India’s Kumbh Mela, world’s largest religious gathering

Workers paint a mural of Hindu deity Ganesha ahead of the Kumbh Mela, which organisers expect to be attended by 400 million devotees – Copyright AFP/File Niharika KULKARNI

Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

A deadly stampede on Wednesday hit India’s Kumbh Mela, a vast Hindu festival held by the banks of the Ganges river that 400 million pilgrims are expected to visit over its six-week duration.

Devotees have travelled from across India and beyond to take part in elaborate rituals, prayers and religious processions with elephants, as well as horse-back parades and chariots.

The mass Hindu mela, or fair, opened on January 13 and runs until February 26 on the river banks of Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. 

Organisers say the scale of preparations for the Kumbh Mela is akin to setting up a country from scratch. 

– History of deadly stampedes –

At least 15 people were killed in Wednesday’s stampede, a doctor told AFP, despite organisers installing hundreds of cameras and using drones to track crowds.

A system using AI was designed to track people flow and sound the alarm if crowd density posed a safety threat. 

The plans were intended to avoid a repeat of 2013, the last time the festival was staged in the northern city of Prayagraj, when 36 people were crushed to death.

In one of the worst crowd-related disasters globally, more than 400 people were trampled to death or drowned at the Kumbh Mela on a single day in 1954.

– Mind-boggling numbers –

Around 150,000 toilets have been built along with community kitchens that can each feed up to 50,000 people at a time.

The last celebration at the site, the “ardh” or half Kumbh Mela in 2019, attracted 240 million pilgrims, according to the government.

This year, authorities are preparing for up to 400 million people — more than the combined population of the United States and Canada.

Mela authorities and police have set up a network of “Lost and Found” centres as well as a special Kumbh phone app to help lost pilgrims reunite with their families.

– Sacred bathing –

The Kumbh Mela, the “festival of the sacred pitcher”, is held at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Sarasvati rivers.

A central part of the rituals is bathing in the holy rivers, with the dawn charge often led by naked, ash-smeared monks.

Hindus believe that those who immerse themselves in the waters cleanse themselves of sin, breaking free from the cycle of rebirth and ultimately attaining salvation.

Many pilgrims embrace a life of simplicity during the festival — vowing non-violence, celibacy and the offering of alms — and focusing on prayer and meditation.

– Cosmic battle – 

The festival is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher, or kumbh, containing the nectar of immortality.

During the battle, a cosmic fight called “Samudra Manthan”, or the “churning of the ocean”, four drops of nectar were spilt.

One landed at Prayagraj, where the Kumbh is held every 12 years.

The other drops fell in Nashik, Ujjain and Haridwar, cities where smaller Kumbh festivals are held in intervening years.

The mythological battle is mentioned in the Rig Veda, an ancient sacred canonical Hindu text.

One of the earliest historical mentions of the festival comes from Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar Hiuen Tsang, who attended in the seventh century.

– Key dates –

Bathing takes place every day, but on the most auspicious dates, it is known as Shahi Snan, or “royal bath”.

Ceremonies include the visually spectacular “aarti”, when vast numbers of priests perform rituals holding flickering lamps.

Devotees also float a sea of twinkling “diya” prayer lamps, crafted from baked flour, that glow from burning mustard oil or clarified butter.

Millions of people had been expecting to participate in ritual bathing Wednesday for Mauni Amavasya, considered to be the most auspicious day of the festival, when celestial alignments are said to be ideal for purifying waters.

The festival began on January 13, coinciding with the full moon, with celebrations culminating on February 26, the final holy bathing day. 

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