Maha Kumbh's final 'snan' begins on Mahashivratri

Amid chants of Har Har Mahadev hordes of pilgrims from Gujarat to Karnataka on Wednesday took a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam on Mahashivratri as the 45day Maha Kumbh inched towards its closure Maha Kumbh the spectacle that takes place once in 12 years began on January 13 Paush Purnima and saw grand processions of Naga Sadhus and three Amrit Snans The mega religious gathering has drawn a record over 64 crore pilgrims so farBeing the last auspicious snan of the Maha Kumbh a large number of devotees had begun to gather on the banks of the Sangam from close to midnight and while some camped and waited patiently to take the dip at Brahma Muhurt scores of them performed the bathing rituals much before the appointed time Billed as the worlds largest spiritual gathering on earth the mega religious festival on its last day attracted pilgrims from all four corners of the countryRajvir Singh Jhala 20 a BBA student from Rajkot took the holy dip right at the Sangam nose as did his mother and other family members who arrived in Prayagraj from Gujarat in a bus on Wednesday night Lord Shiva for me means Shunyata one must feel that he is she is nothing in front of him Besides one must have goodness inside If one has dirt inside washing oneself in holy Sangam will not even cleanse any sin Jhala told PTI right after the snanAs pilgrims milled around and took the holy dip at various ghats at or near the confluence site security personnel kept a vigilant eye not allowing crowding at any place for long duration as they sought to manage the sea of pilgrims pouring into the mela grounds Pilgrims also came from West Bengal Karnataka Bihar Delhi Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh covering literally the length and breadth of the countryA group of pilgrims also came all the way from Nepal to witness the Maha Kumbh on its closing day and take the holy dip on Maharashivratri Pinki Devi from Kolkata who perform the bathing rituals around 330 am was ecstatic that she could take the holy dip on the auspicious day of Mahashivratri Many chanted Har Har Mahadev or Jai Mahakal adding to the religious fervour at the Mela groundMahashivratri commemorates the divine union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and holds special significance in the context of the Kumbh Mela According to Hindu mythology Lord Shiva played a crucial role in the Samudra Manthan churning of the ocean which led to the emergence of the Amrit Kumbh nectar pitcher the very essence of the Kumbh MelaThe day draws large crowds of devotees to the sacred confluence of the Ganga the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati considered holy by Hindus A total of 133 crore devotees immersed themselves at the Sangam and other ghats in the Mela area on Tuesday pushing the overall footfall during the Maha Kumbh 2025 to more than 64 crore according to the Uttar Pradesh governmentThe total number of visitors to the fair exceeds the population of all countries in the world except India and China both of which have populations exceeding a billion it said The Maha Kumbh has witnessed six special bathing dates Paush Purnima on January 13 Makar Sankranti on January 14 Mauni Amavasya on January 29 Basant Panchami on February 3 Maghi Purnima on February 12 and Mahashivratri on February 26 including three Amrit SnanGiven the scale of the event and the sheer volume of attendees authorities have enforced a no vehicle zone in the mela area and Prayagraj besides implementing strict crowd control measures and logistical support to facilitate a seamless culmination of Maha Kumbh 2025 Overseeing preparations on the ground DIG Kumbh Vaibhav Krishna said expansive police deployment has been made in the Mela areaWe are prepared particularly to handle a twopronged situation one is the rush of devotees at the ghats including Sangam and the other is crowd management at five main shivalayas in the mela area where devotees will offer sacred waters to Lord Shiva Krishna told PTI on Tuesday He added that the entire Mela area is novehicle zone since Tuesday evening and no VIP treatment will be accorded to anyone on Wednesday We are expecting the footfall on Wednesday to be higher than it was on Tuesday 133 crore the DIG addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever