Opinion | Mahakumbh 2025: A Dharmic Path To Global Harmony
Through the Maha Kumbh, Bharat offers spiritualism to bring meaning and purpose to the world. In a time of growing divisions, spirituality stands as the only viable solution to bridge the chasms
The quintessence of Kumbh is mukti (semantically, liberation). Taking a dip in the holy waters of the Ganga is considered not just sacred; it is believed to grant jivamukti—liberation from the cycles of birth and death, as well as from the time-space-force continuum of history. In the Hindu view of life, this sacred dip cleanses impurities from both the body and the mind, ensuring spiritual ecstasy.
In Sanskrit, Kumbha means kalasa, or a sacred pitcher. In every Hindu ritual, the kalasa holds significant importance as a sacred motif or symbol. The sanctity of a rite or ritual is underscored by the presence of the kalasa. It symbolises the sacred union between the physical and the divine. The kalasa represents prosperity, sanctity, sacredness, abundance, happiness, creation, fertility, immortality, and purification. It embodies divine energy and contains sacred water, which venerates water as the primordial matter and foundation of life.
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This millennial cultural and civilisational event attracts people from all walks of life, including ascetics, saints, sadhus, pilgrims, and tourists. It transcends all societal divisions and denominations, erasing economic disparities and uniting India in the thread of cultural and civilisational harmony. With its primordial waters, the perennial Ganga cleanses all differences and distinctions to make Bharat one civilisational unity.
Kumbh also refers to the zodiac sign Aquarius in Hindu astrology. In Sanskrit, mela signifies mingling, congregation, union, or simply a fair. Literally, it is a Hindu festivity that occurs in a cycle of every four years, rotating between Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik. A holy dip in the Ganga is its essential practice, with the timing determined by planetary movements.
The symbolic meaning of Kumbh, as described in the Kāmikāgama, a Shaiva scripture, attributes various deities to parts of the Kumbh: Vishnu represents its mouth, Rudra its neck, Brahma its base, goddesses its centre, and the water inside symbolises water as the primordial tattva (element). Additionally, Kumbh can metaphorically represent the human body, which is composed of the primordial tattvas—water, earth, fire, sky, and wind.
Astrologically, Kumbh refers to the cosmic alignment of the stars and planets. Their positions determine its occurrence. Jupiter (Brihaspati in Hindu astrology) takes twelve years to traverse the zodiac constellation, and the Kumbh takes place in accordance with this planetary determinism. The zodiac sign Aquarius is referred to as Kumbh in Hindu astrological nomenclature.
When Jupiter enters Aquarius (Kumbh), with the Sun in Aries and the Moon in Sagittarius, Kumbh is held at Haridwar. At Prayagraj, Kumbh occurs when Jupiter is in Taurus (Vrishabha), and the Sun and Moon are in Capricorn (Makra). When Jupiter moves into Leo (Simha) and the Sun and Moon into Cancer, the event takes place at Nashik and Trimbakeshwar. Finally, when Jupiter positions itself in Leo, with the Sun and Moon in Aries, Kumbh is organised at Ujjain. This is a fascinating planetary calculation and establishes the advanced scientific minds of the Hindus.
Mythologically, Kumbh also relates to the story of the samudra manthan (ocean churning), undertaken by the gods and demons to obtain amrita (nectar). In this event, Mount Mandrachala served as the churning pillar, and Nagraja Vasuki was the churning rope. Vishnu wilfully transformed into a tortoise to provide the foundation for the churning to occur.
During the cosmic churning, poison was the first to surface and was consumed by Shiva, who then became Nilakantha (the blue-throated one). The great churning also produced the Amrita Kumbh (nectar pitcher), which Uccaishrava Jayanta, the son of Indra, snatched from Dhanvantari to prevent it from falling into the hands of the demons. Jayanta carried the Kumbh for twelve years, placing it in four locations—Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nashik-Trimbakeshwar, and Ujjain. These locations corresponded to unique alignments of the Sun, Moon, and planets, calculated with great astrological precision.
