'SINHASTHA'- Kumbh Mela 2016 at Ujjain

Kumbh is an abode of Sea, Earth and all 4 Vedas :

Sages, Saints and Brahmins have honored Kumbh as a symbol of greatness of Deities, natural wealth, materialistic prosperity, grace of Sree and Lakshmi and a storage of knowledge and science. As per the science, Kumbh is an abode of Deities. In the opening of Kumbha, there is abode of Bhagavan Sri Vishnu; in its neck, abode of Sri Mahadev and at its base, there is abode of Sri Brahmadev. It is also stated that in the centre of Kumbh, there is abode of all Deities, all Seas, Mountains, Earth and 4 Vedas; therefore, Kumbh has religious and spiritual importance.

Kumbh Mela is held at each of the four places namely Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Nasik and Ujjain once in every 12 years. It is known to be a time when spiritual energy travels all around the place during this holy event. It’s a social harmony where you get to see many saints and sadhakas gathering at one place. This event even gives you the chance of seeking the blessings of these pious saints.

Kumbh in Ujjain :

Ujjain, one of the most sacred places in India, is located on the banks of the sacred river Kshipra in the western region of Madhya Pradesh. Kumbh in Ujjain is held when a rare configuration of planets takes place which happens once in 12 years. When the Sun is in the zodiac sign Aries and Jupiter in the zodiac Leo, it is held in Ujjain. Considering its relevance to the zodiac ‘Leo’ meaning ‘Simha’ in Sanskrit, the Kumbh is also referred to as ‘Simhasth Kumbh’.

It is the great bathing festival which sees lakhs of devotees coming together from across the world to celebrate this month long congregation. The ceremonial bathing takes place in the holy River Kshipra on the full moon day of Chaitra month and continues in different intervals during the entire month of Vaishakh, culminating on the tenth full moon day.

Simhastha 2016 begins on 22nd of April and will continue till 21st of May.

Sadhus of various sects from across the country assemble in Ujjain and mingle with ordinary people as they take their ritual dip in the holy waters of the Kshipra.

Ujjain at a glance.

Image: Coutsey Google Earth

Ujjain is a tier 2 city, the largest city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh by population. It serves as the headquarters of both Ujjain District and Ujjain Division. A central power city, Ujjain exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment and has been described as the commercial capital of the state. Located on the southern edge of Malwa Plateau, the city is located 190 km west of the state capital of Bhopal. With a Census-estimated 2011 population of 3,276,697[5] distributed over a land area of just (3,898 square kilometer)

Transport

Air, Rail, Road

Road

National Highway No. 3 (NH3 – Agra Bombay)

National Highway No. 59 (Ahmedabad – Godhra - Ujjain)

National Highway No. 59A (Ujjain – Betul – Nagpur connecting NH 69)

State Highway No. 27 (Jhalawad - Ujjain - Burhanpur)

State Highway No. 31 (Neemach - Ratlam - Dhar)

Local Transport

Ujjain City Bus(AC)

GLIMPSES OF PRE-SIMHASTHA 2016