When Lord Ram and Godess Seeta Visited Prayagraj and Took Bath

While CM Yogi's administration is gearing up for a smooth Bath of Pilgrimage during Mauni Amawasya of Mahakumbh 2025. Ratnesh Dwivedi narrates Ram & Seeta's visit to Prayagraj and it's Etymology.

Prof (Dr) Ratnesh Dwivedi

Ex Vice Chancellor*Awarded Academic*Journalist*Intelligence & Defense of OCATRY at INISEG*NASA Proposal Reviwer*VP-501(c)3 US Army Veteran Organization*Bush Center Member*Country Director for Ind at ESJ-Paris*Board Member with Nobel Laureates & JIMMC -India*Russian Gov Fellow@Ural Federal University

December 27 2025/Prayagraj/Eastern Part of Uttar Pradesh/India

तब गनपति सिव सुमिरि प्रभु नाइ सुरसरिहि माथ।​

सखा अनुज सिय सहित बन गवनु कीन्ह रघुनाथ॥ 104 ॥

Then remembering Ganesha and Shiva and bowing his head to Ganga, Lord Raghunath went to the forest along with his friend Nishadraj, younger brother Lakshman and Sita.

That day he lived in the trees. Lakshman and all his friends served him well.

 तेहि दिन भयउ बिटप तर बासू। लखन सखाँ सब कीन्ह सुपासू

प्रात प्रातकृत करि रघुराई। तीरथराजु दीख प्रभु जाई॥

In the morning, Lord Raghurai went to the Tirtha King and went to see the Lord.

Translation: That day he stayed under a tree. Lakshman and his friend Nishadraj made proper arrangements for his rest. Lord Ram, after doing all the morning rituals, went to visit the King of Tirthas 'Prayag'.

सचिव सत्य श्रद्धा प्रिय नारी। माधव सरिस मीतु हितकारी॥

चारि पदारथ भरा भँडारू। पुन्य प्रदेस देस अति चारू॥

She is a woman who is full of truth and faith. She is as friendly as Madhav and is beneficial.

She has a storehouse full of all the four treasures. This holy land and country is very beautiful.

Translation: That king has Satya as his minister, Shraddha as his loving wife and benevolent friends like Venimadhava. The treasury is full of the four things (Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha) and that pious province is the beautiful country of that king.

सचिव सत्य श्रद्धा प्रिय नारी। माधव सरिस मीतु हितकारी॥

चारि पदारथ भरा भँडारू। पुन्य प्रदेस देस अति चारू॥

The region of Prayag is an inaccessible, strong and beautiful fort, which the enemy (in the form of sins) has not been able to reach even in his dreams. All the pilgrimage sites are its best brave soldiers, who are very brave and brave to crush the army of sins.

The Sangam throne looks beautiful. The sages are captivated by the umbrella and the waves of the Ganga.

Seeing the waves of the Sarswati, Yamuna and Ganga, one gets distraught with sorrow and poverty.

छेत्रु अगम गढ़ु गाढ़ सुहावा। सपनेहुँ नहिं प्रतिपच्छिन्ह पावा॥

सेन सकल तीरथ बर बीरा। कलुष अनीक दलन रनधीरा॥

Translation: The confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati is His most decorated throne. Akshayvat is His umbrella which captivates even the sages. The waves of Yamuna and Ganga are His (black and white) fans which destroy sorrow and poverty by just looking at them.

Couplet - The pious and holy sages serve Him and get all their desires fulfilled. The Vedas and Puranas are the bards who describe His pure qualities.

Who can describe the glory of Prayag? The Kunjar and deer are the pile of impurities.

Seeing such a beautiful Tirthapati, the ocean of happiness, Raghubar got happiness.

Translation: Who can describe the power (significance) of Prayagraj in the form of a lion to kill the elephant of sins. Even the best among the Raghukul Ram, the ocean of pleasure, felt happy after visiting such a beautiful Tirthraj.

Saying this, Sita and Lakshman told their friends. The greatness of Tirthraj is mentioned from his mouth.

दो० - सेवहिं सुकृती साधु सुचि पावहिं सब मनकाम।

Bowing to Sita, Lakshman and his friend Nishadraj, he told them the greatness of Tirthraj. Thereafter, bowing to Sita, looking at the forest and gardens and saying the greatness with great love 

This is how the braid of the river came. By remembering it, it bestows all auspiciousness.

After bathing happily, he served Lord Shiva. He worshiped the Tirth Deva as much as possible.

Translation: In this way, Lord Shri Ram came and visited Triveni, which gives all auspiciousness just by remembering it. Then he happily took bath (in Triveni) and served (worshipped) Shiva and worshiped the Tirtha deities as per the prescribed rituals.

