Source: The Guardian
BY Michael Safi in Prayagraj
What does the Kumbh Mela celebrate?
The Kumbh Mela is held at the four spots along the Ganges river where, Hindu tradition has it, drops of the nectar of immortality fell from an urn, or kumbh, that was being fought over by the gods and demons.
Tens of millions of pilgrims attend Kumbh Melas at these sites roughly every three years, praying the holy waters will emancipate them from the cycle of rebirth.
The festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, where the Ganges and the Yamuna meet, has become the largest.
According to one set of Hindu holy books, the Puranas: “Those who bathe in the bright waters of the Ganga where they meet the dark waters of the Yamuna during the month of Magh [roughly January/February] will not be reborn, even in thousands of years.”
Categories: Asia, Hinduism, India, The Muslim Times