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Although the beginning of the pilgrimage began
in 2013 on January 14 and ends on March 10, the highpoint of the event with the
Maha Kumbh Mela occurs on Sunday, February 10. This is a special Kumbh Mela
that comes just once every 144 years, and represents the transition to a new
era.
The Kumbh Mela Pilgrimage | Bathing in the river |
In all Kumbh Mela
pilgrimages, Hindu pilgrims take a ritual bath in the river, which earns merit
and/or washes away sin for the worshiper. Many different traditions
involve prayers, group singing, religious discussions and feeding the thousands
of monks and Naga sadhu holy people who gather there.
There are four sacred Kumbh
Mela pilgrimages. They occur four times over a twelve-year cycle.
Each takes place at a holy river site where Hindus believe that drops of
“amrita” (divine nectar) fell at the four spots. These are Prayag, Nashik,
Ujjain and
Haridwar. All involve a ritual dip in the River Ganges to wash away bad karma.
The Kumbh Mela Cycles
As mentioned above, the
Purna Kumbha Mela today happens only once every 144 years.
Within the six-year cycles
of Kumbh Mela celebrations, are longer cycles. Thus while some form of Kumbh
Mela celebration rotates among one of four locations every three years, special
Kumbh Mela observances follow a cycle of longer periods.
The last Kumbh Mela took
place in 2010 in Haridwar (the city’s name means “Gateway to God” in Hindi). The
New York Times estimated that 500,000 people took part in the ritual bath in
the Ganges there, despite being marked by
unusually cold weather there that year.
Every six years, Hindus
celebrate Ardha Kumba Mela which is celebrated only at Prayag and
Haridwar. The last Ardha Kumba Mela took
place at Prayag in 2007. The BBC conservatively estimated approximately 30
million people attended, making it the largest gathering of people in one spot
in history.
Every 12 years, Hindus
celebrate a Purna Kumbha Mela at Prayag. The last Purna Kumbha Mela took place
in 2001.
The Maha Kumbh Mela
Today’s event -- the Maha Kumbh Mela -- occurs only after
the cycle of 12 12-year Purna Kumbha Mela cycles, or once every 144 years. It
is the most auspicious of the auspicious days to cleanse oneself at Sangam. The
Sangam is the spot where the mythical Saraswati river joins the confluence of
the physical rivers of the Ganges and Yamuna.
It is considered fortunate even to live during an era in which one has the
possibility of experiencing the ritual bathing at Purna Kumbha Mela.
Largest Gathering of People
in History
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| Pilgrims bathing at Maha Kumbh Mela |
The event is expected to
break the record for the largest gathering of people in one spot in history.
Time Magazine estimates upwards of 80 million people. The BBC estimates that
the number of people to gather at the banks of the Ganges
on the single day of Sunday, February 10, 2013 is expected to exceed 40
million.
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| Pilgrims approaching the river |
To put this in perspective,
the annual hadj pilgrimage to Mecca
(the largest annual gathering of people anywhere) numbered 3 million last year.
The previous record for people gathering at one spot was 30 million people at
the Ardha Kumba Mela in 2007 (see below). As another point of comparison, the
figure of 80 million people throughout the pilgrimage is approximately the
population of Germany,
so that were the pilgrims listed as a national population, they would
constitute the 14th most populous country in the world. As for the
single day event, 40 million people would place the pilgrims’ population as the
30th most populous country in the world, just shy of the population
of Spain.
To put this in comparison elsewhere, this is twice the population of Australia and almost 8 million more people than
the entire population of Canada.
Special Needs of the
Gathering
Sanitation and Disease Control
The special needs for
preparing for the pilgrimage are handled through India’s Mela Administration.
Particular care is given to prevent the spread of disease. There have been no
major outbreaks of disease since care to public health became a priority
following an outbreak of cholera at the 1892 Kumbh Mela.
To this end, in 2013,
6000 sanitation workers clean up after the crowds every day. Time magazine
estimates that the sanitation team picks up 56 tons of garbage per day
throughout the event. The also bury human waste in 4000 sanitation pits which
are sprayed with bleach and DDT. In addition to the sanitation workers, the
Mela Administration staffs 250 physicians at 15 field hospitals.
Water Supply
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| Workers bringing extra water supplies to the Mela site |
Drinking water is a continuous concern at all Kumbh Mela gatherings. It is in this area that the government has expressed some concern. The Mela authorities have arranged for 80 million liters of water per day during the event, although estimates are that this comes to just one tap for every 2000 people during the largest press of the gathering on February 10. Various sectors of the Mela site also have leaks in their pipelines and some areas of the makeshift campsites have no pipelines at all.
Efforts have been made to supplement the exist pipelines with other drinking water sources, although data on how many of these alternatives there are and in what form they take is not available. At the time of this writing, though, the cases of severe diarrhea and related drinking water illness was only 50 people a week, an amazingly low number considering the situation.
