Naked Hindu ascetics and pilgrims yesterday took dips in the freezing waters at the confluence of sacred rivers in northern India, in the first major bathing day of the Maha Kumbh festival, which is the largest religious congregation on Earth.
Holding tridents, swords, spears and small two-headed drums, ash-smeared Hindu holy men marched at sunrise toward the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers in the northern city of Prayagraj.
The men — with matted dreadlocks and crowns of marigolds — chanted religious slogans praising Hindu deity Lord Shiva and were escorted to the bathing site on chariots in a large procession with singing, drumming and blowing of horns.
Photo: Reuters
The Maha Kumbh festival — held every 12 years — started on Monday, with more than 15 million pilgrims bathing in the holy rivers, officials said.
Over about the next six weeks, the festival is expected to draw more than 400 million people, many of whom would take part in elaborate rituals.
Hindus believe that bathing at the confluence cleanses them of their sins and releases them from the cycle of rebirth.
The festival has its roots in a Hindu tradition that says the god Vishnu wrested a golden pitcher containing the nectar of immortality from demons. Hindus believe that a few drops fell in the cities of Prayagraj, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar — the four places where the Maha Kumbh festival has been held for centuries.
The Maha Kumbh rotates among these four pilgrimage sites about every three years on a date determined by the cosmic alignment of the sun, moon and Jupiter.
This year’s festival is the biggest and grandest of them all.
Authorities have built a sprawling tented city on the river banks to accommodate the holy men, pilgrims and tourists visiting the festival. The government has shelled out more than US$765 million for the event, hoping to impress India’s largely Hindu population and draw visitors from around the world.
The tent city is equipped with 3,000 kitchens, and 150,000 toilets and urinals. About 50,000 security personnel are also stationed in the city to maintain law and order, and crowd management.
Groups of Hindu ascetics have also set up sprawling camps at the site, with tens of thousands of pilgrims visiting them to hear religious discourses and attend prayers. The ascetics — called Naga Sadhus — are part of religious orders that were once mercenary armies who generally revere Lord Shiva.
Bathing takes place every day at the site, but on the most auspicious dates, Hindu ascetics charge toward the holy rivers at dawn.
Many pilgrims also stay for the entire festival, observing austerity, giving alms and bathing at sunrise every day.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS