Kumbha Mela
Kumbha Mela Story
The demigeds and demons made a truce so they could churn the ocean of milk to get the nectar that would give immortality. The rope that was used was Vasuki, the largest serpent and the churning rod was Mandara Mountain. As they were churning the milk ocean many things were generated. First poison was produced, and it was drunk by Lord Siva, this is why he has a blue throat.
Eventually Dhanvantari, who is a partial incarnation of Lord Vishnu, appeared carrying a jug containing the nectar.
The demigods (devas) entrusted the nectar (amrita-kalasha) to Brihaspati, Surya, Chandra, and Shani. The demigods ran away with the amrita-kalasha from the demons (asuras), because the demons were more powerful than they were. When the asuras learned of the conspiracy, they got extremely angry and chased the four demigods. The chase lasted 12 days (of the demigods, which is a year by our time) during which time the devas and asuras went around the earth and drops of the nectar fell at Haridwar, Prayaga, Ujjain, and Nasik.
Another way the story is told is that the demons snatched the jug of nectar from Dhanvantari and began to fight amongst themselves. During this fight some nectar fell at these four places.Therefore thr Kumbha-mela is held at each of these four places every 12 years.
Kumbha Mela
Takes place every 12 years at four different holy places in India. These four places are Prayaga (Allahabad), Haridwar, Nasik, and Ujjain. The Kumbha-mela at Prayaga (Allahabad) is the largest attended event in the world, with about 15 million people. Many different sects of holy men gather for the Kumbha-mela. There is a procession on the main bathing days, the order of which is very strictly enforced. There can be a riot over protocol, and people have been killed in the past during these riots. The Naga Babas, who are Siva worshipers, are famous because they walk around naked. They are the first ones to bath on the major bathing days.
The time for Kumbha-mela is judged by the astrological positions of Jupiter and the Sun. In Prayaga (Allahabad) the Kumbha-mela takes places during January-February when Jupiter is in Taurus and the Sun enters Capricorn. Kumbhamela takes place in Haridwar in April-May when Jupiter is in Aquarius and the Sun is in Aries. In Nasik the Mela is in July-September when Jupiter is in Leo and the Sun is in Leo. In Ujjain it is in May-June when Jupiter is in Scorpio and the Sun is in Aries.
The Kumbha-mela lasts for one month while the Sun transits the particular sign of the zodiac. During this month there are certain important bathing days such as the Sankranti (when the Sun enters the next sign), Ekadasi, and Amavasya. The most important bathing day is when the nectar actually falls from the sky. It is considered especially auspicious to bathe at a particular place, at just the correct time.
Six years before each Kumbha-mela is an Ardha Kumbha, which takes places only at Haridwar and Prayaga.
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