Electrical Grid Maintenance
One major side effect of the
Kumbh Mela gatherings has been preparing the four pilgrimage locations with
improved electrical grids. For this year’s Maha Kumbh Mela, the Indian
government has put up a temporary grid with 45 diesel generators and 53
electrical substations. As Time Magazine observes,
This is particularly awe-inspiring in a country where almost a third of households don’t have enough juice to power a lightbulb.
Terrorist Precautions
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| Specially-trained Mela bomb disposal squads |
Plainclothes police and specially trained operatives have been placed throughout the crowds. Additionally, special bomb disposal squads have been trained for the event. Finally, medical staff have been equipped with 400 special “Blast and Bomb” kits for treating potential victims of terrorist explosion attacks.
Safety and Crowd Control
 |
| Mela security and crowd control officers |
Safety and public calm has
been another priority since the last major disturbance at a Kumbh Mela almost
60 years ago following the Kumbh Mela stampede of February 3, 1954, the first
Kumbh Mela following India’s
independence. Estimates on the stampede vary greatly, ranging between 300 and
800 people trampled to death, with the Indian government’s estimates at 500
with 2000 injured. The stampede was
blamed on the absence of adequate crowd control forces coupled with the excitement
from the visit of politicians.
As a result, politicians have been banned from
giving speeches at the gatherings ever since. Moreover, well-trained crowd
control officers have supervised the event ever since as well. In 2013, the
Mela Committee has staffed the site with 14,000 police officers trained in
maintaining crowd control.
The 2013 Stampede: Despite all
this, sadly this year, a stamped broke out this year at the train station on
Sunday, February 10, 2013. News sources are conflicting as I post this, with
estimates ranging from 2 to 20 people trampled. This was the first instance of
stampede since the 1954 tragedy.
For more on the 2013 stampede, please see (the
highly varied) coverage from the
NDTV (20 reported dead): http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/twenty-dead-many-injured-in-stampede-at-allahabad-railway-station-329015
Daily Bhaskar (15 reported
dead): http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/UP-maha-kumbh----15-feared-dead-in-allahabad-railway-station-stampede-4176062-NOR.html
Toronto Star (10 reported
dead): http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/02/10/indian_authorities_fear_10_dead_after_stampede_at_hindu_festival.html
Hindustan Times (2 reported dead):
Conclusion
Hinduism has multiple
traditions within it. Many of these traditions vary in their interpretation of
the rites and significance of the Kumbh Mela. This post is meant only as a
brief introductory overview. It is not intended to indicate any particular
practice.
As always, I welcome your corrections (or praise) and any other input.
As always, I welcome your corrections (or praise) and any other input.
Happy Maha Kumbh Mela!
Want to Learn More?
For more on this year’s
festival, refer to the Indian government’s official website for this year’s Maha Kumbha Mela festival at http://kumbhmelaallahabad.gov.in/english/ebooks.html
For the official Maha
Kumbh Mela 2013 English brochure, see http://kumbhmelaallahabad.gov.in/pdf/mahakumbh_low.pdf
For the news coverage of
this year’s events, some articles of interest can be found at the
Financial Express: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/maha-kumbh-mela-huge-crowd-arrives-for-holy-dip-on-mauni-amavasya/1072164
Indian Express: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maha-kumbh-mela-huge-crowd-arrives-for-.../1072164/
Times of India: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Extra-security-cover-for-Maha-Kumbh-Mela-area/articleshow/18424970.cms
Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323701904578275961736436782.html
To read more about the
kumbha mela festivals in general, look at
Hindunet.org at http://www.hindunet.org/festivals/kumbha_mela/
Astroved (Hindu astrological
site) at http://www.astroved.com/festival/kumbha-mela/
Clip Art Sources
Om opening clipart image: http://www.breakoutofthebox.com/OmSymbol.jpg
Pilgrims bathing at Maha Kumbh Mela: http://static.indianexpress.com/m-images/Sun%20Feb%2010%202013,%2017:42%20hrs/M_Id_354988_Maha_Kumbh_Mela.jpg
Pilgrims approaching the river: http://www.daily-sun.com/admin/news_images/377/image_377_81546.jpg
Specially-trained Mela bomb disposal squads: http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/elaborate-security-in-place-for-kumbh-mela/article4245494.ece
Workers bringing extra water supplies to the Mela site: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/drinking-water-scarce-kumbh-city
Mela security and crowd control officers: http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01312/allahabad1_1312199g.jpg
Bathing in the river: http://www.bkz-online.de/sites/default/files/imagecache/dpaImage284/dpa_images/dpa_img_110244357_0.jpg
Great Post. Religious Hindus attach great importance to this bathing ceremony and it forms the most important ritual of the Maha Kumbh Mela as also of the other Kumbh Melas. Hindus believe that bathing in the sacred waters at the Kumbh Mela will purge them and their ancestors back to the eighty-eighth generation off all evil and sin. This would make them suitable to attain moksha (salvation) from the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Source: Hindu Culture
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