The Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world that occurs every 12 years, rotating between four pilgrimage sites along four sacred rivers in India. Millions of people gather at the sites to ritually bathe and participate in religious discussions, devotional singing, mass feeding of holy people and poor, and debates. The Kumbh Mela commemorates a story from Hindu mythology where drops of an elixir of immortality fell to earth at four places while being transported by Lord Vishnu.

2.  Largest Gathering of people for a religious purpose in the world
 Millions of people gather on different places for this auspicious occasion
 Kumbha is a Sanskrit word of pitcher, sometime referred as the “Kalasha”
 Kumbh mela is celebrated four times every 12 years
 The site of the observance rotating between four pilgrimage places on
four sacred rivers
 Haridwar on the Ganges river, at Ujjain on the Shipra river, at Nasik on the
Godavari and at Allahabad on the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and
the mythical river Sarasvati

3.  The exact age of the festival is uncertain
 According to the medieval Hindu mythology, lord
Vishnu dropped drops of Amrita at four places, while
transporting it in a Kumbha (Pot)

4. Kumbh mela : Held at all four places at every 3 years
Ardh Kumbh Mela : Held at Haridwar and Prayag every 6
years
Purna Kumbh Mela : Held only at Prayag every 12 years
Maha Kumbh Mela : Held only at Prayag every 144 years

5.  The major event of the festival is ritual bathing at the
banks of the river in whichever town Kumbh mela
being held
 Other activities include,
I. religious discussions
II. devotional singing
III. mass feeding of holy men and women and the poor
IV. Religious assemblies where doctrines are debated
and standardised

6.  Kumbh Mela is the most sacred of all the pilgrimages.
 Thousands of holy men and women attend, and the
auspiciousness of the festival is in part attributable to
this.
 The sadhus are seen clad in saffron sheets with
Vibhutiashes dabbed on their skin as per the
requirements of ancient traditions.
 Some, called naga sanyasis, may not wear any clothes
even in severe winter.
 The right to be naga, or naked, is considered a sign of
separation from the material world.

8.  Darshan, or respectful visual exchange, is an important
part of the Kumbh Mela
 Two major groups that participate in the Kumbh Mela
include the Sadhus (Hindu holy men) and pilgrims
 Through their continual yogic practices the Sadhus
articulate the transitory aspect of life
 Sadhus travel to the Kumbh Mela to make themselves
available to much of the Hindu public

9. Credit Cidroy Paes