Ganges draws millions of devoutees
2013-01-14 19:18
Allahabad - Millions of devout Hindus led by naked
ascetics with ash smeared on their bodies plunged into the frigid waters of
India's holy Ganges River on Monday in a ritual they believe can wash away
their sins.
The ceremony in the northern city of Allahabad took place
on the most auspicious day of the Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, one of the
world's largest religious gatherings that lasts 55 days.
Festival official Mani Prasad Mishra said nearly 3
million people had bathed by late morning and 11 million were expected to enter
the chilly water by the day's end.
Over 110 million people are expected to take a dip at the
Sangam, the place where three rivers - the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical
Saraswati - come together at the edge of Allahabad in North India.
There are six auspicious bathing days, decided by the
alignment of stars, when the Hindu devout bathe to wash away their sins and
free themselves from the cycle of death and rebirth.
A sea of humanity assembled on the river bank as people
waited patiently for their turn to step into the water.
Men in underpants, women in saris and children - naked
and clothed - chanted Hindu scriptures as they walked into the water.
The bathing process was initiated by religious heads of
different Hindu monasteries who reached the bathing points, called ghats, on
silver chariots.
Some were carried on silver palanquins, accompanied by
marching bands.
Applause rose from tens of thousands of pilgrims waiting
behind barricades as the religious heads set off the ceremony.
The heads of the monasteries threw flowers on the
devotees as they shouted "har har gangey", or Long Live Ganges.
The biggest spectacle was that of the Naga sadhus, or
ascetics, who raced to the river wearing only marigold garlands in a cacophony
of religious chants.
About 50 000 policemen have been deployed to keep order
at the festival, fearing everything from terrorist attacks to the ever-present
danger of stampedes of pilgrims.
Several squads of police on horseback regulated the flow
of pilgrims to and from the ghats.
Celebrating the gods
According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates
the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over nectar that would give
them immortality.
As one of the gods fled with a pitcher of the nectar
across the skies, it spilled on four Indian towns - Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain
and Haridwar.
The Kumbh Mela is organised four times every 12 years in
those towns.
Hindus believe that sins accumulated in past and current
lives require them to continue the cycle of death and rebirth until they are
cleansed.
If they bathe at the Ganges on the most auspicious day of
the festival, believers say they can rid themselves of their sins.
Pilgrims slept the night on the vast festival grounds in
more than one million tents - green, blue, and brown - while many huddled
together under trees.
About 20 000 makeshift toilets have been have been
erected, while 10 000 sweepers have been deployed to keep the tent town clean.
- AP
