Mahakumbh: Over 3.5 cr take first ‘Amrit Snan’ on Makar Sankranti

MAHAKUMBH NAGAR (PRAYAGRAJ) Over 3.5 crore devotees took the first ‘Amrit Snan’ —formerly known as Shahi Snan (royal bath) — in freezing waters at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, which is dedicated to the Sun God and marks the beginning of the harvest season, at Mahakumbh in Prayagraj on Tuesday.

The ‘royal bath’ is believed to absolve the faithful of sin and provide salvation from the life and death cycle.

Holding tridents, swords, spears and small two-headed drums, bhasma (ash)-smeared Naga sadhus of all the 13 monastic orders marched and rode vehicles transformed into ‘chariots’ at sunrise towards the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj.

The first ones to take the ‘Amrit Snan’ amid chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’, ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Ganga Maiyya’, were the Naga sadhus, Mahants and Maha Mandaleshwars of Shri Panchayati Akhada Mahanirvani and Shri Shambhu Panchayati Atal Akhada.

Instead of the scheduled 6.15am, the snan began at 7am, as a large number of devotees, who had thronged the Sangam area to touch the feet of Naga sadhus and collect their feet dust, crossed the barricading at several points creating obstruction in their path. The police had a tough time ensuring smooth movement of the Akhada procession on the fixed route.

Naga sadhus kept the festive spirit high amidst chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and blowing of conch shells. The mahants and maha mandaleshwars, sitting on their decorated chariots, kept blessing devotees lined on both sides of the route fixed for Akhadas to reach Sangam.

Mounted police managed the crowd of bathers with repeated announcements of ‘chalte rahiye’ (keep moving) on loudspeakers.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated devotees who took the first ‘Amrit Snan’ and called the snan the living form of India’s eternal culture and faith. “Today, on the auspicious occasion of ‘Makar Sankranti’, congratulations to all the devotees who earned virtue by taking the first ‘Amrit Snan’ at the Triveni Sangam in Mahakumbh,” he said in a post on X.

On the first Amrit Snan on Tuesday, more than 3.50 crore sadhus/devotees earned the holy benefit of bathing in the uninterrupted-pure Triveni, the CM’s social media post read.

Nearly 17.5 million devotees took a dip at the Sangam on Monday. Tens of thousands of devotees started taking a dip during the auspicious ‘Brahma Mahurat’ from 3am on Tuesday under the guidance of sadhus, stated Adityanath.

In accordance with the traditions, the seven sanyasi akhadas took the holy dip first, followed by the three Bairagi and lastly the three Udasin Akhadas in Sangam waters on Tuesday.

Each of the Akhadas got 30 minutes to an hour time for bathing, in accordance with the schedule prepared by the Mela authorities. Nirmal Akhara sadhus were the last to take the holy dip.

There were regular updates by the Mela authority on the approximate count of devotees who bathed in Sangam waters. By 8.30 am, 1 crore (10 million) devotees had bathed in the holy waters of Sangam. The figure rose to 1.38 crore at 10am, 1.60 crore at 12 noon while at 3pm the count was claimed to have reached 2.5 crore. Later, the number increased to 3.5 crore.

The UP government organized a grand flower shower from helicopters, draping crores of devotees at Sangam banks in rose petals. Flowers were showered on all the ghats and Akharas, adding to the sanctity of the occasion.

The horticulture department, following the directives of the Yogi government, had arranged sufficient stock of over 40 quintals of rose petals for the first two days of the bathing to maintain the grandeur of flower showers.

The Akhadas crossed the Ganga from Triveni Marg in Sector 20 through the sixth and seventh pontoon bridges in the early hours of Tuesday to arrive at the Sangam area in Sector 3 for the Amrit Snan. They proceeded back to Sector 20, where all their camps are located, after crossing the Ganga through pontoon bridges number 3 and 4.

Special parking arrangements had been made for the vehicles of the Akhadas in Sangam area.

District magistrate (Mahakumbh Nagar) Vijay Kiran Anand said the first ‘Amrit Snan’ of Makar Sankranti went off peacefully, without occurrence of any untoward incident.