Haridwar Kumbh Mela

04 Jan 2021 by Sandhya Singh

Kumbh Mela (2021) -Haridwar

The word “Kumbh” is referred to as a pot that is filled with the nectar of immortality and the word “Mela” is referred to as the fair. Kumbh Mela is the mass pilgrimage in Hinduism. It is the largest gathering of people from different parts of the world. The number of devotees takes the dip into the holy water of river Ganga to resolve their sins. The four places which are Haridwar, Ujjain, Prayagraj, and Nasik are the places where Kumbh Mela is organized. This auspicious Mela is held once in every 12 years. The great Mahakumbh occurs once in 144 years.

The last Kumbh Mela in Haridwar was held in 2010 and the next is going to be held in 2021. On the occasion of Kumbh Mela, devotees come together on the ghat of the Holy river and take a dip in it to wash away their sins. Here you will get to see the fiery earthen lamps that are floating on the river surface, some Aghoris that are dancing in their own fell and continues chanting on mantras all this will make your experience of Kumbh Mela, a non forgetting one. A Purna Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 12 in four different cities of India, while Aardh Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 6 years when planet Jupiter enters into Aquarius and The Sun enters Into Aries, and last Aardh Kumbh was celebrated in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

The major thing that you will get to see in Kumbh Mela are some Naga Babas who are the nacked Sadhu, Kalpwasis who take bath three times in a day,  Urdhawavahus who expose themselves to rigid conditions. Kumbh Mela is organized in Haridwar on River Ganga, in Ujjain on River Kshipra, in Nasik on river Godavari and in Prayagraj on the confluence point of three holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and  Saraswati.

Mythology regarding Kumbh

As per the ancient legend of Samudra Manthan is the thing that originated the Kumbh Mela. The story goes back to the time when all the God were worried about their immortality so they asked Lord Brahma about the solution, then he suggests them to consult with Lord Shiva regarding this problem. Lord shiv advised them to churn the ocean of milk and by churning they will get the nectar of immortality from the ocean. All Goda made a deal with demons that both the group will together churn the ocean of milk and they will divide everything that will be obtained from the ocean and the demons agreed to it.

For churning, Mount Madranchal was used and on its base, the turtle incarnation of Lord Vishnu was placed and for the rope, Vasuki serpent (a Nagaraja who abides on Shiva's neck) was used.  While churning the ocean 14 precious things were obtained such as lethal poison known as Halahala, Lakshmi the goddess of wealth, apsaras, Airatava elephant, Kamadhenu or wish-granting cow, Uchhaishravas who was a seven-headed horse, Kaustubha gemstone wore by Lord Vishnu, Parijata which is a never-fading tree, Sharanga (a powerful bow), the Moon, Shankha, Jyestha who was the goddess of misfortune, Kalpavriksha ( a wish-fulfilling tree) and Dhanvantari with the nectar of immortality.

It is said that Lord Vishnu already knew the Vasuki naga will vomit if its body will be stretched and rolled so he cunningly advised demons to hold the head of the serpent and Gods to hold the tail of the serpent. But the poison was so dangerous that Gods and demons both got scared of it then they took it to Lord Shiva and Lord Shiva decided to drink that poison but Goddess Parvati held the neck to stop the poison to get into the body of Lord Shiva and stopped it there using her Maya forever and saved her husband.

This poison in the neck of Lord Shiva turned it blue and since then the name Neelkantha was given to him. Then when the Amrit was adopted and Gods and Devils were fighting for it at that time Lord Vishnu took the pot of elixir and fly away on Garud to keep it protected from Asuras. Lord Vishnu then took the Mohini avatar to disguise demons and distributed the nectar of immortality among the Gods, but a demon named Svarbhanu took the avatar of god and cunningly had few drops of nectar of immortality. Lord Sun and Moon were able to detect the demon and told Mohini about it, then the Mohini avatar of lord Vishnu cut off the neck of the demon using Sudarshan chakra before the nectar of immortality could pass through it.

Since then the head part was known as Rahu and the body is known as Ketu which became the two planets. Rahu took the revenge in form of a Lunar eclipse but as we know that Rahu was having only head part and no body so The Moon managed to come out of his neck and be in the sky again. So, at that time when Lord Vishnu was hiding the Nectar of Immortality from demons some of its drop of fell on these four places which are  Haridwar, Ujjain, Prayagraj, and Nasik. Since then Kumbh Mela is organized at these four places every 12 years. The time of 12 years is given because this whole incident took place in 12 days which is equivalent to 12 years for humans.

