India Prepares for Special Mahā Kumbh Gathering of 400 Million

Once every 12 years, India gears up for the Prayagraj Kumbh Melā. This is a two-month-long festival during which millions of pilgrims throng to Prayagraj in North-Central India to bathe at the confluence of three sacred rivers – Ganga (the Ganges), Yamuna, and a third, Saraswati, which dried up at some point.

Rivers have always been considered sacred in India, and confluences are thought to be especially sacred. Hindus believe that bathing in holy rivers, especially on sacred occasions, washes away all one's sins and helps the soul attain liberation (moksha).

The Kumbh Melā at Prayagraj is one such sacred occasion. It happens once in 12 years when Jupiter is in Taurus and the sun is in Capricorn. The 2025 Kumbh Melā, however, is even more special, with a rare alignment of the sun, moon, Jupiter, and Saturn that happens only once in 144 years. It is, therefore, called Mahā Kumbh (Great Kumbh), and a whopping 400 million people are expected to participate between January 13 and February 26.

History and Astronomical Symbolism of the Kumbh Melā

Ancient Hindu texts speak of Māgha Melā, a bathing festival in sacred rivers across India during the Hindu calendar month of Māgha (when the sun is in Aquarius). Aquarius is called “Kumbh” (pitcher) in Sanskrit. So, another name for the Māgha Melā is Kumbh Melā.

There are several legends associated with the ancient Māgha Melā that have to do with a pitcher of nectar. My favorite one is a legend from South India. The story goes that, at the end of the previous epoch, a great flood engulfed all of creation, but Shiva put the seeds of life along with some nectar in a pitcher and set it afloat.

When the flood receded, the pitcher came to rest on a hill, which later came to be called Kumbakonam (pitcher peak). Shiva took the form of a hunter and shot an arrow at the pitcher, breaking it and spilling its contents, which then went on to recreate life on Earth. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of astronomy will immediately recognize that the pitcher is Aquarius, and the hunter is Orion. In the night sky, Orion's arrow points directly at Aquarius.

*Image created using Stellarium, an open-source planetarium software (labels provided by the author).*

The Great Pitcher

Kumbakonam, located in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is famous for a large tank surrounded by Shiva temples. This tank is said to have been created when the contents of the pitcher were spilled.

Every year, during the month of Māgha, when the sun is in Aquarius (ie, in the pitcher), pilgrims throng to Kumbakonam for a dip in the tank. Since the sun is considered to be the source of all life, the symbolism of the timing is quite beautiful.

It is further said that the water in the tank is rejuvenated every twelve years when Jupiter is transiting through Leo. As per the Indian tradition, Jupiter represents wisdom, and Leo represents strength. Jupiter's transit through Leo is, therefore, thought to create powerful spiritual energies. In these years, the Kumbakonam Māgha bathing ritual is called Maha-Māgham (Great Māgha festival). The last Maha-Māgham took place on February 22, 2016.

Kumbh Melās as Religious Conferences

The Kumbakonam Māgha festival is just one of many across India. Since time immemorial, wherever there is a sacred river or confluence, pilgrims have gathered during the month of Māgha, seeking moksha.

Then in the 8th century, the Hindu religious scholar and philosopher Adi Shanka instituted the practice of Kumbh Melās in Haridwar, Prayagraj, Ujjain, and Nashik as a way for sages and scholars from different religious sects to come together to exchange ideas. The Haridwar, Prayagraj, Ujjain, and Nashik Kumbh Melās are held based on different alignments of celestial bodies to ensure the regular occurrence of gatherings once every few years.

The practice continues to date. Even today, sages, ascetics, and religious scholars are among the most conspicuous pilgrims at Kumbh Melās.

*Naga Sadhus at Kumbh Melā in Prayagraj (from National Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry, Ministry of Tourism, India.)*

Pop-Up Megacity of Galactic Proportions

In 2017, the Kumbh Melā was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list for being the world's largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims.

While some pilgrims come for a quick dip in the confluence, many others spend the entire duration of the festival camping nearby. The River Ganges is quite wide at this location, but its waters recede significantly during winter, leaving a broad swathe of the river bed dry. Pilgrims have always set up temporary camps on the riverbed and stayed there for the duration of the festival.

In recent years, however, with increasing crowd sizes to contend with, the government has taken it upon itself to organize the Kumbh Melā to ensure the safety, security, and comfort of pilgrims. These arrangements are made so meticulously that the event has become a case study for scholars around the world. In 2013, for instance, an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students from Harvard University traveled to India to study the logistics and economics behind Kumbh Melā arrangements.

Both the public and private sectors work together to set up a massive tent city on the dry riverbed. It is equipped with an electricity grid, water pipelines, sanitation systems, food and water distribution systems, hospitals, first-aid posts, police and fire stations, ATMs, lost and found centers, and other facilities.

At the 2025 Mahā Kumbh, 160,000 tents, 150,000 toilets, 1,250 km of water pipelines, and 4,570 acres of temporary parking spaces will accommodate the needs of pilgrims and visitors. Over 3,500 special trains have been scheduled for the occasion in addition to 10,000 regular train services.

*Kumbh Melā tent city (Source: Government of Uttar Pradesh)*

High-tech Security and Crowd Control

For an event of its size, there have been relatively few stampedes at Kumbh Melās historically. However, the threat of one is always present. Terrorist threats are also a concern at any large religious gathering in India.

Accordingly, an Integrated Command & Control Center (ICCC) has been set up to oversee and secure the 2025 Mahā Kumbh. The ICCC will conduct round-the-clock surveillance using thousands of CCTV sets, AI-enabled cameras, anti-drone systems, advanced AI-driven data analytics, and a team of cyber warriors.

A sophisticated seven-tier security circle with police, paramilitary personnel, and intelligence squads has also been established to detect potential threats and generate actionable intelligence promptly.

Forests Grown Using Japanese Technique

Ahead of the 2025 Mahā Kumbh, 14 acres of dense forests have been cultivated in various locations across Prayagraj. These forests, grown in just two years using the Miyawaki technique, will serve as oxygen banks and improve air quality in the city during the festival.

The Miyawaki technique, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the 1970s, involves planting a diverse variety of trees and shrubs in close proximity to each other. This mimics natural forests and helps plants grow 10 times faster and absorb more carbon.

Miyawaki forests have proved to be very successful in restoring the ecological balance in polluted urban areas or barren wastelands.

Conclusion

India is a deeply spiritual country, so understanding India requires a sincere understanding of its religions, which are the motivating force for so many Indians.

Author: Usha Jayaraman