The biggest Global celebration is at a religious celebration named
"Kumbha". It is celebrated during an auspiscious period of fourteen
days (half lunar cycle) at one of the locations every twelve years.
Last such Kumbh was celebrated at Allahabad, U.P., India where more
than 5 million people had converged to take bath in the Holy Ganges at
the particular day.
Kumbha (Kumbha means pot) Mela is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage that takes
place at the following four locations of India
1. Prayag (near the city of Allahabad, in the state of Uttar Pradesh)
at the confluence of three rivers Ganga (Ganges), Yamuna and Saraswati
2. Haridwar (in the state of Uttar Pradesh) where the river Ganga
enters the plains from Himalayas
3. Ujjain (in Madhya Pradesh), on the banks of Ksipra river, and
4. Nasik (in Maharashtra) on the banks of Godavari river
The pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years, once at each of
the four locations. Each twelve-year cycle includes the Maha (great)
Kumbha Mela at Prayag, attended by millions of people, making it the
largest pilgrimage gathering around the world.
The observance of Kumbha Mela is based upon the following story :
thousands of years ago, perhaps in the Vedic period, gods and demons
made a temporary agreement to work together in obtaining amrita (the
nectar of immortality) from the Milky Ocean, and to share this
equally. However, when the Kumbha (pot) containing the amrita
appeared, the demons ran away with the pot and were chased by the
gods. For twelve days and twelve nights (equivalent to twelve human
years) the gods and demons fought in the sky for the possession of
this pot of amrita. It is said that during the battle, drops of amrita
fell on to four places : Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik. Thus,
Kumbha mela is observed at these four locations where the nectar fell.
Kumbha Mela is attended by millions of people on a single day. A
ritual bath at a predetermined time and place is the major event of
this festival. Other activities include religious discussions,
devotional singing, mass feeding of holy men/women and the poor, and
religious assemblies where doctrines are debated and standardized.
Kumbha Mela (especially the Maha Kumbha Mela) is the most sacred of
all the Hindu pilgrimages. Thousands of holy men/women (monks, saints,
sadhus) grace the occasion by their presence. The suspiciousness of
Kumbha Mela is in part attributed to the gathering of thousands of
holy men/women at one place on earth
According to astrologers, the 'Kumbh Fair' takes place when the planet
Jupiter enters Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries.
I hope the above answers your question. I am currently not enlisted
researcher and you can contact me at 'mitconpl at eth dot net for
further discussion.
Regards,
Mukul Mittal |