How is it different from the events held on earth and how does the Indian administration manage this event? What are the religious, social, cultural and economic aspects of this event in today's modern society and how do such events provide career opportunities to our youth? So come with me on this journey. What is Sanatan Culture? When civilization began in India and when human society started finding solutions to the fundamental questions arising in relation to life along with the development of language, then Sanatan culture was born. Here we have to understand the difference between culture and religion. Today our language of study is English and the literature of Sanatan culture is mostly available in Sanskrit language. The civilizations known so far include Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indus Valley, Chinese, Sumerian, Phoenician and Greek civilizations. Out of these, the civilization developed in the Indus Valley and its surrounding areas came to be known as Hindu civilization over time. The ancient texts of this civilization are as follows - Vedas are the oldest texts of Hinduism. The Vedas are divided into four parts – Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda.

Upanishads: Upanishads are philosophical texts attached to the Vedas. The number of texts in this section is believed to be from 123 to 1194, but only 10 of them are considered to be the main ones. Aranyakas are texts attached to the Vedas, which are called 'forest' or 'jungle' texts.

Brahmanas: Brahmanas are ritual texts attached to the Vedas. Every Brahmana belongs to some Veda or the other.

Smriti: The Maharishis who received the mantras of Shruti, composed the scriptures with the help of their memory, are called 'Smriti texts'. These describe the religious boundaries of the society – Varn Dharma, Ashram Dharma, Rajdharma, Sadharan Dharma, daily activities, duties of men and women, etc.

Puranas: Puranas are the stories and histories of various dynasties. There are a total of 18 Puranas. Ramayana and Mahabharata Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit text. It was written by Sage Valmiki. It is the story of Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. Shrimad Bhagavad Gita is a part of Mahabharata, while Mahabharata is the story of Kauravas and Pandavas. Shri Ramcharitmanas written by Shri Tulsidas is the Hindi version of Ramayana. Garg Samhita, Kautilya Arthashastra, Yogavasishtha, all the texts of Ayurveda, it would be appropriate to consider such texts as texts of specific subjects.

Shatdarshan: Shatdarshan means six reviews. These are also called Shat-Shastra. Shatdarshan is the mature result of the churning of those Indian philosophical and religious thoughts which arose from thousands of years of contemplation and became popular as Hindu (Vedic) philosophy. These are also called 'Astik Darshan'. The philosophies and their founders are as follows. (1) Nyaya – Maharshi Gautama (2) Vaisheshika – Maharshi Kanada (3) Sankhya – Maharshi Kapil (4) Yoga – Maharshi Patanjali, (5) Poorva Mimamsa – Maharshi Jaimini, (6) Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta – Maharshi Vadrayan Charvaka Philosophy : Atheistic philosophy- It believes only in indirect evidence and does not accept supernatural entities. This philosophy is also called Vedabahya. There are six Vedabahya philosophies- Charvaka, Madhyamika, Yogachara, Sautrantika, Vaibhasika and Arhat (Jain). All these profound doctrines do not agree with the Vedas.

Commentaries and Writings: Commentaries of great acharyas like Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Dayananda Saraswati, Prabhupada Swami and independent writings like Vivekachudamani are also recognized as religious scriptures. Many stotras of Adi Shankaracharya are so cultic that they have become an integral part of daily prayers.

Aagam or Tantrashastra: Aagam texts describe the subjects of creation, destruction, worship of Gods and method of means, Purashcharan, Shatkarma-Sadhana, Chaturvidha Dhyan Yoga etc. In Tantra texts, subjects like creation, destruction, mantra-judgment, organization of gods, pilgrimage, ashram religion, Vipra organization, organization of ghosts, description of Kalpa, astrology organization, Puranas, treasury, fasting, defecation, characteristics of men and women , royal religion, charity, Yugadharma behavior, spirituality etc. are described. Tantra Shastra is communal. There are different Tantra texts of Vaishnav, Shaiva, Shakta etc. Rigveda has been called the Veda of magic and mantras. Yamal Granth describes subjects like creation elements, astrology, daily routine, Kalpasutra, caste discrimination, caste discrimination and era religion etc.

God and Soul: The word God is made up of two words 'Param' and 'Soul'. Param means supreme and Atma means consciousness, which is also called life force. In modern Hindi, this word means God. Paramatma means supreme soul. Param means best soul. Atma means a conscious form in the form of consciousness present inside every living being. So it means that Paramatma is a soul and that soul is the greatest and the purest and the most sacred. In Rigveda Mandal 9 Sukta 96 Mantra 16, detailed information has been sought about the name of God. Initially the concept of immortality developed. In the story of Samudra Manthan, there is a mention of making the body immortal by drinking Amrit. But by the time the Gita was composed, it became clear that the principle of nature is that whatever is born will definitely end, so the body cannot be immortal. Therefore, in the Gita, Krishna has told Arjun that nature is made up of Sat, Raja and Tamo Gunas and the body is made up of five elements including these Gunas, which are earth, water, fire, air and sky. 'Aparayamitastvanyam Prakriti Viddhi Me Param. Jeevbhootam Mahabaho Yeyedam Dharyate Jagat.' (Gita Chapter-7, Verse-5) Of the soulWithout it, mind and intellect become inactive. Only when the soul achieves consciousness, every part of the body including the mind and intellect becomes active and as a result the entire body including the mind and intellect starts working for the soul. (Gita Chapter-2, Verse-23) It is said in this verse that neither weapons can cut the soul, nor fire can burn, nor water can wet, nor air can dry. Hence, here Lord Shri Krishna has talked about the soul being immortal and everlasting. Since the soul is not born, it is not mortal. 'Vasansi Jirnani Yatha Vihay Gruati Naroeappaarani. And 'Sharirani Vihayay Jeerannayani Sanyati Navani Dehi' (Gita Chapter-2, Verse-22) That is, just as a man abandons old (torn) clothes and wears new ones, in the same way the soul also leaves old bodies and wears new ones. Is.

