The biggest congregation of renouncers and devotees on earth. An amalgamation of knowledge and spirituality. An ocean of faith. This is Maha Kumbh.
Maha Kumbh happens after 144 years marking the completion of a 12-Kumbh Mela cycle. Thus, Maha Kumbh 2025 at Prayagraj between 13th Jan and 26th Feb, is supremely significant.
As per Hindu mythology, Samudra Manthan, the ocean churning happened between gods and demons to find the Amrit, the elixir of immortality. But as soon as the Amrit Kumbh, pot of nectar was found after churning, a fight ensued between gods and demons to grab the nectar. Battle went on for twelve days and twelve nights, considered as twelve years for humans. During that battle Lord Vishnu flew away to heaven with the Amrit Kalash. Few drops of Amrit spilled on earth. The Kumbh mela is organized at four spots where nectar drops fell. These sacred places are Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nasik and Ujjain.
Kumbh is held every 12 years. Astrological calculations for Kumbh are related to the star alignments of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter. Hereby, Sun denotes soul, Moon represents mind and Jupiter represents the wisdom of sage, the Guru. Guru is given highest ranking in Hindu tradition. As Jupiter completes its zodiac cycle in 12 years, Kumbh is celebrated after twelve years at one of the four holy places. Date of Kumbh depends upon the specific planetary alignment.
Haridwar Kumbh, when Jupiter enters in zodiac sign Aquarius, Sun and Moon are in Aries.
Prayagraj Kumbh, when Jupiter enters zodiac sign Taurus, Sun and Moon are in Capricorn.
Nasik Kumbh, when Jupiter enters zodiac sign Leo, Sun and Moon are in Cancer.
Ujjain Kumbh, when Jupiter enters zodiac sign Leo, Sun and Moon are in Aries.
In 2017, Kumbh Mela got listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage under UNESCO as a festival of the Sacred Pitcher.
Glimpses of Maha Kumbh captured during my journey to Prayagraj from 13th Jan to 15 Jan 2025…
This is so amazing! I find it fascinating that it’s held every 12 years. That makes it so much more powerful and special.
A powerful event to be part of.
This is the coolest thing I’ve seen on your site yet. It sounds like an amazing festival.
Maha Kumbh is a fabulous event.
It looks like you had an amazing experience being part of such a significant event.
Absolutely amazing.
oh wow! I’ve heard of Maha Kumbh, a friend of mine told me about it. The largest gathering on earth…This is fascinating…
Indeed Karen. Thanks.
Oh wow this looks like an amazing experience! Its lovely knowing more about different cultures from round the world
Truly so.
It’s the first time that I’ve heard of such event and it’s good to learn about it. And it’s held every 12 years. Interesting!
In fact Maha Kumbh happens after 144 years the completion of a 12-Kumbh Mela cycle.
This is such an interesting festival that I knew nothing about. So happy to have read this and learned about the cultural significance Maha Kumbh has.
Maha Kumbh has an enormous cultural significance.
Oh wow this sounds like a really significant festival! Thank you for sharing – it’s so cool that it doesn’t happen so often at all.
Indeed a very significant festival.