Looking For a Place To Wash Away Your Sins; Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela Is Here!!! #MukTv
Millions of people have begun taking a holy bath at a religious festival so large it can be seen from space.
Over the next six weeks, 40 million people are expected to attend the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela, also known as Mahakumbh, in Prayagraj, northern India.
Pilgrims will bathe at Sangam, the confluence of India’s most sacred Ganges river with the Yamuna river and the mythical Saraswati.
People beileve that at this time in the astrological cycle that going into the waters will purify ones soul and wash awayn their sins.
This festival hasn’t happened in 12 years!!
History
Kumbh Mela, Hindu religious festival and the world’s largest public gathering. The 2019 event at Prayagraj attracted more than 200 million people, including 50 million on the festival’s most auspicious day. The Kumbh Mela, which translates to “Festival of the Sacred Pitcher” (kumbh meaning “pitcher” and mela meaning “festival”), is one of the most sacred pilgrimages for Hindus and is recognized by UNESCO on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This year 400 million people are expected to be in attendance as the first day already records hundreds of thousands!!
The main festival is celebrated among four sacred sites in India, each located along the banks of a holy river, in a 12-year cycle. These sites are: Haridwar on the Ganges River in Uttarakhand, Ujjain on the Shipra in Madhya Pradesh, Nashik on the Godavari in Maharashtra, and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh where the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers converge. Each site’s celebration is based on a distinct set of astronomical positions of the Sun, the Moon, and Jupiter, the holiest time occurring at the exact moment when these positions are fully occupied.
The Kumbh Melas, each lasting several weeks, are observed at various times and locations according to the Hindu tradition. These gatherings hold great spiritual significance and attract millions of devotees from across the world. The frequency of the melas varies, some occurring annually and the Maha Kumbh Mela (“Great Kumbh Festival”) taking place every 144 years in Prayagraj.
