Simhastha Kumbh Mela’s second Shahi Snan begins in Ujjain

May 9, 2016 Hot from the Oven Valli Sarvani No comments

Today marks the beginning of the second Shahi Snan (Royal Bath) of the month-long Simhastha (Kumbh). It started with Naga Babas of Juna Akhara going to the holy Shipra River chanting Har Har Mahadev.

The sadhus take a holy dip at Ramghat from predawn to 12 noon. Today, thousands of devotees gather at the location to participate in the snan. It is considered very auspicious because it coincides with Akshay Tritiya.

According to the government statistics, the second snan has witnessed around 25 lakh devotees at this ancient city. Today, the snan has started after Juna Akhara pontiff Hari Giri offered puja at Ramghat.

The Simhastha mela witnesses people from all over the country come and visit the holy city for the sake of the holy snan. The last time the mela was held here was 12 years ago.

Ujjain is considered holy because it is the abode of Lord Mahakaleshwar, one of the 12 jyotirlings in the country. Here, the 13 Akharas of seers will take bath one after another. All arrangements have been made along the banks of Shipra River for this purpose.

This year, the eunuchs also set up their akhara in the mela area. They also have taken out a procession in the city and they received a grand welcome by the people. The eunuchs have also announced of their royal bath today. However, they have postponed it to May 12 now.

In order to manage the huge amounts of crowd gathering at the holy city, large number of central and state security personnel were deployed. There are visitors from all over the country.

According to Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ujjain Range, Madhu Kumar, there will be more than 25,000 security personnel at the mela venue keeping watch during the time of Second Shahi Snan (royal dip).

Image credit: Photo by ZEKERIYA SEN on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)