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The Ganges is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km-long (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India, receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna, which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for the bulk of its flow. In West Bengal state, India, a feeder canal taking off from its right bank diverts 50% of its flow southwards, artificially connecting it to the Hooghly River. The Ganges continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma. It is then joined by the Jamuna, the lower stream of the Brahmaputra, and eventually the Meghna, forming the major estuary of the Ganges Delta, and emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna system is the second-largest river on earth by discharge.
Mahamaham, also known as Mahamagham or Mamangam, is a Hindu festival celebrated every 12 years in the Mahamaham tank located in the city of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu in the south of India. This 20-acre square tank surrounded by Shiva mandapams is believed by Tamil Hindus to be ancient, and the holy confluence of nine Indian river goddesses: Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Kaveri, and Sarayu, states Diana Eck – a professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies. On the day of the Mahamaham festival, the river goddesses and Shiva gather here to rejuvenate their waters, according to a legend in the Periya Purana. The Hindus consider taking a pilgrimage and holy dip at the Mahamaham tirtha on the day of Mahamaham festival as sacred. The event attracts chariot processions, street fairs and classical dance performances in temple mandapas. The 12-year cycle Mahamaham festival in Tamil Nadu is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Magha, and is a symbolic equivalent of the Kumbh Mela.
The Yamuna is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about 4,500 m (14,800 ft) on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Lower Himalaya in Uttarakhand, it travels 1,376 kilometres (855 mi) and has a drainage system of 366,223 square kilometres (141,399 sq mi), 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin. It merges with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Prayagraj, which is a site of the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival held every 12 years.
Kumbh Mela is an important Hindu pilgrimage, celebrated approximately every 6 and 12 years, correlated with the partial or full revolution of Jupiter and representing the largest human gathering in the world.
Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning "gathering" or "to meet" or a "fair". It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gatherings and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sport-related. In rural traditions melas or village fairs were of great importance. This led to their export around the world by South Asian diaspora communities wishing to bring something of that tradition to their new countries.
In Hindu tradition, Triveni Sangam is the confluence of three rivers that is also a sacred place, with a bath here said to flush away all of one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth.
Prayagraj, formerly Allahabad, is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Prayagraj district, the most populous district in the state and 13th most populous district in India and the Prayagraj division. The city is the judicial capital of Uttar Pradesh with the Allahabad High Court being the highest judicial body in the state. As of 2011, Prayagraj is the seventh most populous city in the state, thirteenth in Northern India and thirty-sixth in India, with an estimated population of 1.53 million in the city. In 2011, it was ranked the world's 40th fastest-growing city. The city, in 2016, was also ranked the third most liveable urban agglomeration in the state and sixteenth in the country. Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the city.
The ongoing pollution of the Ganges, the largest river in the Indian subcontinent, poses a significant threat to both human health and the environment. The river supplies water to approximately 40% of India's population across 11 states and serves an estimated 500 million people—more than any other river in the world.
1954 Kumbh Mela stampede 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.
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.
On 10 February 2013, during the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela, a stampede broke out at the train station in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, killing 42 people and injuring at least 45 people.
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.
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.
The 2025 Prayag Kumbh Mela, also referred to as the 2025 Maha Kumbh, is the ongoing iteration of the Maha Kumbh Mela. It is scheduled to take place from 13 January to 26 February 2025, at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. This event marks the completion of a 12-Kumbh Mela cycle and is officially termed a Maha Kumbh Mela, spanning 45 days.
Maha Kumbh 2001 Mela was held at convergence place of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, was first in the millennium and was held from 9 January to 21 February attracting around 70 million visitors. The Kumbh mela was also auspicious considering it coincided with astrological planetary alignment occurring only once in 144 years. The event was help in 6000 acre area and also 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.
Kumbh Mela 2016 was held in ancient religious city, Ujjain, India in the banks of river Kshipra and around five crores pilgrims from around the world participated in it to take the holy bath in month long event. The event is held in city every 12 years, as part of four leg rotation of Kumbh festival,with other three being Haridwar, Allahabad and Nashik.
Kumbh Mela 2015 was a Hindu pilgrimage held in Nashik, Maharashtra, India and Trimbakeshwar, in the Indian state of Maharastra. Pilgrims numbered 80 lakhs to 1 crore and 25 to 30 lakhs respectively during the one year celebration. The festival is considered the largest gathering of people from across the world to undertake the holy bath. The festival is held every three years on rotational basis; it includes the cities of Ujjain and Prayagraj in addition to Nashik and hence each city gets a festival every 12 years.
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.
References
- ↑ "Maha Kumbh Mela 2013". The Hindu. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ↑ "Kumbh Mela festival". BBC News. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ↑ "Kumbh Mela documentary makes waves in Toronto". BBC News. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ↑ "Kumbh Mela: Of clean hands and rotis". Business Today. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ↑ "Kumbh Mela: Designing the World's Largest Gathering Of People". ArchDaily. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ↑ "Maha Kumbh now a Harvard case study". business-standard.com. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ↑ "At Rs 4,200 crore, this year's Kumbh Mela costliest ever". The Economic Times. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ↑ "India Kumbh Mela dip 'raised Ganges river pollution'". BBC News. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ↑ "Tragedy strikes Maha Kumbh mela in India". livemint.com. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.