The 2001 PrayagKumbh Mela was a gathering held at the convergence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, held from 9 January to 21 February. It was the first Kumbh Mela in the millennium and attracted around 70 million visitors.
The Kumbh Mela was also auspicious considering it coincided with astrological planetary alignment occurring only once in 144 years. [1] The event was held in a 6000-acre area; it had particularly significance for being held once in 12-year period in Hindu mythology as its believed that the battle for nectar between gods and demons lasted for 12 years.[ clarification needed ] The event was also held in Haridawar, Ujjain, and Nashik.[ citation needed ]
Maha Kumbh 2001 Mela had the presence of important movie stars and politicians such as Sonia Gandhi who participated by taking bath in the Sangam. [2] [3] [4]
The 2001 Prayag Kumbh Mela had a promotional expenditure of more than Rs 5 to 7 crores for FMCG Companies. [5]
Kumbh Mela is an important Hindu pilgrimage, celebrated approximately every 6, 12 and 144 years, correlated with the partial or full revolution of Jupiter and representing the largest human gathering in the world.
A fair is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of goods, products, and services, and often include competitions, exhibitions, and educational activities. Fairs can be thematic, focusing on specific industries or interests.
Tirumakudalu Narasipura the temple city of Karnataka, commonly known as T. Narasipura or T.N. Pura, is a town in Mysore district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The first name refers to the land at the confluence, (trimakuta in Sanskrit at the confluence of the Kaveri, Kabini and Spatika Sarovara. The city is a Taluk of Mysore district and 32 km south-east of the district headquarters and has five Hobli centers. This taluk is bordered by Chamarajanagar district to the south and Mandya districts to the north with an area of 598 sq km. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people here. Rice is the main food crop and silk is the main commercial crop. Fossils of Neolithic age have been found by excavation in some lands of this Taluk. Vyasatirtha, the guru of Purandara Dasa, and T Chowdiah, the unique violinist, were born in this Taluk. Talakad, the capital of the Western Ganga dynasty, is in this Taluk.
In Hindu tradition, Triveni Sangam is the confluence of three rivers that is a sacred place, with a bath here said to flush away all of one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth.
1954 Kumbh Mela crowd collapses was a major crowd crush that occurred on 3 February 1954 at Kumbha Mela in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh state in India. It was the main bathing day of Mauni Amavasya, when the incident took place. 4–5 million pilgrims took part in the festival that year, which was also the first Kumbh Mela after India's Independence.
Barahachhetra is a Hindu and Kirat piligram site which remains between the confluence of Koka and Koshi rivers in Barahakshetra, Sunsari of Koshi Province, Nepal. This place is one of Nepal's oldest shrines mentioned in Puranas including Brahma Purana, Varaha Purana and Skanda Purana and even mentioned and glorified in the Mahabharata epic. In Barahachhetra, the Varah, an incarnation of Vishnu is worshiped. Barahachhetra is one of the Char Dham in Nepal.
Akshayavata, also rendered Akshayavat, is a sacred fig tree mentioned in the Hindu mythology and in Jainism. It is also the name of a sacred lake mentioned in the Puranas.
Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela is a 2004 feature documentary film by Nick Day and Maurizio Benazzo about the 2001 Prayag Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj. The documentary premiered in the USA on May 11, 2004. The film won several awards on the festival circuit and played in theaters across the US and Europe.
This is a timeline of the history of the city of Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Haridwar Kumbh Mela is a mela, associated with Hinduism and held in the city of Haridwar, India held every 12 years. The exact date is determined according to Hindu astrology: the Mela is held when Jupiter is in Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries. The event possesses deep religious significance to Hindus as well as other spiritual seekers. Historically, it was an important commercial event and was attended by merchants from as far as Arabia.
Ujjain Simhastha is a Hindu religious mela held every 12 years in the Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh, India. The name is also transliterated as Sinhastha or Singhastha. In Hindi, the fair is also called Simhasth or Sinhasth. The name derives from the fact that it is held when the Jupiter is in Leo.
Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha is a Hindu religious mela held every 12 years in the Nashik district of Maharashtra, India. The name of the festival is also transliterated as Sinhastha or Singhastha. It is one of the four fairs traditionally recognized as Kumbha Melas, and is also known as Nashik-Trimbak Kumbha Mela or Nashik Kumbha Mela.
The Prayag Kumbh Mela, also known as Allahabad Kumbh Mela, is a mela, or religious gathering, associated with Hinduism and held in the city of Prayagraj, India, at the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Sarasvati river. The festival is marked by a ritual dip in the waters, but it is also a celebration of community commerce with numerous fairs, education, religious discourses by saints, mass feedings of monks or the poor, and entertainment spectacle. Approximately 50 and 30 million people attended the Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela in 2019 and Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013 respectively to bathe in the holy river Ganges, making them the largest peaceful gathering events in the world.
The 2019 Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela was the Ardh Kumbh Mela held at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India from 15 January to 4 March 2019. This event will be followed by the Prayag Maha Kumbh scheduled for January to February 2025.
2013 Maha Kumbh Mela was held at convergence place of Ganga,Yamuna and Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj,Uttar Pradesh, as once in 12 years event as a 55 day event had attracted around 80 to 100 million visitors. It has a significance of being held once in 12 year period in Hindu Mythology as its believed that the battle for nectar between Gods and Demons lasted for 12 years. The event was also held in Haridawar,Ujjain and Nashik.
The 2025 Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela, also referred to as the 2025 Prayag Kumbh Mela, is the ongoing iteration of the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage festival celebrating a full orbital revolution of Jupiter around the Sun. It is scheduled from 13 January to 26 February 2025, at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the world’s largest gathering, with an estimated 400 to 450 million visitors. This event marks the completion of a 12-Kumbh Mela cycle and is officially termed a Maha Kumbh Mela, spanning 45 days.
Kumbh Mela 2021 was held in Haridwar from 14 January 2021 to 27 February 2021 with the attendance of 9.1 million pilgrims assembling from across the world.
Bansberia Kumbh Mela, also known as Bansberia Tribeni Sangam Kumbha Mela, is a mela, or religious gathering, associated with Hinduism and held at the town Bansberia, West Bengal, India, at the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Hooghly, Saraswati, and the Jamuna river.
On 29 January 2025, crowd crushes occurred at the 2025 Prayag Kumbh Mela at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. At least 30 people were killed, while 90 others were injured. This is the sixth crowd crush during the Kumbh Mela in the past 70 years.