Without any advertisement, some 70 million people showed up at the confluence of the
Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers to absorb the merit of bathing at this sacred spot at this sacred time. Hindus believe that by dipping in these waters all their impurities will be washed away. The Maha Kumbha Mela was so full of people that the area was picked up as a black dot by satellites.
Long ago, Lord Vishnu told the gods that they would get a kumbha, a pot of imortality nectar, if they churned the ocean of milk. As the ocean churned, fourteen treasures appeared, and finally, a kumbha. Anxious to become immorta~ powerfol demons tried to snatch the kumbha fom the gods and for twelve days the demom chased Jayant, the holder of the nectar-filled kumbha. Jayant ran swiftly allover northern India for 12 days, stopping to rest every third day at Haridwar, Ujjain, Nasik and Aluhabad. Wherever he stopped, a few drops of the precious nectar fell to the ground. Ultimately the moon and Saturn protected Jayant ftom the demom. The 12 days tramUted into 12 human years, and today a Kumbha Meu is celebrated every three years, at one of the fourpuces Jayant rested This Kumbha Meu represents the victory of the gods over the demons. Every 12 years, the Meu returm to the holy conflu- ence of the Yamuna and Ganges rivers at Aluhabad and attracts the urgest number of nectar-seekers. When it occurs here, it is called the Maha Kumbha Meu, the Great Kumbha Gathering.
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