Welcome to Holy Prayag

July 12, 2003

Even if you missed the Maha Kumbha Mela, you can still visit the Magh-Mela Festival at Prayag and get the spiritual benefits. Magh-Mela is held every year at Prayag.

This year the ISKCON camp is at the best VIP area, a few hundred meters from the Sangam of Ganga and Yamuna. Please do not miss the opportunity to spend some time on the banks of the holy rivers at Prayag. The festival will go till February 17.

The word "prayag" refers to a place where great sacrifices are held. There are fourteen prayagas on the Ganga, and Prayag-raj (Allahabad), the King of Confluences, is considered the most important.

The Brahma Purana tells us that for the creation of the universe and the cleansing of the pollution caused by the poison that emerged after the churning of the milk ocean, Lord Brahma decided to choose a place for the performance of a yajna. He chose a prime piece of land that was encircled by the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the Sarasvati. Thereafter the site was known a Prayag.

The Mahabharata (Vana-parva) states, "The land between the Ganga and Yamuna is called the waist, or middle part, of the earth, and Prayag, which is the most sacred and prosperous place, is the fertile part of mother earth. This Prayag is the madhya, or middle, of the five vedis, or sacrificial altars, on earth. The other vedis are Kuruksetra, Gaya, Viraja, and Puskara."

Similar statements can also be found in the Brahma Purana, Skanda Purana, and Markandeya Purana. In the Mahabharata it is mentioned that Prayag is considered to be the most revered place of worship in the universe. Lord Brahma said, "prayagasya pravesesu papam nasyanti tatksanam" — "All sins are at once cleansed upon entering Prayag." Prayag is also referred to as Tirtharaj Prayag, meaning "the holiest of the holy places."

In Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya Lila 17.149, Srila Prabhupada says, "Every year a fair takes place there known as Magha-mela, and every 12 years a Kumbha-mela is also held. In any case, many people come to bathe there every year. During Magha-mela, people from the local district generally come, and during Kumbha-mela people come from all over India to live there and bathe in the Ganga and Yamuna. Whoever goes there immediately feels the place's spiritual influence. Many saintly people live there, and consequently it is very attractive from the spiritual point of view."

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited Prayag twice and inundated the whole area with the waves of the chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

By performing the sankirtana-yajna at this confluence, a place meant for sacrifices, He set the example for all future pilgrims. Prayag also is the place where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Sri Rupa Gosvami in the science of bhakti yoga.

Starting in 1923, Srila Prabhupada lived for many years in Allahabad (Prayag). It was during this period, in 1932, that he took initiation from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.

Devotees of the ISKCON temple at Allahabad invite everybody to visit this holy place. Those who would like to come here during Magh Mela can stay in the ISKCON camp there.

If you have any questions, you can e-mail me at patri_pvs@

Or contact me by phone

(0532) 41-52-94; 41-67-18.

Hare Krishna.