|
The very mention of the
Simhastha at Ujjain
engenders a surge of devotional
feelings in devout Hindus. The
month long world's largest
religious congregation brings
together millions of people from
all over India as well as abroad. Driven by faith
and the quest for inner peace,
they throng to this holiest of
holy cities to be part of this
unique bathing festival.
Braving the scorching Sun
of April-May the devotees enjoy
the company of seers and saints,
listen to religious discourses,
witness the Ramlilas and Raslilas
, visit the various Akharas ,
watch the royal processions of
Sadhus, and of course take holy
dips in the Kshipra. They imbibe
the experience of being part of
the festivities and the
devotion-charged ambience
permeated with the ultimate
consciousness. Every particle of
the holy city is full of Shiva.
All mundane divisions vanish here
and they are seamlessly harmonized
into a single entity. For them
this is the experience of a
lifetime.
While millions of devotees
are eagerly waiting for the
Simhastha,
Ujjain
, the City Eternal , is sprucing
up to host the mega event to be
held from April 5 , 2004 to May 4
, 2004. The Mela would attract
about 30 million people including
over one million sadhus, saints
and seers.
Four Kumbh Melas are
organized in Prayag (
Allahabad
) , Haridwar ,
Nasik
and
Ujjain
. The Kumbha at
Ujjain
is called Simhastha as the Sun is
in the Aries and the Jupiter in
the Leo. The Kumbh in Haridwar is
held when the Sun is in the Aries
and the Jupiter in the Aquarius.
The Kumbh in Prayag is held when
the Sun is in the Capricorn and
the Aries in the Taurus. The
Simhastha at
Ujjain
has special significance as a rare
configuration of planets takes
place in 12 years when the Sun is
in the Aries and the Jupiter in
the Leo. Another special feature
of this Simhastha is that for the
first time there would be three
Shahi Snans ( Royal Baths) during
the month long mega fair. Besides,
there would be two Parva Snans.
There are stories galore
about origin of the Simhastha, the
most famous being that of the
Samudra Manthan or Churning of the
Ocean. The story has it that the
gods and demons churned the ocean
and found an Amrit Kund (an urn
containing nectar).
To ensure that the urn was
not fallen in the hands of demons,
the gods handed it over to
Brihaspati , the Moon God, the Sun
God and the Saturn. When Jayant ,
the son of the Indra, ran away
holding the urn in his hands, the
demons chased him. A fierce battle
ensued and the lasted twelve days.
One day of gods is equivalent to
one year of humans, so in that way
the battle lasted twelve years. In
the struggle to possess the urn,
some drops of the nectar fell on
four points of the earth –
Haridwar ,Prayag ,
Nasik
and
Ujjain
. Mythology has it that these
drops developed into four sacred
rivers viz. the Ganges, the Yamuna
,
the
Godavari
and the Kshipra, respectively.
Hence the four Kumbha Melas at
these four places as per specific
configuration of planets.
A holy dip in the Kshipra
during the Samantha is considered
to be a dip into eternity that
absolves the devotee of all the
past sins. The Mela begins with
the first Shahi Snan on April 5 (
Chaitra Shukla Purnima, Monday,
V.S. 2061) and ends with the third
Shahi Snan would on May 4 (
Vaishakh Skukla Purnima ,
Thursday, V.S. 2061). In between
there would be the second Shahi
Snan on April 22, 2004 (Vaishakh
Shukla Tritiya , Thursday V.S.
2061). Besides, the two Parva
Snans would be on April 19, 2004 (
Vaishakh Krishna Amavasya, Monday,
V.S. 2061) and on April 24 , 2004
( Vaishakh Shukla Panchami,
Saturday , V.S. 2061).
The significance of a bath
in the Kshipra can be gauged from
a verse of the Skanda Purana.
According to it " The
holy bath of the Kumbha equals in
punya to thousands Kartik Snans,
hundred Magh snans and crorees of
Narmada
snans during Vaishakh month. The
fruits of Kumbha snan is equal to
the fruits of thousands of
Ashvamedh Yajna , hendreds
Vajpaiyee Yajna and lakhs of
journeys around the earth.