Types of Kumbh Mela

Maha Kumbh

Maha Kumbh Mela is held every 144 years. It is celebrated after the completion of 12 Purna Kumbh Mela which is held every 12 years and this is the reason why it is held only once in every 144 years. You can also understand this with a simple mathematical calculation (12x12=144).

Ardh Kumbh

The word “Ardh” in Ardh Kumbh means the half and as per the name it is celebrated in half of the time of Purna Kumbh Mela. the Purna Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 12 years and half of this is 6 years so, Ardh Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years, in Haridwar, Ujjain, Prayagraj, and Nasik.

Purna Kumbh Mela

A Purna Kumbh Mela is celebrated in the time span of every 12 years in places like Haridwar, Ujjain, Prayagraj, and Nasik. This takes 12 years of time because as per the mythology the was among God and demons for the nectar of immortality lasted upto 12 days and those 12 days were equivalent to 12 years for humans.

The prime attraction of Kumbh Mela

The prime attraction of this Kumbh Mela for which people from each corner of the world want to be a part of this fair is the holy bath in the sacred river and by doing this they wash away all sins made by them. Other than this you can calm your soul in the peaceful and spiritual environment, where mantras are chanted by priests and holy rivers are worshipped using some earthen lamps and flowers. Other major attractions are Naga Sadhus, Mahaprasadam, spiritual preachings, etc. the positivity of this place give you immense calm and keep you away from any type of depression and anxiety.

Kumbh Mela 2021 important Bathing or Snan dates

 Dates    2021

 Days

 Events

  Type of Bath

14th January

Thursday

Makar Sankranti

Snan

11th February

Thursday

Mauni Amavasya

Snan

16th February

Tuesday

Basant Panchami

Snan

27th February

Saturday

Maghi Poornima

Snan

11th March

Thursday

Mahashivratri

Shahi Snan 1st

12th April

Monday

Somvati Amavasya

Shahi Snan 2nd

13th April

Tuesday

Chaitra Shukla Pratipada

Snan

4th April

Wednesday

Baishakhi

Shahi Snan 3rd

21st April

Wednesday

Ram Navami

Snan

27th April

Tuesday

Chaitra Purnima

Shahi Snan 4th

Ghats for a bath in Kumbh Mela 2021

Har ki Pauri

Asthi Pravath Ghat

Subhash Ghat

Sita Ghat

Singh Dwar Ghat

Daksheshwar Ghat

Sati Ghat

Varagi Camp Ghat

Ganesh Ghat

Roode Bale wala Ghat

Kangra Ghat

Pantdweep Ghat

Sarvanand Ghat

Sapth Sarover Kshetra Ghat

Gau Ghat

Places to stay during Kumbh Mela

There are various Hotels and Dharamshalas in Haridwar which are some good options to spend the night in Haridwar during Kumbh Mela. Hotel La Casa, Ganga Retreat, Hotel Godwin, Hotel Golden Tulip, Hotel Park Grace, Riverside Paradise, Bed hubs, Hotel Ananda, Hotel Madhuban, etc. are some of the good hotels in Haridwar. If you want to have a night stay in Dharamshala then you can stay in Shantikunj, Govind Bhavan,  Umiya Dham, Tayal Dharamshala, Shri Narsingh Bhawan, etc. other than this there are many camps that are specially arranged for the tourist stay during the Kumbh Mela with all the necessary requirements present in the camp itself for a comfortable stay. You can choose from any of the above-mentioned facilities according to your budget and make your stay a memorable one during the Kumbh Mela.

How to reach Haridwar during Kumbh Mela

By Air: The nearest airport to Haridwar is Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun which is about 43 km away from Haridwar and from there local taxi service for Haridwar is provided. You can also opt for Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport which is about 222 Km from Haridwar and from there you can hire a local taxi or take the bus service.

By Train: The nearest railway station is the Haridwar Railway station and by reaching there you can take a local taxi for your destination in Haridwar. This Railway station is well connected to major cities of India.

By bus: you can take the local Interstate bus service from your state to the Haridwar bus terminal. If you are going from Delhi then you can take the bus going towards Haridwar from Kashmiri gate ISBT. NH 45 connects Haridwar to other Major cities of India. So, Plan Your Haridwar Trip with Travel Ride.

 

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