Word: kumbh
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...dripped its nectar in the struggle between the gods and the demons. And it is also holy because it marks the confluence of three sacred rivers-the muddy Ganges, the blue Jumna and the invisible Sarasvati, which is supposed to flow underground. Every twelve years, the Hindus celebrate the Kumbh Mela (Urn Festival) at Allahabad, bathing in the waters of the three rivers to cleanse themselves of sin. Every six years there is a slightly smaller Urn Festival. Last week saw the climax of one of the six-year festivals, and perhaps the most unusual Allahabad had ever seen...
Recently he solemnly declared that "the cause for the deterioration in health is the smallpox vaccination." Last April, though greatly desiring to attend the Kumbh-mela held at Hardwar (TIME, May 1), Tandon stayed away because cholera inoculations were compulsory for all pilgrims. Tandon has complained that Nehru's approach to public health is almost the same as that of the British; e.g,, he advocates distribution of medicine made by Western methods and is in favor of injecting people's bodies with poisonous drugs. So revered by Tandon is the sanctity of animal life that he condemns leather...
Once during Kumbh Day a crowd of bathers returning from the pool collided with the mass of pilgrims on their way to bathe. In the crush, 32 people were trampled to death. This was the only major misfortune of the festival...
...ancient times, the Hindu legend goes, the 330 million angels were as mortal as man. The angels discovered that they could defeat death by drinking the divine nectar which was kept in the Kumbh (holy urn). They fought a full-scale war with the demons for possession of the Kumbh, and won. As the angels flew triumphantly to heaven with the urn, four drops of nectar fell to the ground from the vessel. Where the drops formed pools, every pious Hindu who bathes may end his earthly cycle of births and deaths, and release his soul into union with...
...Kumbh Day, April 13, at 3:48 p.m., the day and time calculated by astrologers as most auspicious for bathing, the pool was reserved for holy men (Sadhus). It took the 15,000 Sadhus three hours to march down the three-mile route to the water. Most wore saffron robes or loin cloths, but 2,000 of the holiest were naked. Each of the seven Akharas (orders) had its painted elephant, and at the head of each order rode its leader, shaded by a red umbrella. Six of the leaders were in palanquins carried by six men; the chief...