The Kumbh/Ardh Kumb/Singhasth Kumbh and Maha Kumbh- The Analysis

The Kumbh tradition has been going on in India since the Vedic period. Kumbh festival is a time of Amrit bath and Amrit drinking.

The Kumbh/Ardh Kumb/Singhasth Kumbh and Maha Kumbh- The Analysis

By Prof (Dr) Ratnesh Dwivedi

Ex VC*Awarded Academic*Journalist*Intelligence & Defense-INISEG*NASA Proposal Reviwer*VP-501(c)3 US Army Vet Org*Bush Center Member*Country Dir for Ind:ESJ-Paris*Sharing Board Member with Nobel Laureates & JIMMC-India*Russian Gov Fellow@Ural Federal University

 Note- All Photos- UP State Information Department

The Kumbh tradition has been going on in India since the Vedic period. Kumbh festival is a time of Amrit bath and Amrit drinking. At this time, there is a continuous flow of Amrit in the holy stream of Ganga. At this time, the coincidence of Kumbh bath also occurs. This festival is a symbol of the vastness of the festival consciousness of the Indian people. Especially on the land of Uttarakhand, the Kumbh of the pilgrimage city Haridwar is called Maha Kumbh. The proof of the liveliness of Indian culture is organized here every 12 years. Allahabad, located on the banks of the river Ganga in eastern Uttar Pradesh, is a sacred and popular pilgrimage place of India. This city is also mentioned in the religious texts of India. This place has been called 'Prayag' in the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata. The rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati meet here, so this city has special significance for Hindus.

Examination of the word Kumbh

The word 'Kumbh' has been interpreted with five sense organs, five organs of action, one mind and one heart. Only by conquering these twelve senses, 'Ghat Kumbh' ie the welfare of the body is achieved. Prudence and imprudence give rise to the battle between gods and goddesses. It is only with their complete control that nectar emerges in the water. The war between gods and demons and the harmony of nectar and Ganges water has been established in this verse of the Mahabharata -

 Yatha Suranam Amritam Praveelan Jalan Swadha.

Sudha yatha cha naganam and Ganga water nrinam.

According to Atharvaveda, Brahma gave Kumbh, which gives worldly pleasures to man. These Kumbh festivals were established at places like Haridwar. The meaning of Kumbh of the sages who made the earth full of wealth is to achieve Purushartha Chatushtaya ie Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. On the occasion of Kumbh festival, the virtues which are obtained by taking bath in the waters of the holy Bhagwati Bhagirathi (Ganga), performing one thousand Ashwamedha Yagyas, hundred Vajpeya Yagyas, circumambulating one lakh lands, are obtained by taking bath in Kumbh only once.

 Ashwamedha Sahasrani Vajpayee Shatani Ch.

Lakshpradakshina bhume: Kumbhsnanen tat phalam.

Ancient Tradition

Kumbh Mahaparva is a very ancient tradition of being celebrated in four major pilgrimage sites of India. Haridwar, Prayag, Ujjain and Nashik are the four major pilgrimage sites, where the celebration of Kumbh Parva has mythological significance. In Haridwar and Prayag, there is a tradition of celebrating Ardh Kumbh every six years and Kumbh Mahaparva every twelve years. These great festivals are celebrated at different times and on different dates in the four pilgrimage sites. There is a tradition of celebrating the great festival of Kumbh in Prayag in the month of Magh. Here, when Sun and Moon are in Capricorn and Jupiter is situated in Aries or Taurus, then the combination of Kumbh Mahaparva is formed -

 Similarly, in Haridwar, if Sun is in Aries and Jupiter is in Aquarius, then the best Kumbh festival is possible -

Haridwar - Padmininayake Mesha Aquarius Gato Guru.

Gangadwara Bhavedyogah Kumbham Naama Tadottama.

In Haridwar's Aquarius, when Jupiter is in Aquarius and Surya Sankranti is in Aries, then this situation falls on Aries Sankranti ie 13-14 April. This is the great festival of Kumbh. It ends on May 14, when the Sun leaves Aries. This Kumbh in Ujjain creates a combination of Kumbh festival when the Sun of Leo, Jupiter of Leo and Sun of Aries and Jupiter of Leo are present -

If Jupiter, Sun and Moon are in Cancer in Nashik, then Kumbh festival is held in Nashik on the banks of river Godavari.

Mention in Rigveda

The basic inspiration for celebrating Kumbh festival in the above mentioned four pilgrimage sites comes from the mention of Atharvaveda's Chaturah Kumbhashchaturna Dadami. Apart from this, mention of Kumbh is also found in Rigveda-

 Jaghan Vritram Swadhitirvanev Sarojpuro Ardanna Sindhoon.

