Fwd: Godavari Pushkara – Sinhasth KumBha mEla (Part -1)

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Godavari Pushkara – Sinhasth KumBha mEla (Part -1)

GoddessDurga

|| Jai Sadguru Dutta ||

Godavari Pushkara € ¦’¶ Sinhasth KumBha

mEla-

2003

INTRODUCTION

The most spectacular and auspicious of all the events one can witness around

this time is the KumBhamEla, a religious festival that occurs once in every 12

years, and is celebrated in four major pilgrim centres across the BhAratha

Khand. The main ritual of the KumBha mElais the holy dip in the river and water

oblations (tarpaNa) to one€ ¦’²s ancestors, RShis and arGhya to the Gods.

Kumbha (Kumbha = pot) mEla is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage that takes place at the

following four locations of BhArath:

Prayag

Haridwar

Ujjain

Nasik

The pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve years, once at each of the four

locations. Each twelve-year cycle includes the Maha (great) KumBha mElaat

Prayag, attended by millions of people, making it the largest pilgrimage

gathering around the world.

KumBha mEla is attended by millions of people on a single day. A ritual bath

(holy bath) at a predetermined time and place is the major event of this

festival. Other activities include religious discussions, devotional singing,

mass feeding of holy men/women and the poor, and religious assemblies where

doctrines are debated and standardized. KumBha mEla(especially the Maha Kumbha

Mela) is the most sacred of all the Hindu pilgrimages. Thousands of holy

men/women (monks, saints, sadhus) grace the occasion by their presence. The

suspiciousness of KumBha mEla is in part attributed to the gathering of

thousands of holy men/women at one place on earth

The € ¦’³pUrNa Kumbha mEla€ ¦’´ is held every 12 years. The KumBha mElais held

at four locations in rotation every three years- in Nasik, Ujjain, HaridwAr and

PrayAg. These are called Ardha Kumbha. The last Purna Kumbha was held in 1998 at

Haridwar . The next Purna Kumbha will be on 2010. The main date for the general

public to bathe will be April 14, 2010.

Chatur Kumbha (The Four Kumbhas)

1. HaridwAr (UttarAnchal/Uttar Pradesh)

If one wishes to witness the glory of the Ganga, then he should visit HaridwAr.

It is believed that Lord VishNu€ ¦’²s feet (HaripAda) is located here. HaridwAr

(or HaradwAr) is the € ¦’³Gateway€ ¦’´ to the Himalayan Pilgrimage. Annual

KumBha mElais held here. This is also called GangAdwAr. On the map it is 29

degrees 58 minutes North and 78 degrees 8 minutes East.

2. Prayag (Uttar Pradesh)

Near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. It is the confluence of the three holiest

rivers Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswat € ¦’¶ hence rightly called TrivENi Sangam.

Here, the Saraswathi is € ¦’³Gupta gAmini€ ¦’´. On the map Prayag is 25

degrees 25 minutes North and 81 degrees 53 minutes East. If one imagines the

map of Bharath as Human body, then the Triveni sangam corresponds to the

€ ¦’³Ajna chakra€ ¦’´ € ¦’¶ the third eye, where the three facets of

spirituality namely € ¦’³Bhakthi€ ¦’´ (one minded devotion), € ¦’³JnAna€ ¦’´

(knowledge) and € ¦’³Vairagya€ ¦’´ (austerity) converge.

3. Nasik (Maharastra).

It is about 200 km North East of Bombay at 20 degrees North and 71 degrees East

on the map. Nasik is one of the most important cities of Northern Maharashtra,

situated on the banks of river Godavari. Tryambakeshwar located near at a

distance of about 30 km from Nasik in

12pt">Maharashtra is revered as one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva.

Tryambakeshwar is the source of the river Godavari. The Shivalingam is seen in

a depression on the floor of the sanctum; water constantly oozes out from the

top of the Shivalingam. This is an ancient shrine, however the current

structure is a result of the reconstruction efforts undertaken by the Peshwa

Balaji Bajirao in mid 18th century. Over 2000 Temples and Ghats on the banks

of Godavari have made Nasik one of the holiest places for Hindus all over the

World. The € ¦’³Narayana Mandir€ ¦’´ where there is a beautiful idol of Lord

Vishnu made out of € ¦’³Salagram shila€ ¦’´ is one of the main attractions. It

is in Nasik that Lord Shri Ram lived in the hermitage € ¦’¶

€ ¦’³Panchavati€ ¦’´ during his period of exile.

Tryambakeshwar has been referred to in the Padma Purana. The legend relating to

the Lingodbhava manifestation of Shiva also prevails here. Legend has it that

Bhrama and Vishnu searched in vain to discover the origin of Shiva who

manifested himself as a cosmic column of fire. Bhrama lied that he had seen the

top of the column of fire, and was hence cursed that he would not be worshipped

on earth. In turn Bhrama cursed Shiva that he would be pushed underground.

Accordingly, Shiva came down under the Bhramagiri hill in the form of

Tryambakeshwar. Circumambulating the Bhramagiri hill is considered sacred.

