Kumbh Mela : Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Inscribed in 2017 (12.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Kumbh Mela (the festival of the sacred Pitcher) is the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth, during which participants bathe or take a dip in a sacred river. Devotees believe that by bathing in the Ganges one is freed from sins liberating her/him from the cycle of birth and death. Millions of people reach the place without any invitation. The congregation includes ascetics, saints, sadhus, aspirants-kalpavasis and visitors. The festival is held at Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik every four years by rotation and is attended by millions of people irrespective of caste, creed or gender. Its primary bearers, however, belong to akhadas and ashrams, religious organizations, or are individuals living on alms. Kumbh Mela plays a central spiritual role in the country, exerting a mesmeric influence on ordinary Indians. The event encapsulates the science of astronomy, astrology, spirituality, ritualistic traditions, and social and cultural customs and practices, making it extremely rich in knowledge. As it is held in four different cities in India, it involves different social and cultural activities, making this a culturally diverse festival. Knowledge and skills related to the tradition are transmitted through ancient religious manuscripts, oral traditions, historical travelogues and texts produced by eminent historians. However, the teacher-student relationship of the sadhus in the ashrams and akhadas remains the most important method of imparting and safeguarding knowledge and skills relating to Kumbh Mela.
Text : https://ich.unesco.org
Kumbh Mela Timeline : History of Kumbh Mela
10,000 bce: Historian S.B. Roy postulates presence of ritual river bathing.
600 bce: River Melas are mentioned in Buddhist writings.
400 bce: Greek envoy to Indian King Chandra Gupta reports on a Mela.
ca 300 ce: Roy believes the present form of Melas crystallizes at this time. Various Puranas, written texts based on ancient oral traditions, recount the dropping of the nectar of immortality at four sites after the “churning of the ocean.”
547: Earliest recorded founding date of an akhara (order), the Abhana.
600: Chinese pilgrim and writer Hiuen-Tsang attends a Mela at Prayag (modern Allahabad), organized by King Harsha.
904: Founding of Niranjani Akhara.
1146: Founding of Juna Akhara.
1300: Kanphata Yogi militant ascetics are employed in the Rajasthan army.
1398: Timur lays waste to Delhi to punish the sultan’s tolerance toward Hindus, then proceeds to Haridwar Mela and massacres thousands.
1565: Madhusudana Sarashwati organizes fighting units of Dasanami orders.
1684: Frenchman Tavernier estimates 1.2 million Hindu ascetics in India.
1690: Shaivites and Vaishnava sects battle at Nasik; 60,000 are killed.
1760: Shaivites and Vaishnava battle at Haridwar Mela; 1,800 die.
1780: British establish the order for royal bathing by the monastic groups.
1820: Stampede leaves 430 dead at the Haridwar Mela.
1906: British Calvary intercede in a Mela battle between sadhus.
1954: Four million people, 1 percent of India’s population, attend the Mela at Allahabad; hundreds die in a stampede.
1989: Guinness Book of World Records proclaims the crowd of 15-million crowd at the February 6 Allahabad Mela “the largest-ever gathering of human beings for a single purpose.”
1995: “Half-Mela” (at six-year interval) at Allahabad has 20 million pilgrims on January 30 bathing day.
1998: Haridwar attracts 25 million in four months; ten million on April 14.
2001: Mela at Allahabad attracts 70 million pilgrims in six weeks, 30 million on January 24 alone.
2003: Mela at Nasik attracts 6 million pilgrims on the main bathing day.
2004: Mela at Ujjain; main days are April 5, 19, 22, 24 and May 4.
2007: Ardh Kumbh Mela at Allahabad. The holy city of Allahabad (Prayag) has hosted Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela (festival) from 3rd January 2007 to 26th February 2007.
