According to astrologers, the 'Kumbh Fair' takes place when the planet Jupiter enters Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries. Kumbha (Kumbha means pot) Mela (means fair) is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage. It takes place at the following four locations of India:
Prayag,Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) ,
Haridwar(Uttarakhand) ,
Ujjain(Madhya Pradesh) ,
Nasik (Maharashtra).
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Our Pilgrimage
The main & common reason for us to attend the holy festival of Kumbh Mela is to take dip in Holy river. It is said that a holy dip in sacred rivers during Maha Kumbh or Ardh Kumbh takes human out of the circle of life & death ( stage known as Moksha ). Pilgrims & Sadhus in great number from around the world visit here to liberate themselves. We have already visited Prayag, Nashik and Ujjain. Now its a great opportunity for us to take a holy deep in the river Ganga at Har-ki-PauriWe reached Haridwar on 12th April night. We had to walk for 4 km to reach the city as vehicles were not allowed in the city.
On 13th and 14th we took holy dips in the Ganges at the Har ki Pauri. Around 1.5 crores pilgrims took dip on 14th April.
The Har ki Pauri Ghat was reserved for the sadhus between 7 am to 5 pm officially. So, we had to finish our royal bath around 5 in the morning. A huge crowd was proceeding towards the Har ki Pauri to wash their sins. The admistration was really working hard to help the pilgrims. They did their best. Unfortunately, a mishap took place on that day. Some people died due to stampade.
I was taking photos at that time when I heard about the incident. The sadhus of a particular Akhara boycotted the sahi snan and they were later convinced by the administration. But the flow of people coming to Haridwar was still on till the night.
On 15th we tried to go to Rishiskesh. Buses were suppose to leave from the Motichur bus stand (6 km). We started walking but on our way we saw people are heading towards Rishikesh and found it was impossible for us to get into the bus. So, we decided to go to Dehradun and then further move to our next destination Joshimath. From where we would visit the Sapta Badris. You can read about that tour in my Sapta Badri blog.
The Har ki Pauri Ghat was reserved for the sadhus between 7 am to 5 pm officially. So, we had to finish our royal bath around 5 in the morning. A huge crowd was proceeding towards the Har ki Pauri to wash their sins. The admistration was really working hard to help the pilgrims. They did their best. Unfortunately, a mishap took place on that day. Some people died due to stampade. I was taking photos at that time when I heard about the incident. The sadhus of a particular Akhara boycotted the sahi snan and they were later convinced by the administration. But the flow of people coming to Haridwar was still on till the night. On 15th we tried to go to Rishiskesh. Buses were suppose to leave from the Motichur bus stand (6 km). We started walking but on our way we saw people are heading towards Rishikesh and found it was impossible for us to get into the bus. So, we decided to go to Dehradun and then further move to our next destination Joshimath. From where we would visit the Sapta Badris. You can read about that tour in my Sapta Badri blog. 
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