| Prayag Kumbh Mela | |
|---|---|
 2013 Maha Kumbh Mela | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Fair |
| Frequency | Every 12 years |
| Venue | Triveni Sangam |
| Location(s) | Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh |
| Coordinates | 25°25′52″N 81°53′06″E / 25.431°N 81.885°E |
| Country | India |
| Previous event | 2019 (Ardh Kumbha Mela) |
| Next event | 2025 (Purn Kumbha / Maha Kumbh Mela) |
| Participants | Akharas, pilgrims and merchants |
| Budget | est. ₹4,200 crores[citation needed] |
| Activity | Rituals |
| Organised by | Prayag Mela Authority |
| Sponsor | East India Company until 1857; British Raj until 1947; thereafter Government of India. |
| Website | kumbh |
 2019 Prayag Kumbh Mela | |
The Prayag Kumbh Mela, also known as Allahabad Kumbh Mela, is a mela, or religious gathering, associated with Hinduism and held in the city of Prayagraj, India, at the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Sarasvati river.[1] The festival is marked by a ritual dip in the waters, but it is also a celebration of community commerce with numerous fairs, education, religious discourses by saints, mass feedings of monks or the poor, and entertainment spectacle.[2][3] Approximately 50 and 30 million people attended the Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela in 2019 and Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013 respectively to bathe in the holy river Ganges, making them the largest peaceful gathering events in the world.[4][5]
The full Kumbh mela is held every 12 years, while an ardha (half) mela is held after about 6 years at the same site. The 2013 Kumbh mela was the largest religious gathering in the world with almost 120 million visitors. An Ardh Kumbh Mela was held in early 2019. The next full Kumbh mela is scheduled for 2025. The exact date is based on the Hindu luni-solar calendar and is determined by the entry of planet Jupiter in Taurus zodiac and while the sun and the moon is in Capricorn.[6][note 1]
The Mela is one of the four fairs traditionally recognized as Kumbh Melas. An annual fair, known as Magh Mela, has been held at Prayag Triveni sangam since ancient times (at least early centuries CE). The site, its sacredness, bathing pilgrimage and the annual festival is mentioned in the ancient Puranas and the epic Mahabharata. The festival is also mentioned in later era texts such as those by Muslim historians of the Mughal Empire. However, these sources do not use the phrase "Kumbh Mela" for the bathing festival at Allahabad. The earliest mention of a Kumbh Mela at Allahabad occurs only after the mid-19th century in colonial era documents. The Prayagwals (local Brahmins of Prayag) are believed to have adopted the 6 year kumbha, the 12-year cycle of the historic Maha Kumbh Mela and annual Magh Mela around this time. Since then, every 12 years, the Magh Mela turns into a Maha Kumbh Mela, and six years after a Kumbh Mela, it is an Ardh Kumbh ("Half Kumbh") or Kumbh Mela.
- ^ Kumbh Mela: Hindu festival. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2015.
- ^ Diana L. Eck (2012). India: A Sacred Geography. Harmony Books. pp. 153–155. ISBN 978-0-385-53190-0.
- ^ Williams Sox (2005). Lindsay Jones (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd Edition. Vol. 8. Macmillan. pp. 5264–5265., Quote: "The special power of the Kumbha Mela is often said to be due in part to the presence of large numbers of Hindu monks, and many pilgrims seek the darsan (Skt., darsana; auspicious mutual sight) of these holy men. Others listen to religious discourses, participate in devotional singing, engage brahman priests for personal rituals, organize mass feedings of monks or the poor, or merely enjoy the spectacle. Amid this diversity of activities, the ritual bath at the conjunction of time and place is the central event of the Kumbha Mela."
- ^ "Mauni Amavasya: Five crore pilgrims take holy dip at Kumbh till 5 pm". Times of India. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
- ^ Pradhan, Sharat (11 February 2013), Neil Fullick (ed.), "Allahabad stampede kills 36 Kumbh Mela pilgrims", Reuters, archived from the original on 16 November 2017, retrieved 15 November 2017,
The festival grows in size every time it is held and is considered the world's largest temporary gathering of people. Officials said some 30 million visited the site on Sunday, considered the most auspicious day to bathe in the river.
- ^ James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 380. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8.
- ^ James Lochtefeld (2008). Knut A. Jacobsen (ed.). South Asian Religions on Display: Religious Processions in South Asia and in the Diaspora. Routledge. pp. 40 footnote 3. ISBN 978-1-134-07459-4.
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