Kumbh Mela (general)
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What is the Kumbh festival?
The Times of India, May 16 2016
When is the Kumbh held?
The event of Kumbh (a festival occurring every 12 years) can take place in many ways. The choice of site is based on particular zodiacal positions of the Sun, the Moon, and Jupiter. The Kumbh is held at Haridwar when Jupiter enters Aquarius while the sun enters Aries. The event is held at Prayag when Jupiter enters the Aries circle while the Sun and moon enter Capricorn.Nashik becomes the festival site in the event of Jupiter entering Leo, while the festival is held at Ujjain on the occasion of Jupiter's entry in Leo and Sun's entry into Aries. The Prayag Kumbh is considered the most significant of all.
What is the mythological story behind the festival? bb
The Kumbh festival is related to the churning of the ocean to get the nectar of immortality .The churning was done by both gods and demons. After the churning there was a fight over distribution of the nectar. Some stories suggest that Lord Vishnu disguised himself as a beautiful lady and seized the nectar. While flee ing from the demons he placed the nectar on Garuda. A few drops fell on Allahabad, Nashik, Haridwar and Ujjain. Since then, Kumbh melas are held at these sites. Another version suggests that during the chase the that during the chase the pot (Kumbh) was kept on the ground and these spots later became the sites of the festival. It took 12 days to carry the nectar to heaven. One god day is equal to one human year and hence the festival is cele brated after 12 years. How old is the festival? Similar river festivals are being observed in India for centuries. The first written evidence of the Kumbh Mela comes the Kumbh Mela comes from the writings of legendary Chinese traveller Huan Tsang (Xuanzang) who became famous for his 17-year overland journey to India. Between 629 and 645 CE, Tsang travelled across the country .Later, he wrote about the festival. The festival is often linked to Shankaracharya. The eighth century Hindu theologian and philosopher travelled across the country to revive Hinduism, which was being threatened by Buddhism and Jainism. Experts believe that the Kumbh might be linked with his efforts at revival of Hinduism. The festival ensures a regular gathering of common people as well as learned Hindu ascetics for discussion and debate.
Why does the festival get media attention from around the world?
The Kumbh is the largest religious gathering of humans.About 120 million pilgrims visited the Prayag Kumbh in 2013 over a period of two months.The ongoing Simhastha Kumbh in Ujjain is expected to have 50 million visitors. The sheer scale of the gathering is enough to fascinate the world.
Kalpwâs
Boost to immunity level?
From: Shailvee Sharda, January 10, 2019: The Times of India
See graphic:
How Kalpwas boosts immunity
See also
Kumbh Mela (general)
