The Kumbha Mela celebration is hosted in the holy city of
Ujjain and is known as the Sinhastha Mela.
The celebration is known as Sinhastha because it occurs
while Jupiter is in the sign of Leo (Sinha).
The climax bathing (snana) day of the Sinhastha Mela occurs
on the full moon in the lunar month of Baisakh (April–May).
The Kumbha Mela is a major religious event held every three
years in four separate cities: Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain, and Nasik; the
festival is held every twelve years in each location.
The Kumbha Mela is primarily a bathing celebration when
participants wash in holy waters.
Ascetics from all over South Asia come to bathe in the
hallowed waters and are the main participants in the festival.
According to legend, the great philosopher Shankaracharya
organized the Kumbha Mela to encourage regular gatherings of educated and holy men
as a way to build, preserve, and expand Hindu faith.
The Kumbha Mela's founding myth is based on the legend of
Churning the Ocean of Milk.
The gods and their demon opponents begin to argue over the
pot of nectar after the ocean has been churned and the nectar of immortality
(amrta) has been extracted.
The gods kidnap the pot and flee with it, but the person
carrying it becomes weary of carrying it and drops it in twelve separate
locations over the course of twelve days.
The Mela is hosted at four different locations, four of
which are in heaven and eight of which are on earth.
A drop of nectar spills on the ground in each location,
sanctifying the location, and the twelve-year cycle is formed since a heavenly
day is deemed a human year.
According to popular belief, the waters in which people
bathe become the nectar of immortality during each Kumbha Mela's most
fortuitous time, and all individuals who dip in these waters receive tremendous
religious virtue.
Haridwar and Allahabad have historically been the two most
significant venues; one indication of their dominance is that they have
conducted "half" (ardha) Kumbha Melas every six years, which have
regularly attracted larger people than the "full" Kumbha Melas at
Ujjain and Nasik, which fall during those periods.
Political reasons, on the other hand, have boosted
attendance during the Sinhastha Mela in recent years.
Ujjain lies in the stronghold of Hindu nationalist
organizations such as the Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh, Vishva Hindu Parishad,
and Bharatiya Janata Party.
The ancestral kingdom of Vijaya Raje Scindia, the matriarch
of a former royal dynasty and a key member in the Bharatiya Janata Party, is
located near to Ujjain.
The Sinhastha Mela has been considered as an excellent chance for religious-political groups to create attention, distribute patronage, and give the individuals in these organizations more prestige and exposure in such a political atmosphere and local setting.
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