Essay on “Kumbha Mela”
Kumbha Mela is the most important and biggest mela of India. Kumbha Mela is organised at Prayag in Allahabad where Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati meet. Although this mela takes place every three years at Haridwar, Nasik, Ujjain and Prayag alternately, the Purna Kumbha’ arrives after twelve years. The Mela is attended by hermits and sages from the higher reaches of the Himalayas. Pilgrims, swamis and missionaries from South India and from faraway lands like America take part in the mela. The faces of ash-smeared sadhus as ‘Digambers’ add to the mystic atmosphere. There is probably nothing holier than a ‘Kumbha-snan-a dip in the holy waters at the time of the Kumbha.
According to the legend, the earth was made sacred at four places by contact with ‘Kumbha jar filled with ‘amrit-nectar’. Thousands of years ago, there was a battle between good and evil forces. The pitcher was the final outcome of the struggle. Later, the great sages gave it a mythological base to make it more comprehensible to the common man.
