Kumbha Sankranti Festival: Legends, Significance, Rituals & Key Timings

The Sun is in the transitory traveling phase from Makar Rashi to Kumbha Rashi during Kumbha Sankranti. Kumbha Sankranti is the eleventh of the twelve Sankranti that fall on any given year. With utmost religiosity, many groups in Eastern India observe Kumbha Sankranti. Kumbh Mela, which is regarded as the largest and most auspicious religious assembly in the world, is also closely related to Kumbha Sankranti.

Kumbha Sankranti Legends:

Since 629CE, the Kumbh Mela has taken place. During this time, King Harshavardhana presided over the country. Kumbha Sankranti, which happens during Kumbh Mela, is also mentioned in the Bhagavad Puran. At the time of Kumbha Sankranti, devotees bathe in the Ganges. In any of the sacred cities that the Ganges passes through, devotees make sure to be present. On the festival of Kumbha Sankranti, devotees bathe in the Ganges in Haridwar, the Yamuna in Allahabad, the Shipra in Ujjain, and the Godavari in Nasik. The Rigveda Pariia has the first mention of Prayag and the bathing pilgrimage (supplement to the Rigveda). It is also mentioned in the Pali canons of Buddhism, such as in section 1.7 of Majjhima Nikaya, where the Buddha says that the virtuous person should be clean in heart and fair in action rather than bathing in Payaga (Skt: Prayaga), which cannot wash away cruel and bad acts. 

The Mahabharata discusses a bathing pilgrimage to Prayag as a way to make amends for past transgressions and to atone for guilt. Before the great war, in Tirthayatra Parva, the epic declares that "the best of the Bharatas, the one who maintains solid [ethical] vows, having bathed at Prayaga during Magha, becomes pure and reaches heaven."The epic describes this bathing pilgrimage in Anushasana Parva, which is the period following the war, as a "geographical tirtha" that must be linked with Manasa-tirtha (tirtha of the heart), in which one lives by principles like as honesty, charity, self-control, patience, and others. The Kumbh Mela's exact age is unknown, however, there are numerous mentions of Prayaga and riverside festivities in ancient Indian writings, including at the locations where they currently take place. King Harsha and his capital city of Prayag are mentioned by the Buddhist Chinese traveler Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) in the 7th century. 

According to him, Prayag is a revered Hindu city with hundreds of "deva temples" and two Buddhist institutions. At the confluence of the rivers, he also mentions the Hindu bathing customs. Some academics claim that this is the first historical record of the Kumbh Mela, which occurred in modern-day Prayag in 644 CE. According to emails from other researchers and a more recent interpretation of the 7th-century Xuanzang memoir, the Prayag event happened every five years (and not every twelve years), featured a Buddha statue, involved almsgiving, and may have been a Buddhist festival. Kama MacLean is an Indologist who has published articles on the Kumbh Mela primarily based on colonial archives and English-language media. Ariel Glucklich, a scholar of Hinduism and the anthropology of religion, contrasts this with the Xuanzang memoir, which mockingly mentions Prayag's past as a site where Hindus once committed superstitious devotional suicide in order to free their souls and how a Brahmin from a previous era put an end to this practice.It is possible that Xuanzang depicted Hindu traditions in Prayag in the 7th century from a Buddhist perspective in order to "amuse his audience back in China," according to Glucklich, as well as other details like the names of temples and bathing springs. 

The Prayaga Mahatmya, which dates to the late first millennium CE, has more early tales of Prayag's importance to Hinduism. It is described as being "bustling with pilgrims, priests, sellers, beggars, guides," and locals working along the confluence of the rivers in these Purana-genre Hindu writings (Sangam). Over the course of their editions, these Sanskrit travel guides from medieval India were revised, perhaps by priests and guides who shared an interest in the revenue from the pilgrims' visits. In chapters 103–112 of the Matsya Purana, one of the most extensive sections about Prayag rivers and their importance to Hindu pilgrimage can be found. 

The Kumbha Sankranti Festival:

On Kumbha Sankranti, there is no comparison to the peace and tranquility one experiences while taking a bath in the Ganges. On Kumbha Sankranti, devotees rise early to travel to the bathing grounds to beg the blessings of Goddess Ganga. The devotees visit the temples situated on the banks of these ghats after having the holy bath to pray to the Goddess Ganga for peace and happiness in their lives.

On Kumbha Sankranti, offering to cows is seen to be very lucky. On the occasion of Kumbha Sankranti, devotees can be seen giving cows in the holy cities of Haridwar and Allahabad. On Kumbha Sankranti, both monks and devotees take a bath in the sacred rivers to find comfort for their current and future lives. The Kumbha Sankranti celebrations in Eastern India are noteworthy. Kumbha Masam officially begins on Kumbha Sankranti in the Malayalam calendar. In the Malayalam calendar, the holiday is referred to as Masi Masam. In West Bengal, Falgun Maas begins on Kumbha Sankranti. Sankramana Snana is the name for this occasion's sacred river plunge.

Taking a Ganges bath during Kumbha Sankranti:

It is always seen as lucky to take a bath in the Ganges. If you take this bath on Kumbha Sankranti, its significance multiplies. On Kumbha Sankranti, devotees who take a bath in the Ganges are released from the cycle of rebirth and achieve Moksha when they pass away from this world. On this day, other sacred rivers like the Godavari, Shipra, and Sangam are just as significant, and devotees who take a dip in one of these rivers are then granted a good life. On Kumbha Sankranti, any sins that one may have done are absolved. Kumbha Sankranti is a time for followers of Goddess Ganga to ask for her blessings and live lives that have meaning.

Observances of the Day:

1. Like all other Sankranti festivals, Kumbha Sankranti requires devotees to provide the Brahmin Pandits with a variety of food, clothing, and other essentials.
2. To reach Moksha on this day, taking a bath in Ganga's holy water is particularly auspicious.
3. For a happy and wealthy life, the devotee should meditate and pray to Goddess Ganga with a pure heart.
4. For the purpose of atonement, those who are unable to travel to the banks of the Ganges may also bathe in the Yamuna, Godavari, or Shipra rivers.
5. On Kumbha Sankranti, offerings made to cows are thought to be lucky and advantageous for the devotee.

Important Timings On Kumbha Sankranti:

Sunrise: February 13, 2023, 7:04 AM
Sunset: February 13, 2023, 6:17 PM
Punya Kaal Muhurta: February 13, 7:04 AM - February 13, 9:48 AM
Maha Punya Kaal Muhurta: February 13, 9:24 AM - February 13, 9:48 AM
Sankranti Moment: February 13, 2023, 9:48 AM