The Maha Kumbh 2025 will be remembered primarily for its unprecedented gathering that is likely to cross 60 crore mark by the end of the mela on 26 February 2025. A venomous campaign to denigrate the event pursued throughout by the opposition leaders of Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) to Lalu’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and others failed to dampen the spirit of people to take a dip in the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj braving cold and hardships. Let me explain a few distinct aspects of this mela for which it will be always remembered.
Spirituality: The legend of the Kumbh Mela is linked to Samudra Manthan or the churning of the ocean by Devas and Asuras to obtain Amrit, the nectar of immortality. While doing so, a pot (Kumbh) of Amrit was obtained which Lord Vishnu took and fled so that it does not fall into the hands of Asuras and in the process drops of Amrit fell in Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik. These sites have since become sacred pilgrimage destinations for Hindus, believed to bestow spiritual benefits upon those who bathe in their waters during the festival seeking purification and moksha (liberation). The 2025 Maha Kumbh is witnessing unparallelled rush at the railway stations leading to stampedes, lengthy road jams on the way to Prayagraj and skyrocketing prices of air tickets due to a misconception and confusion that this Mela is a lifetime opportunity that has come after 144 years and will take another similar period for the next such event.
Let us understand the number 144: i) The Maha Kumbh happens every 12 years at Prayagraj and 12 cycles of this 12-year time interval gives the number 144 which is 12 x 12 = 144 years. However, it is not related to the actual scheduling of the Maha Kumbh Mela. Each Kumbh at Prayagraj is part of this 12-year cycle, so a Maha Kumbh doesn’t have a 144-year waiting period. While the 12-year cycle of Kumbh is well-established in Hindu traditions, the idea of a 144-year cycle is not discussed in religious texts, ii) The rare alignment of the planets observed this year that is a simultaneous conjunction of multiple planets in Kumbh (Aquarius) Rashi could theoretically happen in 144 years, but this is unrelated to the regular Maha Kumbh schedule of 12 years and iii) The dates of Kumbh Mela are determined based on Hindu astrological calculations when Brihaspati (Jupiter) enters Vrishabha Rashi (Taurus) and the Sun and Moon align in Makar Rashi (Capricorn) during the Hindu month of Magha (January-February), the Kumbh Mela is held at Prayagraj. Hence, the misconception might stem from astrological complexities or symbolic references.
Stampede: On an average when over a crore people continuously visit a small city of 365 sq km area every day, and dash towards the nose of the Triveni Sangam with river on one side and sand on the other, stampedes are virtually unavoidable. But the fact that nothing of this sort happened for the first 16 days starting on 13 January 2025 when more than 20 crore people took a holy dip speaks volumes about the meticulous arrangements made by the Yogi government for this mega event. The preparations planned one year before were implemented with minute details step by step throughout the year, taking into consideration every need of the people, who converged on the Triveni Sangam, namely food, water, shelter, police security, and AI-assisted monitoring to streamline the crowd, traffic arrangements to make free flow of vehicles, hospitals, ambulances, and fire brigades. Despite, all these arrangements, when a large crowd of pilgrims surged towards the Sangam to take a holy dip on Mauni Amavasya on 29 January 2025, the jostling for space caused a stampede that took 30 precious lives and injured at least 60 people. But the prompt action of the concerned government authorities minimised the impact of the disaster that would have blown into a mega tragedy. Earlier, a fire accident that burnt several tents was brought under control promptly indicating the preparedness of the disaster management authorities. An investigation into the incident is underway to find out the reasons for the stampede as several eyewitnesses indicated the possibility of some mischief by certain unsocial elements.
Politics: When the Maha Kumbh started with a bang and was proceeding smoothly and incident-free the supremo of the Samajwadi Party led the onslaught of the opposition leaders by criticising the arrangements and playing down the enormous numbers pouring in Prayagraj, every day. On one hand, he was critical of the Kumbh event with an eye on Muslim appeasement before the Milkipur by-poll, which his party eventually lost by a huge margin, he took a U-turn and took a holy dip himself, to ride on two horses with an eye on next state elections. Not lagging behind other top leaders of the Congress, TMC, and RJD latched on to the stampede and accused Modi and Yogi Governments of leading a Mrityu Kumbh or Kumbh of Death and called it a faltu event. The Congress went one step ahead in Parliament when their Party President paid tributes to thousands (sic) who died in the stampede and later retracted his statement. The popular female actress MP of the SP told the media in the Parliament annex that the water in Sangam is contaminated as the bodies of the people who died during the stampede were thrown into the river. Such accusations without any proof are meant to defame the Kumbh Mela and shows the hatred of these leaders towards Hinduism. If thousands of people had died in the stampede, is it possible to hide these bodies from the lakhs and lakhs of people present over there at Sangam Nose? Everyone, nowadays carries a mobile and people take videos and upload on FB live. With drones hovering over the Sangam Nose, is it possible to hide the realities? Ridiculous! But these leaders jumped in joy when the usual suspect and an outlier amongst the four Shankarayas joined the opposition ranks and demanded Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s resignation on the stampede issue.
National Green Tribunal: The NGT highlighted non-compliance with water quality standards in Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh that failed to meet bathing standards due to high fecal coliform levels indicating sewage contamination. While refuting the observations of the NGT, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asserted that Sangam water is not only fit for taking a holy dip but also suitable for Aachman, an act of taking a sip of water before a yagya or puja. He further stressed that all the pipes and the drains in and around Sangam are taped and the water is being released only after purification. The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board is continuously monitoring the water to maintain its quality. Given the claims and counterclaims, it is interesting to know the classic bacterial growth process that has four phases: i) Lag: This phase happens just after the bacteria colonise a new environment and the bacterial numbers stay static or may even drop slightly as the bacteria are sorting out their metabolism to work with the new environment, ii) Log: The second phase is the period where growth occurs by a doubling of cell counts every generation and it continues while there is an abundance of nutrients available, iii) Static: In this phase, flattening of growth happens as the nutrients run out but is extended as bacterial cells die they release nutrients for other cells to utilise and iv) Decline: As all nutrients run out and the death of bacterial cells can no longer support the colony, bacterial cell numbers will decline.
Since, more than 52 crores people have taken baths in Prayagraj so far, and there are no major reports of widespread sickness in the country after the holy dip, the claim of the Chief Minister looks reliable as the bacterial growth if any, is stunted at an early stage.
The Maha Kumbh 2025 will go down in the annals of history as the Spiritual Renaissance. This Kumbh is serving as a key driver in the spiritual awakening and revival of Hindu values, reconnecting people to their religious roots. Kumbh transcends caste, region, and language barriers, reinforcing a sense of Indian unity. It is also a slap on the face of political leaders who in their obsession to hate Modi and Yogi have started hating the Hindu culture that has survived despite centuries of invasions. They have tried every trick in their bag and What’s next? Wait and watch.
I conclude by reminding the people of our country that there is something unique in Indian soil that despite many obstacles and shortcomings has always remained the abode of great souls.