4. Ujjaini (Madhya Pradesh).

Ujjaini was the most popular capital of ancient Bharath. During the rule of

Ashoka€ ¦’²s father Bindusara, it was called € ¦’³Avanti€ ¦’´. It is 80 km from

Indore and is situated on the banks of the river € ¦’³kShiprA€ ¦’´. Lord

€ ¦’³MahAkALEShwar€ ¦’´ is the presiding deity and hence Ujjain is one of the 7

€ ¦’³Salvation Giving€ ¦’´ (mOkShadAyI € ¦’¶ AyODhyA, maThura, mAyA (haridwAr),

kAShi, kAnchi, Avanthika, & gayA) This is also the centre of Hindu timekeeping

or the equivalent of Greenwich near London. On the map its location is 23

degrees 11 minutes North and 73 degrees 45 minutes East. According to Hindu

Astronomical treatise the prime meridian or the zero longitude traverses

through

12pt">Ujjain. Hence all time such as the beginning of a Hindu Year, Sankranti

(such as Makar Samkranti) and the beginning of a Yuga are decided by the

sunrise at Ujjain.

Ujjain was also an ancient seat of learning in India where scinece and the arts

of the Vedas were taught in Gurukuls (house of Guru). Lord Krishna of Gokul

(the house of cows), when he was a child, attended such a Gurukul along with

his brother Balaram in ancient Ujjaini. This is the place where the great poet

Kalidasa lived and created the ever lasting literature.

A Purna Kumbha (complete) is held every twelve years. The site for a Purna

Kumbha rotates between the above four Kumbhas and is decided by Sadhus

(ascetics).

Where and when?

KumBha mEla is a mammoth fair where saints and devotees gather. KumBha mEla is

celebrated at the aforesaid four places depending on the positions of planets

and stars:

When Jupiter (Guru) and Sun are in zodiac signLeo(Simha Rashi) it is

celebrated in Trimbakeshwar, Nasik.

When Sun is in zodiac sign Aries (Mesha Rashi) it is celebrated at Haradwar

When Jupiter is in zodiac sign Taurus (Vrishabha Rashi ) and Sun is in zodiac

sign Capricorn (Makar Rashi) KumBha mElais celebrated at Prayag

When Guru and Sun are in zodiac sign scorpio (Vrishchik Rashi) the Mela is

celebrated at Ujjain.

Sinhasth KumBha mEla(2003) at TryambakEShwar, Nasik, Maharashtra

On AShAD bahuL daShami, buDhwAr of Shri swaBhAnu samvatsar (i.e., 23-7-2003),

bRhaspathi (Guru € ¦’¶ planet Jupiter) enters Simha rAsi ( Leo ) and hence from

that day through the next 12 days are considered as GOdAvari PuShkara. During

these days, it is said that all the 3,50,00,000 (3 crore 50 lakh)

€ ¦’³tIrthA€ ¦’´s (divine/celestial waters) merge into the GOdAvari river. It

is the most auspicious time for € ¦’³puNya snAn€ ¦’´ (holy dip), € ¦’³dAn€ ¦’´

(alms), € ¦’³tarpaN€ ¦’´ (water oblations to the ancestors and RShis) and

€ ¦’³arGhya€ ¦’´ (water oblations to the Gods) and brings infinite

€ ¦’³puNya€ ¦’´.

€ ¦’³ sinhAdri pArshEpi taTE ramantham

gOdAvarI tIra pavithra dEshE |

yaddarShanAtpAtaka jAthanAShah

prajAyathE tRyambakamIShamiDe || € ¦’³

Recognizing the importance of the Sinhastha KumBha mEla Shri Adi Shankaracharya

appealed to the disciples of his Vaidik Dharma (Hindu dharma)

to assemble at the time of Sinhastha Kumbha Mela. Following his appeal, till now

devotees, pilgrims, and people of various sects and religions gather together

for Kumbha Mela.

There are some differences in the dates suggested by different astrologers; but

we shall stick to the official dates, which are as follows:

Trimbakeshwar Kumbhmela will be held from July 27th, 2003 thru Aug.27th 2004.

Kumbhmela Dates

KumBhamEla DhwajAROhan € ¦’¶ Start of the Kumbh Mela € ¦’¶ July 27th , 2003

KumBhemEla SamApti - End of the Kumbh Mela - Aug 27th, 2004

Main Events known as Shahi snan. The dates for Trimbakeshwar Shahi Snan are as follows :

Pratham (first) snAn € ¦’¶ ShrAvan Shuddha pUrNimA (Full moon) € ¦’¶ Tuesday, Aug 12th, 2003

dwitIya (second) snAn € ¦’¶ mahA parva € ¦’¶ BhAdrapad kRshna amAvAsya € ¦’¶ Wed, Aug 27th, 2003

tritIya (third) snAn € ¦’¶ BhAdrapad Shukl, vAman dwAdashi € ¦’¶ Sunday, Sep 7th, 2003

The dates for Nasik Shahi Snan are as follows :

Pratham (first) snAn € ¦’¶ ShrAvan Shuddha EkAdaShi € ¦’¶ Friday, Aug 8th, 2003

dwitIya (second) snAn € ¦’¶ mahA parva € ¦’¶ BhAdrapad kRshna amAvAsya € ¦’¶ Wed, Aug 27th, 2003

tRtIya (third) snAn € ¦’¶ BhAdrapad Shuddha panchami, RShipanchami € ¦’¶ Mon, Sep 1st, 2003

NEXT: Origin and importance of the kumBha mEla

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