“It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvelous to our kind of people, the cold whites.”—Mark Twain, after visiting the Kumbh Mela of 1895
Aabhas Maldhahiyar
Mark very rightly attributes the Kumbh Mela by ‘Power of Faith.’ Indeed it shall always remain an emotion untouched for many of those who never thought of venturing in the incredible ritual. The experience that faith can bring upon us is way beyond any impulse or fear.
Country gears up for 2019 Ardh Kumbh at Prayag, the preparations include a 42,000 million temporary city that shall span over 2,500 hectares with 122,000 temporary toilets and range of accommodation from simple dormitory tents to 5-star tents, 800 special trains by the Indian Railway, artificially intelligent video surveillance and analytics by IBM, disease surveillance, river transport management by Inland Waterways Authority of India, and an app to help the visitors.
The festival carries big significance as it happens on the land of Prayag. The place carries abundant cherries which embolden the Mela even more.
Prayag as Name
Prayag is located on the sacred ‘Triveni Sangam’, that is, the place where the three rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, congregate in Uttar Pradesh. Ganga and Yamuna are visible; but Saraswati is invisible. The sacred convergence has given the place the name as referred to as ‘Prayagraj’ or ‘Tirtharaj’. The word ‘Prayag’
comes from ‘Pra’ as a prefix and the root ‘Yaj’. Its meaning is – to hold a big Yajna (Havan fire). In the Skandapurana it is mentioned that for all types of Yajna, Prayag is the best place; therefore, it is
called ‘Prayag’.
Significance of Prayag
- Prajapatikshetra : After receiving the four Vedas that had been lost, Prajapati performed a huge Yajna here; hence, Prayag is also called ‘Prajapatikshetra’.
- Madhyavedi of the five Yajnavedis: Of the five Yajna-vedis (Pits where Yajna is performed) – Kurukshetra, Gaya, Viraj, Pushkar and Prayag, Prayag is the madhyavedi (The vedi [Pit for Yajna] in the centre).
- One of the three pilgrimage places: Prayag, one of the three pilgrimage places of Kashi, Prayag and Gaya, is unique from Dharmic perspective.
- Safe place during Pralaya: Prayag is ‘Akshaya Kshetra’. The entire world will be submerged in the massive floods during the Pralaya (Dissolution of the world); but not Prayag. At the end of Pralaya, Shrivishnu will sleep on the Akshayavata in Prayag in the form of a child. Similarly, all the Gods, Sages and spiritually evolved individuals will reside here and protect the place. This is the significance of the place.
Significance described in various scriptures Rigveda:
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