Story Behind Kumbh Mela

Story Behind Kumbh Mela
It is described that while Durvasa Muni was passing on the road, he saw Indra on the back of his elephant and was pleased to offer Indra a garland from his own neck. Indra, however, being too puffed up, took the garland, and without respect for Durvasa Muni, he placed it on the trunk of his carrier elephant. The elephant, being an animal, could not understand the value of the garland, and thus the elephant threw the garland between its legs and smashed it. Seeing this insulting behavior, Durvasa Muni immediately cursed Indra to be poverty-stricken, bereft of all material opulence. Thus the demigods, afflicted on one side by the fighting demons and on the other by the curse of Durvasa Muni, lost all the material opulence’s in the three worlds.

Lord Indra, Varuna and the other demigods, seeing their lives in such a state, consulted among themselves, but they could not find any solution. Then all the demigods assembled and went together to the peak of Sumeru Mountain. There, in the assembly of Lord Brahma, they fell down to offer Lord Brahma their obeisances, and then they informed him of all the incidents that had taken place.
Upon seeing that the demigods were bereft of all influence and strength and that the three worlds were consequently devoid of auspiciousness, and upon seeing that the demigods were in an awkward position whereas all the demons were flourishing, Lord Brahma, who is above all the demigods and who is most powerful, concentrated his mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus being encouraged, he became bright-faced and spoke to the demigods as follows.
Lord Brahma said: I, Lord Siva, all of you demigods, the demons, the living entities born of perspiration, the living beings born of eggs, the trees and plants sprouting from the earth, and the living entities born from embryos—all come from the Supreme Lord, from His incarnation of rajo-guna [Lord Brahma, the guna-avatara] and from the great sages [rsis] who are part of me. Let us therefore go to the Supreme Lord and take shelter of His lotus feet.
For the Supreme Personality of Godhead there is no one to be killed, no one to be protected, no one to be neglected and no one to be worshiped. Nonetheless, for the sake of creation, maintenance and annihilation according to time, He accepts different forms as incarnations either in the mode of goodness, the mode of passion or the mode of ignorance.
after Lord Brahma finished speaking to the demigods, he took them with him to the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is beyond this material world. The Lord’s abode is on an island called Svetadvipa, which is situated in the ocean of milk.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead directly and indirectly knows how everything, including the living force, mind and intelligence, is working under His control. He is the illuminator of everything and has no ignorance. He does not have a material body subject to the reactions of previous activities, and He is free from the ignorance of partiality and materialistic education. I therefore take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, who is eternal, all-pervading and as great as the sky and who appears with six opulence’s in three yugas [Satya, Tretä and Dväpara].
When offered prayers by Lord Siva and Lord Brahms, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Visu was pleased. Thus He gave appropriate instructions to all the demigods. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Ajita, unconquerable, advised the demigods to make a peace proposal to the demons, so that after formulating a truce, the demigods and demons could churn the ocean of milk. The rope would be the biggest serpent, known as Vasuki, and the churning rod would be Mandara Mountain. Poison would also be produced from the churning, but it would be taken by Lord Siva, and so there would be no need to fear it. Many other attractive things would be generated by the churning, but the Lord warned the demigods not to be captivated by such things. Nor should the demigods be angry if there were some disturbances. After advising the demigods in this way, the Lord disappeared from the scene.
One of the item come from the churning of ocean of milk  was nectar which will give strength to demigods. For twelve days and twelve nights (equivalent to twelve human years) the gods and demons fought in the sky for possession of this pot of Amrita. From this nectar some drops spills at Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik while they were fighting for nectar . So on earth we celebrate this festival to get the pious credits and meet the purpose of life that is going to back to godhead  our eternal home where our father is waiting for us. This is opportunity we get after associating with saints or holy man who follow scriptures.
Kumbh mela provides us this great opportunity to purify our soul by bathing in holy river and serving saints.

Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela is the most revered religious fair in India and sees a large gathering of visitors every time.  Hindus gather at the Ganges in Haridwar, river Kshipra in Ujjain, river Godavari in Nasik and the Triveni Sangam in Allahabad to take a dip in holy waters and wash away their sins.

The location of the Kumbh Mela alternates between Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik and is decided by the positions of Sun and planet Jupiter.

Kumbh Mela or Purna Kumbh Mela takes place every 12 years while Ardh Kumbh Mela is held 6 yearly and Maha Kumbh Mela comes after 12 Purna Kumbh Melas, i.e. 144 years, which is once in a lifetime event.

The origin of Kumbh Mela is found in Bhagwat Purana and has various legends associated to it.

Kumbh Mela has a starry attraction for both believers and non-believers and is attended by millions of yogis, sadhus, pilgrims and tourists from all over the world.

This is one time in years when Sadhus, who have confined themselves to remote forests and mountain caves, come out of their shells to perform the holy rituals on the banks of the holy rivers revered by the devotees.

Most popular of all are the Naga Babas, who are prominent and identified by their sheer nakedness. Their bodies are camouflaged only by ash and hair are worn in deadlocks. Naga Babas from different akharas (groups) gather here, each with varied characteristic rituals but one single purpose, that of obtaining salvation!

A huge temporary city is created at the site to cater to inflow of millions of pilgrims who gather here to take a dip in the holy waters on the days declared as auspicious bathing days. A dip in the holy water on these days is said to liberate one’s soul from the incessant cycle of birth and death.