Vividha Girin Nav Mitra Kumbh Bhagatandro Akrinuta Sva Yugmi.[3]

 Plashivryaktah shatdhar utyante duhe ca kumbhi svadha pitribhyah[4]

Purno Kumbhodhikaal Aahitastan Vai, Pashyamo Bahuda Nu Santah[5]

Sa ima vishwa bhuvanani pratyaddah kaal samahu parame vyoman

Chaturh Kumbha Chaturna Dadami

 Chatur: Kumbhaan Chaturdha Purnaudaken

Dadhya Etastva Dhara Upayattu Sarvaah

Swarge Loke Madhumat Pinvamana Upatva

Tishthatu Punyakarinoah Samattah.

It is clear from these mentions that the tradition of celebrating festivals like Kumbh in India has been there since the Vedic period. Gradually its greatness started being celebrated at the pilgrimage sites determined in detail according to mythological tradition.

Symbol of Creation

In Indian culture, Aquarius is considered a symbol of creation, just as the potter creates the Aquarius from the five elements, similarly Brahma also creates this universe from the five elements. It has been said about Kumbh-

Kalashasya Mukhe Vishnu: Kanthe Rudo Samahitah.

Moole Tatra Stitho Brahma Madhyam Ganaah Smritaah.

Kukshau Tu Sagara: Survey Saptdweep Vasundhara.

Rigvedoth Yajurvedo Samvedo Atharvavah.

The meaning of the above verse is that Vishnu is in the mouth of the Kalash, Rudra is in the throat, Brahma is in the root, the Mother Goddess is in the middle, the entire ocean is in the end, The coordinated form of the seven islands and the four Vedas are present in the earth. In the middle of this verse, the existence of the Matrikas is mentioned. There are sixteen Matrikas. The moon also has sixteen phases. Kumbha is also said to be a synonym for Lord Vishnu. The word Kumbha is derived from the Churaadi Ganiya Kubhi Aachchhadane metal. It means 'covering' or 'covering'. God keeps the whole world covered with his opulence. That is why it is called Kumbha. By connecting it with the Kammu Kantai metal, the desire to obtain Amrit is realized. Kumbha is called stomach, womb, Brahma, Vishnu. In the world, the three planets Sun, Moon and Jupiter are said to be the factors of Kumbha and Ardha Kumbha festival. Sun is the soul, Moon is the mind and Jupiter is knowledge. The soul is ageless, immortal, eternal and peaceful, the mind is fickle, knowledge is the factor of liberation. The dissolution of mind in soul, stability of intellect, is the cause of eternal liberation. Stability of knowledge is possible only when the intellect is stable. Guru is the factor of divine intellect. The stability of intellect is due to Jupiter being in the stable signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. The Moon being in conjunction with the Sun or being set is the dominance of soul over mind. The union of soul and mind is progressing on the path of self-welfare. Kumbh, Ardha Kumbh have been associated with the synonyms of body, stomach, sea, earth, Sun, Vishnu. Sea, river, well etc. everyone seems to be Kumbh. Due to covering the sky with the cover of air, the Sun is covered with various types of cells and nervous systems due to covering all the worlds with light, hence Kumbh. Kumbh is desire, Kama is Brahma because it covers the form of lust, Vishnu himself is Kumbh because he embraces all living and non-living things and enters it.

 Popular Stories

 Kumbh festival has been an integral part of Indian culture since Vedic times. Three stories are especially noteworthy in the context of its belief-

The story of Maharishi Durvasa

 The story of Kadru-Vinata

 The story of Samudra Manthan

The First Story

The first story is related to Devraj Indra, in which the divine garland given by Durvasa was insulted. Indra placed that garland on the head of his elephant Airavat and Airavat crushed it under his feet. Durvasa Rishi gave a terrible curse as a result of this, due to which there was famine in the world. The people were in distress due to lack of rain and famine. Thereafter, Narayana manifested Lakshmi through the process of Samudra Manthan. Due to her grace, it rained and the suffering of the farmers was relieved. The demons, deprived of drinking the nectar, hid the Kumbh in Nagaloka. Garuda rescued it from there and the places where the pot was kept before it reached Kshirsagar became the pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh festival.

