 12 years and Maha-Kumbh is held every 144 years (on completion of 12 Purna-Kumbh). Among all the places Allahabad is considered to be most divine as it is the meeting point of Saraswati and Yamuna into The Ganges. 

Historically there are no exact references as to form when the Kumbh Mela started but in various travelogue and recordings by the travelers and officials of various king references of a Mela have been found which dated back from 644 Common Era but whether the referred Mela in such writings is Kumbh or not is a matter of debate. Further, it is only in the year 1870 that the word Kumbh Mela came to be known and recorded. It is the view that the Kumbh Mela (originally spelled as “Cumbha-Mela”) was originally used to be held in Haridwar only and the traditional extant Magh Mela which was held annually in Allahabad was later converted to Kumbh Mela due to various reasons and factors [Please do read the essay by the name of “Making the Colonial State Work for you: The Modern Beginnings of the Ancient Kumbh Mela in Allahabad”  written by Kama Maclean published in The Journal of Asian Studies 62 No 3 (August 2003): 873-905 and referred from the same] 

Apart from the cleansing of sins, Kumbh Mela is known for its meeting of various Akhara. Akhara is an Indian word for a place of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging, and training both in the context of Indian martial artists or a sampradaya for religious renunciates in the Guru–shishya tradition. Traditionally, it is said that Akhara was established by Shankracharya in his lifetime though there is no historical proof that has been found for the same. Akharas thus became like a meeting of common minded people believing in a particular thought/belief of Hindu philosophy/thought of Hindu parampara having its own set of rules/regulations. 

Traditionally there were 4 Sampradays of Akharas- (a) Shaiv- believers/followers of Shiva (b) Vaishnav - believers/followers of Vishnu (c) Advait – Also known as Eka Dandi (wandering renunciate carrying single stick) (d) Udasi Akhara – who is said to be followers of Shri Chand, son of Shri. Guru Nanak. With the advent of times the Akharas slowly trained themselves in the use of weapons and martial art for their defense and were used by many kings throughout history especially during the British Rule. 

Extract from the essay “Making the Colonial State Work for you: The Modern Beginnings of the Ancient Kumbh Mela in Allahabad” written by Kama Maclean published in The Journal of Asian Studies 62 No 3 (August 2003): 873-905, it has been mentioned that the in the late 19^th century there was presence of “(1) (Maha) Nirbanis, (2) Niranjanis and Junas, (3) Bairagis (comprising Nirmohi, Digambar and Nirbani subsects), (4) Choota Panchayati, (5) Bara Panchayati and Bandhawa Hasanpur and (6) Nirmali and Bindrabani (Benson 1882)………”. 

In the present times, many of these Akharas still exist and various sub-sects of these Akharas have developed and grown and established themselves as Akharas. In modern times there are about 13 Akharas which are regulated by Akhil Bhartiya Parishad. 

From ancient times one of the basic thoughts of Hindu philosophy is the churning of ideas and this used to happen when the various Akharas of various thoughts used to meet each other in Kumbh Mela and there was this churning of ideas but sadly that does not happen anymore and later they turned militant in nature, especially during the East India Company Rule. 

Now in the present day sadhus who come to the Kumbh Mela is more of a show and it is very hard to determine that as to who is the original and fake. 

In the Hindu philosophy there are various schools of thought, philosophy and one of the thoughts was that the truth of life can be achieved by total renunciation of life by leaving and sacrificing of all material objects and thoughts which includes removing their clothes and smearing ash all over the body and are known as Naga Sadhus. Smearing ash over the body has a very literal meaning as ash in Hindu philosophy signifies death/rebirth, so it is the belief that by smearing ash over their body they have been reborn as a new person and left their material life. Another aspect is  to kill their sexual desire and for that, they insert various objects through their private parts (genitalia) to show that there is no desire left in them and they have left all type of desires which the material world expects them to fulfill.

One of the characteristics of Kumbh Mela is the institutionalized procession of sadhus which was allowed by a convention established by the British on three bathing days over the period of the mela which is Makar Sankranti, Mauni Amavasaya and Basant Panchami and that these sadhu processions are an attraction for ordinary pilgrims who seek their audience (darshan) [Please do read and refer the essay by the name of “Making the Colonial State Work for you: The Modern Beginnings of the Ancient Kumbh Mela in Allahabad”  written by Kama Maclean published in The Journal of Asian Studies 62 No 3 (August 2003): 873-905]. As has been mentioned an essay by the name of “Making the Colonial State Work for you: The Modern Beginnings of the Ancient Kumbh Mela in Allahabad”  written by Kama Maclean published in The Journal of Asian Studies 62 No 3 (August 2003): 873-905, “The established bathing order of the Akaharas at Allahabad Kumbh Mela and Ardh Kumbh Mela in the late 19^th century was (1) (Maha) Nirbanis, (2) Niranjanis and Junas, (3) Bairagis (comprising Nirmohi, Digambar and Nirbani subsects), (4) Choota Panchayati, (5) Bara Panchayati and Bandhawa Hasanpur and (6) Nirmali and Bindrabani (Benson 1882). The order has been disputed, particularly by the Bairagis, but only renegotiated a small number of times since, such as 1906 after a riot among the Bairagis sect, after which the order of the Bairagis (subsects) was reversed on different bathing days. Sadhu processions continue to be vexed with disputes……………..see Llewellyn 1999 and Nandan 2002”. Till date, nothing much has changed and till date there are disputes and fights regarding the bathing order of the Sadhus.   

Kumbh is a place where people come not only to wash their sins and of their ancestors but also to seek blessings of the sadhus and to visit the various akharas but to pray at the Prayag.  Of all the various and innumerable prayers (meeting/confluence point of various rivers) of India, the Prayag which is situated in Allahabad is considered to be the most important and the most pious one. The prayag which is situated 

in Allahabad is the confluence of Jamuna, Saraswati (dead river - does not exist anymore) into the Ganga and people come to bathe in the Prayag and to cleanse not only their sins but the sins of their ancestors by offering prayers and bathing in the Prayag.

Since the Kumbh (depending on the nature of Kumbh) is considered to be one of the most pious time due to astrological constellations, bathing and praying during the Kumbh in the Prayag of Allahabad becomes the most auspicious of all times. Of all the days Mauni Amavasya is considered to be the most auspicious day for bathing and offering prayers in the Prayag and due to this reason, people from all over India come and stay during this time so that they can come and bathe during this time in the Prayag and for this,  they are ready to stay under nature and endure all the hardships. 

Traditionally and till date the Kumbh Mela is known for its commerce and trade of all kinds whether it be the priests or traders Not only will you find the astute businessmen/traders but you will also find business and services from all kinds giving their service. 

In the end, I can only state that you cannot explain Kumbh as it has been experienced and seen how faith moves people and what all hardships the people are ready to face to face just to get that one dip so that they are able to fulfill their duties to their ancestors and how this cycle keeps on repeating for ages.