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The Hindu Kumbh Mela, or Festival of the Urn

Millions of people gather in India to celebrate the Hindu Kumbh festivals, or melas, during their 12-year cycle. The celebrations, especially the Maha Kumbh and the Ardh Kumbh, are the largest religious gatherings of people in the world.

The mid-point in the cycle is being celebrated in 2007 with the Ardh Kumbh, or Half Pitcher Festival, in Allahabad in northern India. Seventy million pilgrims are expected to converge on Sangam where the Ganges and Yamuna holy rivers meet with the mythical river of Saraswati, said to be flowing beneath the earth. During the six-week celebration, which began on January 3rd, celebrants bathe in the river, believing that the holy waters cleanses the soul and washes away sins. Pilgrims can also take the “payitra dubki,” or “holy dip,” on behalf of friends or relatives who cannot travel to the mela. The most auspicious day for bathing, as determined by the alignment of the planets, will be on January 19^th for the 2007 Adh Kumbh.

The big or Maha Kumbh melas are held every 12 years, with lesser festivals held at stages in between. The festivals alternate between Nasik, Allahabad, Ujjain and Haridwar roughly every three years, depending on the alignment of the planets.

The Nectar of Immortality

According to Hindu mythology, gods and demons fought a celestial war during the Vedic period over a pitcher - or kumbh - of divine nectar. They had made a temporary agreement to work together to produce amrita, the nectar of immortality, and to share it equally. When the pitcher appeared, however, the demons ran away with it and were chased by the gods in a battle that lasted 12 divine days and nights, equivalent to 12 human years. During the battle, Four drops of nectar fell, one in each of the four towns: Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. The Kumbh Mela is observed in 12-year cycles, rotating through each of these four locations where the divine nectar fell.

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