Second Story

According to this story, there was a dispute between Maharishi Kashyap's two wives Kadru and Vinata about whether the color of the Sun's horses is black or white, and a condition was set that whoever loses will live as a slave. As a result of this condition, Vinata lost and had to live as a slave. Freedom from that slavery could be achieved only when the Kumbh hidden in Nagaloka is brought to Kashyap Muni's wife Kadru. The bird king Garuda vowed to bring that Amrit Kalash and free his mother from slavery. When Garuda was taking the Amrit Kalash, protected by Vasuki from Naglok, to Kashyap Muni on Gandhamadana Mountain from Uttarakhand, Indra was informed by Vasuki and he attacked four times. The drops of Amrit Kalash spilled there due to Indra stopping it at four places and this led to the tradition of Kumbh festival there. Garuda made every effort to take that Amrit Kalash to Kashyap Muni to finally free his mother from slavery and he succeeded.

 Third Story

According to the third story, when the Amrit Kalash was found among the fourteen gems in the war between gods and demons, Dhanvantari gave it to the gods, Vishnu took the form of Mohini and made the gods drink Amrit, Rahu drank Amrit, Indra's son Jayant snatched the Amrit Kalash and ran away, it is related to such stories. The responsibility of protecting it was entrusted to the Sun, Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. The tradition of celebrating Kumbh Parva started due to placing the pot of nectar carried by Jayant at four places and drops of nectar falling on those places. Among the above mentioned stories of Amrit-Kumbh, this third story is considered to be the most important.

 Prithivyam Kumbhayogasya Chaturdha Bheda Uchyate.

Chatuhsthale Cha Patnaad Sudha Kumbhasya Bhootale.

Tirtharajavantyaan Godavari banks by Vishnu.

Sudha Bindu Vinikshepad Kumbhaparveti Vishrutam.

Meaning of Classical Belief-

Kumbh Mela, the best festival of religious faith and belief in Indian culture, is considered a great festival not only in India but also in the entire world. This is one such great festival, in which devotees from all over the world come to the Kumbh Pradhan holy pilgrimage sites of India and here together observe the integrated culture of the entire country, the goodwill of world brotherhood and the immense faith of the common people . According to classical beliefs, many meanings of Aquarius have been propounded -

Meaning Based on Literal Etymology

On the basis of literal etymology, the meaning of Kumbh is - 'Kum Bhumin Kutistam Va Umbhati Purayat', Kumbh means pitcher, water vessel or vessel. The meaning of the word Kumbh derived from the root Kubhi Purane is - 'Kumbhayati Amriten Purayati Sakal Kshut Pipasadi Dwandvajatam Nirvantyati Iti Kumbh', meaning That which fills with nectar-filled water, which relieves from many dualities such as hunger and thirst, is called Kumbha. This festival removes the worldly obstacles of man and fills his life-pot with the nectar of knowledge. That is why it is called Kumbh. Kumbha- 'Kutsitam umbhayati doorayati jagaddhitayeti kumbhah' This festival which removes evil tendencies by the nectar of knowledge for the welfare of the world is called Kumbha. Kum- 'Prithvim bhagayati deepayati tejovardhaneneti kumbhah', the festival that illuminates the entire earth with its influence is called Kumbhah.

 Meaning in Astrology

The word 'Aquarius' is used in astrology in two senses. Firstly, the eleventh sign is known as 'Aquarius' and secondly, the Moon is called 'Aquarius' or 'Ghat' when it is in the same sign with the Sun. In his work 'Siddhanta Shiromani', Bhaskaracharya refers to the moon as a pot:

 The rays of the swimming pool are the nectar of the gods, and the moon shines with its moons in the direction of the sun.

On the other side, with his young locks and dark beauty, he was ascetic like a pot in the shadow of his own idol.

In the above, the Moon is referred to as the nectar body. When the nectar body in the form of the moon is situated in the direction opposite the sun, ie in the seventh house from the sun, it is luminous and illuminated by the rays, but when it is situated with the sun it would be visible as a black pot without light is. It is this decreasing position of the nectar body that is influenced by the auspicious influences of Jupiter and presents the yoga of the Aquarius festival. The Smriti Granthas also state:

The conjunction of the Sun, Moon and Garuda in that sign in the year.

The pot on the ground floating in the nectar pot is very different.

This means that when the Sun, Moon and Jupiter are in the sign, this nectar-aquarius moon showers its auspicious influence on the earth in the aquarius-dominated pilgrimage sites like Haridwar, Prayag, Ujjain and Nashik. In thirst for it, saints, saints, mahatmas, devotees and devotees from all over the world gather at these places and chant this great festival to earn merit.

Other Mythological Facts

Haridwar, Tirtharaja Prayag, Ujjain and Nashik are the four major places where the tradition of celebrating a great festival like Kumbh is mentioned due to the drops spilled from the nectar-Kumbh.