Theory of Karma: Karma is the concept that explains the principle of causality through a system where past beneficial actions yield beneficial results and harmful actions produce harmful effects, forming a system of actions and reactions. which leads to the soul's rebirth or reincarnation in the next life, creating a cycle of rebirth. It is said that the principle of cause and effect applies not only to the physical world, but also to our thoughts, words, actions and our The instructions also apply to actions to be taken by others.

Moksha: Moksha is a philosophical doctrine prominent in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism that means the destruction of attachment and occurs when The cycle of rebirth ends. This means that the person achieves or salvation liberation from the world. Not all rebirths are only in human form. It is said that the cycle of birth and death continues in 84 lakh yonis on earth, but getting out of this cycle is possible only in human form. This is Indian philosophy. The scripture writers have given four objectives of life- Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. The way to achieve Moksha is to realize the Atmatatva or Brahmatatva. According to Nyaya philosophy, Moksha is the complete destruction of sorrows. According to Sankhya, the destruction of all three types of sorrows is called salvation. Complete destruction is salvation. This means that salvation is getting rid of all kinds of happiness, sorrow, attachment etc. The concept of salvation is older than the concept of heaven and hell etc. and is more refined and sophisticated than them. The concept of heaven In Buddhism it is necessary that a man, after enjoying the fruits of his good deeds, should be born again in this world, due to which he will have to suffer many kinds of troubles again. In Buddhist philosophy the concept of Nirvana is parallel to Moksha. The meaning of the word 'Nirvana' It is to be extinguished. In Jain philosophy, the relation between living and non-living things is established through karma. The binding of living things to non-living things or inanimate objects through karma is bondage. This process is expressed by the word asrava. Only when the asrava is stopped can the living being be free from the non-living. What is Sanatan? It is clear from the above description that the soul is eternal. Because it neither takes birth nor dies. Hence the 'soul' is eternal. Sanatan What is religion? The religion of the soul is Sanatan Dharma. Who are the followers of Sanatan Dharma? Those who take various measures to take the soul towards salvation-

Method of achieving salvation: Sankhya Yoga for achieving salvation in Sanatan Dharma, Methods of Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga have been explained. A person can adopt them according to the dominance of his nature, Sat, Raja and Tama. This is what Shri Krishna has called Swadharma in the Gita 'Swadharme nidhanam shreyah, para dharmo bhayavaah.' Gita. 3.35. Kumbh Mela and the concept of Moksha It is said that when Indra and the Gods became weak due to the curse of Maharishi Durvasa, the demons attacked the Gods and defeated them. In such a situation, all the gods together went to Lord Vishnu and narrated the whole incident. Then God asked the gods along with the demons to churn the ocean ie Ksheer Sagar and extract the nectar. All the gods, on the orders of Lord Vishnu, made a pact with the demons to extract the nectar. As soon as the nectar came out of the churning of the ocean, on the signal of the gods, Indra's son Jayant flew away with the nectar pot. On this, on the advice of Guru Shukracharya, the demons chased Jayant and after a lot of effort, the demons caught Jayant. They captured it and a fierce war continued for 12 days between the gods and demons to gain control over the Amrit Kalash. It is said that during this war a few drops of the Amrit Kalash fell at four places on the earth. The first drop of which fell at Prayag. , the second drop fell in Haridwar, the third in Ujjain and the fourth in Nasik. That is why Kumbh Mela is organized at these four places. 12 days of the gods are equal to 12 years on earth. Therefore Maha Kumbh is organized every 12 years. This event is organized as per the calculations of astrology. When Jupiter is in Aquarius and Sun is in Capricorn, it is organized in Prayagraj, when Jupiter is in Aquarius and Sun is in Aries, it is organized in Haridwar, When Jupiter and Sun are in Leo, Kumbh Mela is organized in Nasik and when Jupiter is in Leo and Sun is in Aries, Kumbh Mela is organized in Ujjain. It is believed that bathing in the holy river during Kumbh Mela leads to salvation.