Looking to the importance
of bathing in the Kshipra
arrangements have been made to
ensure that the large number of
devotees have no inconvenience in
taking holy dips in the river. A
total of eleven stop dams have
been constructed from the source
of Kshipra to
Ujjain
so that the Skhipra water can be
stored and the devotees can take
the holy dips in its water. The
ghats have been renovated and
widened for the convenience of
devotees.
The city of Mahakal ,
previously known as Avanti ,
Kushsthali , Kanashringa ,
Bhaumvati , Padmavati , Pratikalpa
, Amaravati , Vishala , Avantika ,
Ujjayani ect is considered to be
holiest of the holy cities. The
most important thing about
Ujjain
is that it has the only
south-facing idol of Mahakaleshwar,
the God of gods as well as demons.
The Adi Purana describes
Ujjain
as the most sacred city on the
earth planet.
According to Skanda Purana
the city
has 84 Mahadevas, 64
Yoginis , 8 Bhairavas and 6
Vinayakas ( Ganesh). The city has
been the seat of learning where
all disciplines of knowledge
flourished since time immemorial.
Lord Krishna, along with his elder
brother, Balram and his best
friend, Sudama received early
education at the Ashram of seer
Sandeepani.
Situated along the banks of
the Kshipra, the city has been
eulogized by great poets like Ved
Vyasa and Kalidasa. Vikramaditya,
the legendary emperor, ruled the
city with his famous Navratnas
(nine jewels) including Kalidasa ,
Shanku, Dhanvantari , Betalbhatta,
Varruchi, Varahavihir , Kshapdak ,
Ghatkarpar and Amar Singh-each one
of them the last word in their
respective field of knowledge.
Another significance of the
city is that it is on the Tropic
of Cancer. Therefore, the meridian
line of
Ujjain
became the prime meridian of
India
. The Vikram Samvatsar originated
in this ancient capital city.
According to Nobel laureate
Amartya Sen " there is
something very striking about the
consistency of
Ujjain
's dominance in Indian time
accounting." The city was an
important center of astronomy in
the Gupta period. Renowned
astronomer, Varahmihir had worked
here. In the 18th century, Sawai
Maharaja Jaisingh of Jaipur
constructed the famous observatory
at
Ujjain
to encourage astronomical studies
and to popularize astronomy among
people.
Akharas, as always would be
star attraction of the Simhastha.
In keeping with the tradition all
the Akharas would move out in
procession from their camps to the
ghats for the ceremonial holy
bath. The Mela administration
would provide adequate land and
all basic facilities like
electricity drinking water etc to
them. As many as 13 main Akharas
will participate in the Simhastha.
These include Shri Panchayati
Taponidhi Nirnjani Akhara,, Shri
Panchayati Anand Akhara, Shri
Panch Dashnami Joona Akhara, Shri
Panch Dashnami Avhan Akhara, Shri
Panch Agni Akhara, Shri
Panchayati Mahanirvani Akhara,
Shri Panch Atal Akhara, Shri
Panchayat Bada Udasin Akhara,
Shri Panchayati Udasin Naya Akhara,
Shri Panchayati Nirmal Akhara ,
Shri Rananandiya Nirvani Ani
akhara, Shri Panch Digamar Ani
Akhara and Shri Panch Ramanidiya
Nirmohi Ani Akhara.
Besides, Shankaracharyas,
saints of different sects,
Mandaleshwars, Mahamandaleshwars
come to the Simhastha with their
followers and disciples. The
common devotees pay respect to
them and take holy dip after them.
The Simhastha would create
such a spectacle of unsurpassable
grandeur and faith alongwith
unprecedented outpouring of
divinity and spirituality that all
man made divisions would be
harmonized and welded seamlessly.
The Simhastha would m
certainly be the experience of a
lifetime to the pilgrims tourists
and other visitors.
 D.K.
Malviya
|