KUMBH MELA

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Kumbh Mela (festival of the Sacred Pitcher) is an important Hindu pilgrimage, celebrated approximately every 4 or 12 years, correlated with the partial or full revolution of Jupiter. It is the largest peaceful gathering of people in the world.

A ritual dip in the waters marks the festival. It is also a celebration of community commerce with numerous fairs, education, religious discourses by saints, mass gatherings of monks, and entertainment. The seekers believe that bathing in these rivers is a means to prāyaścitta (atonement, penance, restorative action) for past mistakes, and that it cleanses them of their sins.

In many parts of India, similar but smaller community pilgrimage and bathing festivals are called the Magha Mela, Makar Mela or equivalent. Other places where the Magha-Mela or Makar-Mela bathing pilgrimage and fairs have been called Kumbh Mela include Kurukshetra, Rajim, Mahamaham (Tamil Nadu), Sonipat, and Panauti (Nepal). For example, in Tamil Nadu, the Magha Mela with water-dip ritual is a festival of antiquity, and this festival is held at the Mahamaham tank (near Kaveri river) every 12 years at Kumbakonam, attracting millions of Hindus.

Extended info about Kumbh Mela