A drop of nectar fell from his pitcher on the ground.

Wherever it is extreme, the festival of Kumbha is celebrated.

The moon, engaged in protecting the nectar-pot, protected the nectar from falling, the sun from breaking the pot, Jupiter from being snatched by the demons and Saturn from protecting Jayant from drinking the entire nectar alone. Thus protected that pot.

The moon protected the sun from the eruption

O Guru protect me from the demons and from fear of the lord of the gods Sauri

If Jupiter is in Aquarius in Haridwar and Sun is in Aries, it is considered to be the great festival of Aquarius.

Aquarius is the day on which the Sun is in Aries.

Take a bath at Haridwara and avoid repetition.

According to classical beliefs, scholars believe that the congregation of Mahaganas like Sanatan, Sanaka, Sanandana and Sanatkumar visits the holy places like Haridwar after twelve years, which saints, saints, mahatmas and devotees also began to attend. The period of yoga practice is also stated to be twelve years. These years result in the confluence of festivals like Kumbh:

The twelve Bhimatras of the gods for twelve years.

The Kumbha festivals are also born in the number of twelve.

All sins are destroyed by merely taking the name of Gangaji. Darshan brings welfare, bathing and drinking water saves seven generations of man.

There is no holy place like Ganga and no god other than Kesava.

There is nothing better than the Brahmanas, said the grandfather.

O great king that place where Ganga is that forest of asceticism

It is known as Siddhikshetra and is located on the banks of the Ganges.

From a spiritual point of view, the importance of the Kumbh Mahaparva is very extensive in astrology. In Indian astrology, Jupiter is considered to be the symbol of knowledge, the sun the symbol of the soul and the moon the symbol of the mind. The favorable state of mind, soul and knowledge is in fact important from

both the worldly and transcendental points of view. The date of Aquarius at four places is possible only when these specific planets Sun, Moon and Jupiter are in special positions.

About the Author-

Prof (Dr) Ratnesh Dwivedi is a Seasoned and Award-Winning Media Academic from Russian Communication Association,Moscow, has written & presented 60 Papers across the globe with 40000+ downloads which itself is a record,Author of 32 Books,Globally recognized Journalist with more than 2000+ Articles and NASA Certified Educator and NASA Proposal Reviewer,Award Winning Sec,Intel & Def Expert by SECINDEF & OSI Intel,Israel USA.Professor as well as Collaborating Analyst with OCATRY (Observatory Against the Terrorist Threat and Jihadist Radicalization) at INSISEG,Madrid,Spain. He is Director-TNM with Global Institute for IT Mgt, NY, USA. He is Exclusive Country Director with ESJ-Paris(2017-2025) for India. He is Country Head with Advisers Energy Group, USA and Partner with PET,USA.Int Peace Prize Winner by CPS,Colombo.Prof Dwivedi has served as Dean & Registrar with Yesbud University, Zambia for three years and as Vice-Chancellor of Learnforth University , London for one year. He is CEO of Defense firm Idronewall, Peru, and D-Fence, Israel as well as a Professor with its Military Training School. He Shares Board of Advisers with-

Ray Kurzweil- American Life Saving and Extension Biotechnologist & AI Expert
Daniel Kahneman- 2002 Nobel Prize Winner in Psychology (Judgement & Decision Making)
Eric S Maskin- 2007 Nobel Prize Winner for Mechanism Design Theory
Wole Soyinka- 1986 Nobel Prize Winner in Literature
Richard J Roberts- 1993 Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology for the invention of Introns in DNA.

He started his career as Freelance Feature Writer with Lucknow-based Rashtriya Samachar Features Network (RASFENE) in 1997 and now writes for RIAC, Moscow, correspondent, Ukraine, RWR, DemCast, USA, Modern Diplomacy, & Tuck Magazine, London. He is Correspondent with European Press Agency and Blue Aurora Media, London. He is on the reviewer's panel of ECREA,AITNER and NASA. He is Foreign Correspondent at FCC South Asia Since 2015.

He is thrice winner of Open Door Fellowship of the Ministry of Science & Education, Russian Federation in 2020-21,2021-22 & 2022-23 in Earth Sciences, Linguistics & Modern Languages ​​and Education at Tomsk State University, People's Friendship University and Ural Federal University.In 2024-25 he is participating in the contest for a Post Doc.

He has earned a Ph.D. in Humanities & Social Sc. & 3rd Hon. doctorates and fighting a Court Case against Amity University for his fifth Ph.D. He is Pursuing his sixth Ph.D. from Ural Federal University. Russia. He is Founder of Global Advisers & Consultants Corporation with a network in 34 nations.