Thus, Kumbh Mela has been celebrated at these places from mythological times to the present day. This grand tradition combines elements of science, spiritualism, hydro-medicine, astrology, astronomy, dharmic tourism, and cultural congregation.
The Amrit Kumbh was ultimately saved by Brihaspati (Jupiter) with the assistance of the Sun and Moon. This celestial coordination for the protection of the amrita is commemorated as Kumbh Mela. The Shrimad Bhagavatam, Vishnu Purana, Markandeya Purana, and the Mahabharata allude to the story of the samudra manthan and the Kumbh.
However, the Maha Kumbh is celebrated every twelve years in Prayagraj, where the Ganga, Yamuna, and Sarasvati rivers converge. The 2025 Maha Kumbh is particularly significant because it occurs every 144 years, marking a unique celestial alignment and its profound impact on Earth. The last such event was celebrated in 1881, and it will next occur 144 years later. This exemplifies Bharat’s deep-rooted knowledge traditions and its mastery of planetary movements and calculations since time immemorial, highlighting its ancient and continuous intellectual legacy.
This year’s gathering in Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh Mela is unique, as it witnesses the largest gathering in human history. This global event underscores India’s civilisational continuity and the timeless recurrence of tradition. The core spiritual strength of Bharat finds its most remarkable expression in the Maha Kumbh.
Being a civilisational state, Bharat upholds its non-negotiable core values, virtues, traditions, cultures, and spirituality. In the age of climate crisis and Anthropocene, Bharat offers a path of peace and harmony by emphasising respect for nature and the cosmic order. The Western model of conflict has led to ecological degradation and strained human relationships. A dharmic model is essential to reversing this trajectory and addressing the world’s pressing challenges.
The 2025 Maha Kumbh presents to the world a dharmic model of cooperation, harmonious living, ecological balance, symbiotic existence, shared growth, and spiritual experience. Ruthless competition, unethical accumulation, reckless consumerism, hegemonic structures, expansionism, brinkmanship, toxic individualism, market-driven desires, unbridled greed, and disregard for ethical principles have contributed to widespread global dysfunction.
The ideological battles, struggles for dominance, the relentless Russia-Ukraine conflict, instability in conflict-ridden West Asia, over-ambitious China, climate change, the Anthropocene, nuclear hubris, fanaticism, and immoral opportunism have turned the world into a veritable leviathan of disorder, decay, and mutual destruction.
The world needs Bharat’s dharmic model to counter the growing disorder. The Maha Kumbh offers the world a profound message of unity with nature, the importance of spiritualism, and its necessity for achieving global peace and harmony. A conflict-driven framework will push the world to the brink of peril, while the dharmic model has the power to regenerate what is deformed and pave the way for a brighter future.
The Maha Kumbh teaches humanity the values of unity and universal well-being. It attracts people from all walks of life, emphasising the interconnectedness of the elements. From their creative synthesis, human existence originates and ultimately returns. It imparts lessons on the meaning of life and death, matter and consciousness, and the essence of mukti—liberation from the tiresome cycles of repetitive existence. The event teaches surrender, not egotism, and highlights sat-chit-ananda (existence, consciousness, and bliss) as the ultimate goal of life.
Bharat has gifted the world with Yoga, a means of inner engineering for peaceful living, health, and happiness. Through the Maha Kumbh, it offers spiritualism to bring meaning and purpose to the world. In a time of growing divisions, spirituality stands as the only viable solution to bridge the chasms.
The Maha Kumbh of 2025 is witnessing an unprecedented influx of international tourists, sending a clear and powerful message: the path to harmonious living lies in discovering the spiritual essence within every being—human and non-human alike. In a world suffering from cultural and ethical decadence, spiritualism offers a healing force to revive the ethos of cooperation rather than conflict. Through the Maha Kumbh, India is poised to convey a timeless message of unity, friendship, and spiritual well-being to the world.
Dr Jajati K Pattnaik teaches at the School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi; Dr Chandan K Panda teaches at Rajiv Gandhi University (a Central University), Itanagar. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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