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The Mahakumbh (literally "Huge Pitcher") bathing festival at Prayag (Allahabad) is a continuation of a tradition that dates back to the undated past. The dates for the Kumbha Mela are derived based on conjunctions of planets that recur every 12 years and which are in perfect conjunction once every 144 years.
The Kumbh Mela is of two types - the Ardha Kumbh (Half Pitcher) and the Purna Kumbh (Full Pitcher). The Kumbh Mela is held at four places viz. on the banks of the river Ganga at Hardwar, on the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the unseen Saraswati called the Triveni Sangam at Prayag (Allahabad), on the banks of the Kshipra at Ujjain and on the banks of the Godavari at Nashik.
A view of the site of the Mahakumbh at the Triveni Sangam at Prayaga (the city was renamed as Allahabad during the Muslim Occupation of India and is today still officially known by this latter name)
The tradition of Bathing on the Banks of Rivers
We need to note here that the tradition of bathing on the banks of rivers is found in all human cultures. This is so as human civilization centers around sweet water sources like lakes and rivers. Of these flowing water sources are preferred since the water gets refreshed due to its natural flow.
All human civilizations were founded as riparian on the banks of some river. The Egyptian civilization was on the Nile, the Mesopotamian was on the Euphrates and Tigris, Rome was on the Tiber. Similarly, the ancient Indian civilization was on the banks of the Sindhu-Saraswati and later on the Yamuna and the Ganga and so on.
Water has always held a critical place for human existence. Even so for all life - animal or plant both of which need water to exist. Animals converge on water holes for quenching their thirst, so did ancient humans of the Stone Age. Later humans settled down along rivers to enable farming and the settlements grew into villages and cities. Washing and cleaning ourselves was an essential reason for human settlements being formed along river banks all across the world since ancient times. Today's cities are not along river banks, but then we have water piped into our washrooms from the reservoirs to enable a clean and civilized existence.
Religion made Bathing a Ritual and ensured its practice by all humans
All this may sound childish and very obvious to a reader. But herein lies the essence of the sacredness that is given to water sources in most civilizations. In Islam you have the spring of Zem Zem. In Christianity you have the holy water used for baptism and so on.
Since bathing was essential for physical cleanliness, religion was used as a medium to make this act of bathing a religious ritual, so that everybody did it as a matter of faith.
Apes and other animals do not bathe, nor did man in the days of savagery and barbarism. Hence a medium was necesssary to make this practice of bathing for cleanliness acceptale to all humans. Herein lies the simple explanation of how the act of bathing could have become a ritual act that was sanctioned by many religions as being sacred.
The Conjunction of Planets during which a Mahakumbh is observed
The conjunction of planets during which the Mahakumbh is held is a fact. But this has no relation with the sacredness that is attributed to the act of bathing at certain places. The astronomical conjugation of the Planets is a calender event and has no relation to the sacredness, or otherwise, of the act of bathing at a certain spot(s) at that time
Mythology behind the Kumbh Mela
Mythology has one reason to offer for the sacredness associated with certain places. According to Hindu mythology the celestial nectar was dropped form a Pitcher (Kumbh) at four places where the Kumbh Mela is held today. The Kumbh (Pitcher) Mela derives its name from this event in mythology. It is a belief that the nectar has sanctified these four places, so much so that a bath at these places at the sactioned time purifies the body and soul.
Seen above are the Bathing Ghats at Varanasi
Rationale behind other Hindu practices
While on this topic we may state the rational interpretation of the Hindu practice of carrying a burning fire in a pot while going to cremate a departed person. The reason for this is that in days past, before there were established cremation facilities, fire had to be carried to the place (in the forest) where the departed person was cremated. This was done since there could be no fire available in the forest.Another practice of lifting the Sacred Thread and tieing it around one's ear while going to answer a call of nature could have the rationale of preventing the sacred thread from being soiled in the mud while answering the call of nature.
A third practice of sprinkling water around a plate (or banana leaf) before having a meal was to prevent insects from crawling into the leaf.
There are umpteen such practices which we do in our day to day life. The bathing at the Kumbh Mela is one such practice that has a grand following. Such that it attracts billions of people during the 42 days when the Kumbh Mela is observed. And it is a belief among the devout among the Hindus that a bath at the sacred spot at the auspicious time would wash off all sins of a person and would purify him/her. But this belief apart, the only rational reason for the mass bathing is to be found in the hoary human practice of cleansing ourselves physically near a flowing water source. Rationally speaking, in our opinion, there is no more significance to bathing at the Kumbh Mela than this.
Although today the act of mass bathing at one spot could be an invitation to disease and epidemics rather than being an act recommended for physical cleanliness. But for the faithful devout and god-fearing, it is an altogether different matter.
- The Hindutva Team
Tarun Hindu Mahasabha
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